


Big Sister Fujioka

by hostclubmanager17



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Nonbinary Haruhi, Original Character enters late, Sibling AU, Slow Burn, ooc haruhi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 23:05:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 64
Words: 456,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7408783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hostclubmanager17/pseuds/hostclubmanager17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Host Club was entertaining with just ONE Fujioka girl... but what would've happened if there had been TWO? Meet Jin Fujioka, Haruhi's older sister, who's about to give the Host Club a brand new twist! Follows the English Dub anime. Also posted on FF.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starting Today, You are a Host!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This story will be following the anime's story-line, and I might add a few things here and there from the manga. Also, between each episode I'll add in a '.5' chapter, just to give Jin Fujioka some more wiggle room.  
> I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or it's characters. Promise.

A short haired brunette peeked into a crowded library with a grimace. It was filled to the brim with students who were grouped up in twos and threes, discussing anything _but_  education and schoolwork. Haruhi groaned and shut the door before resting her head against the cool wood. She's been hunting for a quiet space to study for what felt like hours. Her usual study spot, which was her classroom, was currently holding a session for the debate club while _their_ usual room was stolen for the use of a school board meeting. Nothing Haruhi could do about it.

So, now she was standing outside the fourth library she'd found, only to discover all of them were in different stages of fullness.

_You know, if Nēchan were here, she'd have an absolute fit over how loud these libraries are. She might actually write a letter of complaint once she gets here._

At the random thought of her sister, the brunette's grimace eased into a small smile. A voice different than her own echoed across her mind until the tension melted out of Haruhi's shoulders. In less than a month, her sister would be back home and Haruhi would be be able to hear her voice _not_ coming out of a phone or replaying in her mind. Backing away from the door in a better mood, Haruhi adjusted her grip on her school bag before setting off again in search of a quiet place to study. But where else could she possibly look?

As she continued walking down the north hallway, Haruhi saw a flock of birds flying past the window. She stopped to watch, remember how her mother had enjoyed pointing out different birds during their outings, telling Haruhi and Jin what type they were.

Haruhi sighed before continuing on her way, praying casually as she did so. _Hi, Mom. How are things in heaven? How long has it been since I last saw you? Nine... ten years? I can hardly believe it. Well, things are doing okay down here, I guess. This rich school might not actual be all we've heard about. It's like rich kids only come to school to have a good time... and it's a little hard doing this without Nēchan by my side. I guess all I can ask is for you to keep watching over her, Mom, until she comes back home._

Haruhi zoned back in just before she walked face-first into another pair of grand looking doors. They were such an anomaly that Haruhi could only stare at them for a moment. Because... well... there was nothing but silence coming from behind the door. Every other place she had walked past had at least a few whispers leaking out through the cracks, but this one seemed complete abandoned. A sign above her head read "Music Room 3".

_Huh... of all the luck._

She opened the door and was blinded by bright white light. Wincing, Haruhi inched further into the room. _Who the heck puts such bright lights in a music room! Where's the light switch?_ Thankfully before she had to thrust the room into complete darkness the light died down into a more natural brightness. Haruhi squinted to get her first look around the room and found-

" _Welcome._ "

-a group of six boys, posing around a chair. Surprise made her whole body seized up and the door handle slipped from her fingers, letting the large door fall shut. Haruhi didn't react until the door let out a soft ' _boom_ ' as it shut. She jumped slightly and backed up against the door.

"S-sorry! I-I didn't know this room was taken..." her hands frantically scrabbled for the handle behind her, "I'll just get going. Sorry again..." _Where is that stupid handle?!_

At least she wasn't the only one who was confused. The boys she was staring at were either staring back or having whispered conversations with each other. Haruhi caught a few words such as 'boy', 'shy', and 'sociably', but just then a puzzle piece fit into place in her head. She recognized two of them. The twins. They were in her class. _Oh boy. Time to leave!_

She spun around and grasped at the door handle just as a voice called out, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club... Mr. Honor Student."

A second voice followed, "What? You must be Haruhi Fujioka!" More words followed that statement, but they didn't register for Haruhi. Because _how did he know my name?_ She slowly turned back around to look at the boys and decided to ask. The first voice answered her, coming from the boy who was wearing glasses.

"Why, you're infamous. It's not every day a commoner gains entrance into our academy."

 _Aaaaaaaaand... I don't like him very much._ Haruhi drew her lips into a half-pout, keeping herself from saying anything she'd regret. After all, she's only been at this school for a short while, where as the rest of the student body had mostly known each other since Preschool. No need to give herself the title as the-

"You must have an audacious nerve to work hard enough to fight your way into this school as an honor student, Mr. Fujioka."

 _Audacious?_ Haruhi scowled and almost responded with some "well-chosen" words herself, but she stopped herself just in time. Instead, she muscled out a 'thank you', though it obviously sounded painful to get out.

"You're welcome!"

Or, perhaps not to everyone.

"You're a hero to other poor people, Fujioka! You've shown the world that even a poor person can excel at an elite private academy!" Haruhi quickly scooted away, biting her tongue. However, the idiot followed her, continuing with his speech.

As they made a full back and forth across the front of the room she managed to squeeze in a few words of her own, "Hey, do you think you can tone down the whole 'poor' thing? I'm only middle class." The blond didn't listen. Clearly he lacked some essential social reading skills, because instead of backing off he grabbed Haruhi's shoulder and made a grand gesture towards her. She stared at him as he _welcomed_ her to the world of the rich, wondering if he was making fun of her.

Deciding not the stick around and try to figure it out, she turned around and walked to the doors. While she might still be feeling a sort of drive to sass the boy into next week, she decided it would do more harm than good at the moment. And besides, Nēchan would be proud of Haruhi for hanging back this time. If she had been in Haruhi's place, this guy would probably have a broken ego. Of course, that wasn't to say that her sister _liked_ being mean, but she could definitely put a person in their place if she needed to.

"Hey! Come back here, Haru-chan!" A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around Haruhi's right arm and tugged her backwards, "You must be like a superhero or something, that's so cool!"

Haruhi yanked her arm back, small licks of anger tinging her voice, "I'm not a hero, I'm an honor student! How did you even get into the High School?" The small blonde merely giggled and pranced back to the rest of the group, pleased about something. Haruhi shook her head and started making her way back to the door when _another_ sentence interrupted her.

"I never would've imagined the famous scholar... would be so openly _gay_." Haruhi stopped. Processed. Considered. Then turned.

"Hold on. Openly... _what?_ " _Is he joking? He has to be joking. He's not really... is he-_

"So tell me what kind of guys you're into!"

The blond started gesturing to each of the boys, listing what 'type' they were. Haruhi's jaw dropped lower and lower as he continued. This accident was slowly spirally further down into an outright social _tragedy_.

" _Okay! Time for me to go now!_ " Her voice sounded unusually weak as Haruhi backed up against the door, away from the blond boy who was clearly out of his mind. _He calls me a poor boy and a commoner and now he's trying to throw me at all these other guys? What is_ with _this school?!_

"Or maybe..." The boy slipped his hand under Haruhi's jaw, stroking her from neck to chin. An embarrassing high noise chirped out of her mouth as he leaned in really close to her face. "...you're into a guy like me. Whaddaya say?" Haruhi felt his fingers gently stroking her jaw line.

_NOPE! Nope nope nope nope nope!_

Equal parts flustered and terrified, Haruhi jerked away, "It's not like that! Oof!"

That little 'oof' came from her bumping into something. A sharp pain exploded from the small of her back and for a moment Haruhi wondered if she'd backed up into one of the couches. But no, she'd hit something harder. It tilted behind her… and a strange weight imbalance told her something had been resting _on_ whatever she had hit. With a gasp, Haruhi turned to see a very expensive and beautiful vase falling to the floor. The world moved in slow motion as she twisted her body around, throwing an arm out in an attempt to catch it. Her fingertips brushed at the edge of the ceramic… before the vase shattered into a million pieces.

Haruhi stood still, shocked and horrified and frozen in a bent position over the stand. That vase had been beautiful… and she'd damaged it beyond repair. _Oh no… Oh no..._

"Awww." Haruhi heard the twin groan behind her. As if this couldn't get any worse...

"We were going to feature that Renascence vase in an upcoming school auction!"

"Oh, now you've done it commoner; the bidding on that vase was supposed to start at 8 million yen!"

_Oh. I guess it can._

"WhAT!? 8 MILLION YEN!?" Haruhi groaned and collapsed her upper body onto the now vacant pedestal, muttering to herself, and attempting to do the calculations in her head. The tiny calculator she 'kept' up there exploded soon enough.

She propped herself up onto her elbows and gave the twins, who were the closest to her, her best 'I'm-so-sorry' face, "Uhrm… I'm going to have to pay you back."

"What what money? You can't even afford a school uniform." Haruhi felt her heart stop at the twin's statement. It was true… her family didn't have that much money to begin with. She might be able to pay it off in a few years… but what was going to happen if these rich boys didn't accept 'IOU's'? Would they take the money anyways? Had Haruhi just sent her family into bankruptcy!? Her heart pounded solidly in her chest, terror making her body shake violently.

"Well, what do you think we should do, Tamaki?" Haruhi let out a terrified noise. _When did he get back there?_

"There's a famous saying you may have heard, Fujioka." Haruhi turned to see the blond, Tamaki apparently, back in his chair. He crossed his legs and pointed an accusing finger at her, "When in Rome, you should do as the Romans do. Since you have no money, you can pay with your body." Haruhi's body grew cold as if her soul just left her body.

"That means starting today… you're the host club's _dog._ "

Haruhi's jaw dropped as Tamaki's words processed in her brain.

_Nope._

She toppled over in a dead faint.

* * *

 Haruhi woke up a few minutes later in the nurses office, and for a split second after waking up everything was fine again.

Then she remembered _why_ she had fainted and she almost passed out again. Unfortunately she didn't and was quickly sent on her way back to class. Normally she'd be grateful that she wasn't being sent home, because her admittance at this school solely relied on her grades in class, but now her classroom was the last place in the world she wanted to be. Mostly because she was suddenly hyper sensitive to the fact that the twins from the Host Club sat beside her. It didn't help that they kept making creepy faces at her and smiling maliciously throughout her lessons.

And low and behold, when the final bell rang, those two devils grabbed her under her armpits and dragged her back to Music Room 3 before she could even think the word 'wait'. Haruhi didn't bother struggling. There wouldn't have been any point to that at all, but she did make a few extra prayers to her mom in the hopes that she would at least make it through today with her dignity intact.

Thankfully, the very first thing she was instructed to do? Go shopping. Kyoya handed over the credit card and the shopping list and she was sent on her way even before any girls showed up. For a moment Haruhi wondered how much trouble she'd get into if she took her time with the shopping and 'unfortunately' only made it back to the club once activities were over, but the honest part of her turned down the idea as soon as it came to her.

That didn't stop Haruhi muttered about the club under her breath the entire time, however. But really, who would blame her? She had much better things to do than be these boy's errand boy! _Or, technically, errand girl._

Despite everything, Haruhi was slightly amused that the boys thought she was a boy too. Sure, it wasn't like it bothered her at all, she didn't really care about being identified by her gender. It was just the way she had grown up: Your gender doesn't define you as a person, your personality does. Being genderqueer just came naturally to her.

Her good mood didn't last long. 20 minutes later she was sneaking back into the music room, and a loud voice called out to her.

"Thanks for doing the shopping, little piglet! Did you get everything on our list?"  
Haruhi stopped walking and stared incredulously at the blond. _Was that an insult? I feel insulted right now. Did he even mean to insult me? I don't think his tree goes all the way to the top branch so maybe not, but still..._ The name calling actually disoriented Haruhi enough that she didn't notice Tamaki plucking a coffee tin out of her bag and sitting back down. He started at it, confusion all over his face.

After tilting it this way and that, he finally looked up at Haruhi, "What is this?"

"Just what it looks like. Coffee." _Or can't you read?_

"I've never seen this brand before. Has it already been ground? I've never tried it before..."

"What are you- never mind. Look, it's just instant coffee. Not exactly rocket science."

"In...stant?" The pair of girls sitting across from Tamaki tilted their heads.

"Whoa! I've heard of this before! It's commoner's coffee!" Tamaki seemed surprisingly excited about the coffee. Enough so that his voice had jumped in volume and attracted other guests and hosts alike. Every single one of them seemed to have something to say about the tin. Price, the reason behind it, heck even it's _existence_ was questioned. Haruhi felt like she was about to grab the tin back just to smack Tamaki over the head with it.

"Fine! You know what? Fine, I'll just go back to the store and get you your expensive coffee."

"No... that's okay, Haruhi," Tamaki held his hand up to keep Haruhi from going anywhere.

The crowd gasped.

He stood up, "I'm going to give it a try."

They gasped louder.

"I'm going to drink this coffee!" He exclaimed as if he were declaring a dangerous quest. And the group applauded him as if that was what he had actually done. Haruhi's eyes followed the group as they walked towards a table by the window, Tamaki ordering her to follow and make some. _I wonder if jumping out one of those windows would kill me..._

"Oh, Tamaki, you're taking the joke a little too far now." Haruhi blinked and turned to see a redheaded girl still seated on the couch beside her. _Tamaki's no where near her. Why is she-_ "Your palate won't be able to stomach that crap. You don't have to drink it just because he didn't know any better." _Whoa, okay, that_ really _sounded like an insult._

Haruhi slowly backed away from the couch and scurried after the group. _Not gonna mention it. Not gonna mention it. Not gonna mention it..._

A few moments later she was pouring hot water into teacups with the instant coffee powder, if only to shut the blond up. She offered the tray up, "Here. Go nuts." As Tamaki and his collection of clients picked at their instant coffee, Haruhi managed to slip away unnoticed. While she didn't want to admit it out loud, she felt a hint of curiosity at what the Host Club did during service hours. First up, the Hitachiin twins.

Haruhi slipped over and leaned against a pillar to watch. The twins seemed to be sharing a funny story with their guests, and now one of them (Kaoru, if memory served correctly) was a little upset at what had been shared, and now their faces were a bit too close to each others than some might deem 'normal'. Haruhi wasn't fazed by it much. She and Jin had a similarly close relationship. The girls didn't seem to mind either, but they were squirming around in their chairs as if there were invisible ants climbing up their legs. _What are they getting so excited about?_

Not wanting to watch any longer, Haruhi looked around to see who to watch next. She drifted towards the middle of the room and saw three girls sitting alone with an empty couch in front of them. It looked like someone was running late. _But_ _who-_

Her thoughts were cut short by Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai walking through the doors, the small blond on the taller boy's back. Haruhi watched for a while, not quite believing that they were both 3rd year students.

"Honey-senpai may seem young and childish, but he's a prodigy." Haruhi turned her head to see Kyoya-senpai standing beside her. Again, she repressed the natural instinct to shudder. _He's like a ghost. I can never hear him sneaking up behind me!_

"Uh…"

"HARU-CHAN!" Honey-senpai's sweet yet loud voice was the only warning Haruhi received before the boy grabbed her right arm and swung her around. The world suddenly blurred before her eyes before coming to an abrupt stop.

"Hey Haru-chan, do you wanna have some cake? We've got lots of yummy flavors for you to try!"

"Thanks… but I don't really want any… cake." Sure, maybe she was a bit hungry from the small lunch she had packed earlier, but at the moment Haruhi was more concerned about stopping the world from tilting beneath her feet. She pressed her lips closed with her fingertips. _Haruhi, listen very, very closely. You are not going to throw up in this Music Room in front of everyone._

"Then how would you like to hold my bunny, Usa-chan?"

"Um... I'm not really into stuffed animals."

"You mean... you don't like Usa-chan? But he likes you!" He held up the stuffed pink bunny and Haruhi instantly knew she was a goner. She had seen 'Usa-chan' earlier that day, but she hadn't been given the opportunity to view him close up before. His little face...

"I guess he is kinda cute, huh?" Honey lowered the bunny, gasping a bit before suddenly putting the stuffed animal into Haruhi's arms and running back towards his guest with a giggle. The short-haired brunette looked down at the bunny then back up at the two 3rd years sitting down on the couch in front of her. There was something... some _memory_ tickling her brain when she looked at the two of them. But, for the life of her, she could not remember what it was.

Kyoya-senpai hummed beside her before opening a tall black journal he had been holding underneath his arm, "You might notice, Mr. Fujioka, that our club utilizes each man's unique characteristics to cater to the desires of our guests. Just so you know, Tamaki is number one around here. He's the King of this club with a request rate of 70%."

Haruhi couldn't do anything but scoff. _The 'King'? Really? That guy's ego does_ not _need any more inflating._

"In order for you to pay off your 8 million yen debt with us, you will act as the Ouran Host Club's dog until you graduate." Kyoya-senpai turned fully with a fairly unnerving smile and chuckled, "Terribly sorry, I meant our errand boy. You can try to run away if you want to, Haruhi, but just so you know my family employs a private police force of over 100 officers." His cold smile never falters as he turns away again, adjusting his glasses, "On a completely unrelated note… do you have a passport?"

"Um, no…"

A puff of cold air on her neck caused Haruhi to gasp and jerk away from Tamaki, who had suddenly appeared right behind her. _Is every boy in this club a ninja or something? Should I invest in a couple bell collars?_ Once she caught her breath, Haruhi rubbed a hand over the still prickling spot, "Don't do that again. Ever."

Seemingly unfazed by what he had just done, Tamaki straightened up and rested his fists on his hips, "You need a makeover or no girl's going to look twice at you."

"Well, it's not like that's what I'm aiming for. I just don't think it's all that important. Why should I care about appearances and labels anyway? I mean, all that really matters is what's on the inside, right? I've never understood the allure of Host Clubs..."

"It's a cruel reality, isn't it?" Haruhi groans and glares up at her senpai. _Does he never listen? Sure, maybe reality isn't quite ready to give up on the impression of physical beauty yet, but by promoting it like he is we'll never get past it!_

Tamaki begins striking his usual poses and Haruhi stopped listening to his ongoing speech. _I feel like there's a word to describe people like him. Hm… what was it again? It's on the tip of my tongue._ She stared at the flailing blond for another moment before shutting her eyes. _It's not a pain in the neck, even if he is one. Nope... it's definitely one word I'm thinking of. Moronic doesn't really fit either. Come on, I know there is one._

Tamaki sauntered closer and got right down next to her face, talking about a glance to the side. Suddenly, everything clicked.

"Huh! That's it!"

"Oh, has my lesson rea-"

"Obnoxious."

Immediately following that word, Tamaki is hunched over beside a table, drained of all his healthy color, clearly not taking Haruhi's view on him very well. _Whoops, that came out meaner than I intended._

The twins suddenly materialized at her sides, patting her head and calling her a hero. At this point, Haruhi has already added '6 bell collars' to her next shopping list. Still… making people upset wasn't Haruhi's favorite thing in the world to do, so, "I'm sorry Senpai. Er, your lesson did strike a small chord with me, I guess."

The moping boy slowly stood up… then spun around with a charismatic smile on his face, "Really, it did? Let me teach you more… _Friend._ "

"Well you got over that quick."

"Boss?"

"Call me King!" _King? There goes his ego again._

"You can teach him all the basics of hosting and everything if you really want to-"

"-but he's not going to get very far looking like that, you know. I mean, he's not exactly the best-looking guy around, but," Haruhi let out a small gasp as her glasses were slowly removed, "perhaps if we took off his glasses..."

"Hey, give those back! I need them!" Haruhi reached out blindly, as her vision was now horribly blurred to the point where she couldn't tell which twin was holding her glasses. "I used to have contacts but I ripped one of them on the first day of school! I haven't had any time to order more yet!" No one answered her, but suddenly the redheads were pushed to the sides of her vision and blond replaced them.

Tamaki's blurred hand came back into her vision and she heard him snap his fingers, "Hikaru! Kaoru!"

"Got it!"

By the time Haruhi understood that now would be a good time to _run_ , it was too late. Two hands gripped her forearms tightly and pulled her, screaming, towards the back of the room. Being as she couldn't see a damn thing, Haruhi continued to scream until the three of them stopped abruptly. The two hands gripping her arms shoved her past some yellow curtains.

"Stay here." And then they left. Haruhi took a moment to catch her breath and regain her bearings as best as she could. For a moment she contemplated running away, but didn't Kyoya-senpai say something about… a police force of 100 officers? She sweatdropped and made her way further into the curtained off area, her hands outstretched so as to not bump into anything. Her fingers eventually came into contact with a cool, smooth surface. Squinting a bit, Haruhi saw that it was a mirror.

_Is this a changing room?_

The curtain behind her moved and Haruhi turned around quickly, "Here, change into this."

"... What is it?"

"A school uniform."

 _Uniform?_ "Why?"

Instead of answering like _normal people_ , the twins lunged at her. Four hands were now trying to pull off her sweater and her shoes and whatnot, chanting the word 'change' over and over and over again.

"Hey! Let go of me! Seriously, this is harassment!" When the boys didn't stop, Haruhi shouted, "Okay, fine I'll change but you two have to _get out!_ " She grabbed the uniform and pushed the boys away as best as she could. They tumbled out of the changing room and after a few more seconds she heard them walking away. _Good._

It didn't take long to change or put her new contacts in, but the hairstylist that came in took at least half an hour trimming her hair! Seriously, her hair didn't even look that different! Still, at the end of it all, Haruhi guessed she did look pretty good. The uniform fit well and everything. Speaking of...

"Um, Senpai? You out there?"

"Yes. Have you finished changing?"

Haruhi pushed the curtain to one side and looked out at the group of boys waiting for her, "To get this straight, you're gonna let me keep this uniform?"

Tamaki was immediately idiotic, holding his face and gushing about how cute and pretty she was, and how much she looked like a girl. _That's because I am a girl,_ _idiot!_ But apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought that. The rest of the boys chipped in their two cents on Haruhi's new look. Kyoya rounded it off by wondering if she'd draw in some customers looking like she did now.

Tamaki perked up, "You know, that's just what I was thinking." _Bullcrap. I call bullcrap._

He pointed a finger right in Haruhi's face, "Starting today, our little errand boy is an official member of the Host Club! I will personally train Haruhi to be a first rate host. If you can get 100 customers to request your service, we will completely forget about your debt to us."

Haruhi felt like passing out again, " _A host?_ "

"Let's go! The guests are waiting!" Haruhi let out another scream as the twins pulled her back to Music Room #3. Not even a prayer to her mother would save her now...

* * *

Two minutes later, Haruhi found herself in the hot seat. Why did she already have three girls to talk too!?

"So… tell me, Haruhi, do you have any hobbies? What do you like to do?"

"I'm curious, what kind of products do you use on your skin?"

"Yes, it's so pretty!"

Haruhi did her best to not scream. _I can't do this! What am I supposed to do? You'd think me being a first timer they'd give me some help! How am I supposed to answer their questions?_

Without waiting for a response, all three girls leaned forward and asked in unison, "So why'd you join the host club, Haruhi?"

"Uh…" She licked her lips. _Okay, think this through. All I need is to get 100 guests to request me and the host club will forget about my debt. But how to get the girls to like me? How about… oh... I know just the story._

Haruhi took a breath and gave the girls her saddest smile, "Well, ladies, I suppose I joined because I was lonely. My home just feels so empty and since I'm new at this school I don't have many friends, yet."

The three girls let out little gasps, "Oh! Haruhi, why does your home feel empty?"

"Well…" she told them about her mother, how she'd gotten very sick and passed away 10 years back. Sadness nearly overwhelmed her, weighing down her heart, but she didn't cry. She'd already cried out all her tears years beforehand.

"I see… I'm so sorry, Haruhi."

"Yeah, I hardly remember her now, but my childhood was still hard, like you'd expect after losing a parent. I can only image how it must've been for Nēchan."

The three girls tilted their heads, "You have an... older sister?" Instantly, Haruhi brightened up.  _Finally, a happy topic. This is just what I've needed after a long day._

"Yeah, her name is Jin, and she's amazing!"

"Wow… how did she take it when you got accepted into Ouran?"

"Did she try to get in too?"

"Are you smarter?"

Haruhi actually laughed, "Under no circumstances am I more intelligent than Nēchan! She's consistently been at the top of her class ever since she started school, and the only reason she didn't come to Ouran last year was because she's been studying abroad in America since last July. Actually… she's coming home in a month, and I'm really excited. She's also been accepted into Ouran Academy."

The girls stared at Haruhi's excited grin with hearts in their eyes. _Another Fujioka? More sibling love? A more open Haruhi?_

"We can't wait to meet her!"

"Really? I bet she'd love to meet you girls, too!"

The girls sitting directly opposite of Haruhi leaned forward, "You must really miss her, huh?"

"Yeah… I do. But, I just need to look on the positive side of things, you know?"  
The three girls are now completely captured by Haruhi's devotion to his sister. So much, in fact, that-

"Um, so it okay if tomorrow-"

"-we request to sit with you again?"

Haruhi's face lit up again, "Y-yeah! I'd really appreciate that, ladies!" _Three off my quota!_ Little did she know, only a little ways away a certain blond host king was staring at her.

"How did he manage that so quickly?"

"He's a natural," Kyoya responding, hiding his amused smirk behind his black journal.

"No training needed," Kaoru followed up.

"We didn't even have to teach him how to pull the 'sibling love' card." Hikaru actually sounded a little impressed.

"Speaking of... Kyoya, did you know about Haruhi having a sister?"

"Not until a moment ago. Haruhi was never a client and I've never needed to research him before, but I do recall hearing about a second Honor Student who will be joining later in the year, due to conflicts with the school in America she was attending. Unfortunately, until she arrives I won't be able to research much of Miss Jin Fujioka."

A small, annoyed sounding cough caused Tamaki to whip his head to the side, "Hm? Oh, I'm so sorry, princess, I'm just a little bit concerned about our newest host."

The redhead chuckled without humor, "Well that's obvious, Tamaki."

"Is it? I don't mean for it to be, but I have to keep my eye on him. After all, I'm training him to be a gentleman like me. His actions will reflect direction onto me as a host." Thinking his regular customer might be feeling a little left out, Tamaki snapped his fingers, "Haruhi?" The incessant giggling from the table behind him stopped, so he made a beckoning gesture, "Come here for a minute."

Haruhi excused herself from her guests, stood up, and walked over to the other couch, a little curious about why her senpai wanted to talk to her again.

"I'd like you to meet my regular guest, Princess Ayankoji." Tamaki gestured to the redhead sitting beside him and Haruhi felt her lungs seize up a bit. _It's that girl from earlier. The one who called the coffee I bought 'crap'. Well, might as well be polite._

"Miss, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The next thing she knew Tamaki was squeezing her in the tightest headlock she'd ever experienced! She struggled against his vice grip, attempting to breathe, but it was no use. Tamaki continued to ramble even though not a single word reached the brunette's ears. She couldn't breath! Haruhi pushed at his chest and managed to gasp for air, but he squeezed around her middle as she attempted to escape. Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai were seated only a little ways away and she called out in blind hope.

"Mori-senpai! H-Help!"

The tall boy moved faster than Haruhi thought possible and lifted her out of Tamaki's arms and into the air. Her head lolled forward as she caught her breath. Once she did Haruhi was set back down on her feet, but she stepped closer to the 3rd year as Tamaki clearly still wants to cho... er, _hug_ her.

"Come on, little one, let Daddy give you a big hug!"

She rolled her eyes, "I've already got one Dad, I don't need another one."

Slipping away to get back to her guests, she spoke about random things for the next ten minutes. After that, a client rotation is called and Haruhi's first ever customers wave goodbye as they leave the room. She leaned further back into her chair and sighed.

 _Well, that was an adventure. And since I don't have any more customers at the moment, I can study now!_ Haruhi walked over to the far corner of the room where the host's left their book bags during hosting hours. She paused a few steps away as she counted the bags. Hers had been put down furthest from everyone else's… but now the only ones left belonged to the boys.

_Hey, what happened to my bag?_

Haruhi got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she turned and looked out an open window that had been closed a few minutes ago. _No... no way._ Her school bag, with everything from her classes and everything she needed for when she went home, was in the fountain. "But... but how did-?"

Once she got feeling back in her legs she ran out of the club room and down the hallway without hesitation. _I didn't think there were bullies at this school._ Her frown deepened as she remembered her sister coming home some days with tears in her eyes. _Hm, guess they're everywhere._

She brushed past a girl and would've kept going... if she didn't recognize the voice that spoke up afterwards.

"Oh, you again." Ayankoji kept her back to Haruhi, but she had a feeling the red-headed girl was smiling to herself, "I bet you love having Tamaki giving you that makeover and fawning all over you. I hope he realizes it's useless soon, though. No matter how he dresses you up, you're always going to be a second-class citizen."

Haruhi didn't move as the redhead walked away, like she did nothing wrong. Tears threatened her and she blinked rapidly to restrain them. _What did Nēchan say to do again? Breath in...2...3…4... Hold...2...3...4... Out...2...3…4... Hold...2...3...4..._ Calmed down a bit, she continued her way to the fountain, blinking the tears away. _Okay, Haruhi, relax. You don't have an older sister around right now to wipe away your tears. You've been strong for this long, you can handle another month._

Two minutes later Haruhi was fishing around in the fountain, pulling out her soaking wet books and school bag. She set them on the dry concrete and assessed the damage. Her books were all but ruined, and her notepad was now just a collection of smeared ink running down the pages. The prospect of tears threatened again, and Haruhi performed the same breathing exercise. _I'm not going to be some weird kid crying in the pond water._

She climbed back into the fountain, unsure whether she was angry or just worn down. _I kind of want to tell someone that she threw my bag in the pond, but that won't solve anything. Besides, which one of us would they believe? Ugh, I wish I could just find my wallet! Come on… where is it? If I can't find it I won't have any money to go shopping tonight!_

The Fujioka's were always pretty good at keeping to a budget. Every week when their food pantry was running low, the girls would go grocery shopping after they got home from school. And besides, Jin had always been a stickler for Haruhi getting enough food to eat, considering how often she herself went without either a breakfast or a lunch during her middle school years. By eating healthy and not skipping meals Haruhi always felt a little closer to her.

The thought of her sister brought another small smile to the short girl's face. It was like a warm feeling was growing in the center of her chest, wiping away the bad thoughts and emotions.

Then her hand touched something slimy.

"Ick!" Haruhi quickly withdrew her hand from the water and eyed the area around her again. Was she _positive_ that there was nothing living in here?

"Hey, Commoner!" Haruhi gasped and straightened up fully as Tamaki called out to her, droplets of water splashing against her new uniform in her haste, "You've got some nerve skipping out on the club like that." He glanced down to his right, probably trying to look cool, but his eyes narrowed in confusion as he noticed her bag, "Why is your bag all wet? Are those your books?"

Haruhi turned around again, refocusing on searching the fountain, "Uh, it's no big deal. Just an accident. I've got it." _Yeah, it's all peachy keen and whatever, I just can't find my food money._

She figured that Tamaki would watch her search for a bit to make sure she didn't actually skip out on the club, or even just up and walk away, so she tried to pay him no mind. However, a few seconds later something made a splashing noise to her right. Haruhi looked over to see Tamaki actually in the water with her. _Why… is he helping me?_

"Hey, you don't have to do that, you'll get wet!"

"A little water never hurt anyone. Oh, hello?" Tamaki straightened up and held out her wallet, "Aha! This what you're looking for?" Haruhi could help but stare as he walked a little closer, taking a second glance at the blond boy. _Okay. New information. He's actually a nice guy on the inside, I guess. He was mad at first, but when he realized I had lost something he helped me look for it. He even got into this filthy fountain water. I guess, he can be a pretty cool guy when he wants to._

"What's the matter, you're staring off into space. Hold on... you're not falling for me, are you?"

Haruhi jolted out of her thoughts and swiped the wallet out of his hands, "No way!" _Geez, he might've done one nice thing to me, but he can be a real snob sometimes._

"How did your bag end up in the pond anyway?"

"Uh…" _I can't tell him it was Ms. Ayankoji… I don't have any proof. And I doubt he'll just take my word for it._ "Well, uh, I guess I accidentally dropped it out the window at some point." _Weak. Weak, weak, weak, that was a freaking_ lame _excuse, Haruhi._ She could actually see her older sister in her mind's eye face-palming and shaking her head in disappointment.

Before she could be called on her obvious bluff, Haruhi quickly exited the water, "Uh… well, thanks for helping me find my wallet. We should probably get back to the club, right? The girls are probably waiting!"

"Oh, yeah. Let's go."

* * *

"Tamaki. Haruhi. There you two are, I've been looking for you!" Kyoya was on them the moment the doors opened. His face was calm and neutral looking as ever, but his voice had underlying tones of relief and annoyance.

"Sorry, Kyoya. There was an incident. It's taken care of now."

"Good. Well Tamaki, I've extended your current client's allotted time by five minutes due to your absence, so you'd best head over there now." The blond nodded and took off in the direction of his table, not once casting another look in the new host's direction.

Kyoya narrowed his eyes slightly at the brunette, "Haruhi, I would normally add to your debt for leaving the club before our hours ended without instruction, but you didn't have any clients at the time, so I'll let this incident slide. However, someone just requested you for a one-on-one segment." Kyoya walked away, gesturing to a two person table where a certain redhead watched Haruhi with cold grey eyes.

Heart in her throat, she approached Ayankoji and sat down, "Hello."

"Hello, Haruhi." Silence enveloped the two and the new host found herself extremely uncomfortable.

"Uh… tea?"

"Yes, please." Haruhi nodded, glad to have something to do with her hands as Ayankoji leaned forward, "I merely wished to know why you left the host club so suddenly earlier."

Haruhi froze. _She wants to know if I'm going to tell them the truth._ Swallowing thickly, she handed over the filled tea cup, "I accidentally dropped my bag out the window and into the pond without knowing it."

"Oh, really? That must've been terrible. I can't imagine what _I_ would do if my bag fell into the pond." Haruhi worked hard to keep her face blank. "And you _actually_ made Tamaki search that dirty old pond with you, how astonishing! And extremely big-headed. You _do_ realize he's a blue blood and not a commoner, don't you? The only reason he's paying attention to you is because he's _trying_ to turn you into a gentleman, no matter that it's a lost cause. Don't start thinking he cares about you just because he's doting on you. It would be a waste of your time, and his."

"You... you were _watching_." Haruhi straightened her shoulders and gave the girl her best 'haha, caught you' glare, "Now I understand. You're jealous."

Ayankoji's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. The look was actually a bit frightening on her, like a cornered wild animal ready to rip the danger apart. Suddenly, her arm shot forward and grabbed a hold of Haruhi's jacket, pulling her forward. The table was knocked to the side and she heard the sound of shattering tea cups beneath Ayankoji's screams. Something hit her left hip and she winced in pain. By the time the world stopped moving she found herself propped up above the redhead who was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"No, Haruhi, leave me alone! Somebody help, he just _attacked_ me! _The commoner attacked me!_ "

Haruhi froze, now terrified of the situation she was in. Here she was, surrounded by rich kids who had no reason to take her word for what had happened, and if they believed Ayankoji, then what would they do to her?

"Someone _do_ something, teach this commoner a lesson!"

* _Splash!_ *

Water dripped down her face and back, soaking her new uniform in uncomfortable ways. But the shock of the cold water reminded Haruhi she could move. Leaning back, she looked up at the blank expressions of the twins who had empty vases in their hands.

"Why did you do that?" _Is she asking me or the twins?_

Haruhi clenched her hands as Tamaki lifted the other girl to her feet. Instantly, Ayankoji lost the hard, scary look and went back to her weak appearance, like she truly was the victim in this situation. " _Do_ something, Tamaki, Haruhi just _assaulted_ me. Get _rid_ of him!"

Tamaki paused in his stroking of her hair, face looking oddly muted, "I'm very disappointed in you. You threw his bag into the pond, didn't you?" All the air left the room.

Ayankoji's eyes grew wide again, "You don't know that. Do you have any proof that I did? How could you even say that I'd-"

"You know, you may be a beautiful girl, but you are not classy enough to be our guests. To frame one of our hosts is to frame the entire club. And besides, if there's one thing I know at this school... is Haruhi is not that kind of a man. And I'm afraid we must now ask you to leave, for good."

For a moment, Ayankoji can't seem to find her words before she suddenly shoved past Tamaki and ran for the doors, wailing at the top of her lungs. As soon as the doors shut behind her, Tamaki turned back to Haruhi with his usual carefree air, "Hm… now how am I going to punish you, because it is your fault after all."

 _MY FAULT!? IS HE-_ "Your quota is now 1,000!"

An embarrassing squeaking sound fell past Haruhi's lips, "One… thous-and…"

"Come on," Haruhi looked in surprise at the hand being held out to her. She took it and was pulled to her feet, "I've got high expectations for you, little Haruhi. Hope you're ready." He winked at her, which confused the poor girl even more. _What is with this guy?_

Pulling her hand free, she turned to see Kyoya holding out a pink bag towards her that had a spare uniform for her to change into. Haruhi took it and peeked inside. It was yellow. The girl's uniform. _Well, won't they be surprised._

"Thanks guys, I'm going to go change." She walked to the back of the room, passing by clients who were walking towards the front doors of the room and gossiping about the drama that just went on. _Club activities must be over. Good. I just want to go home._

She slipped into a changing room, thankful that there were already a few towels waiting for her. Sighing in relief, she pulled the wet clothes off of her, dropping them to the floor. _I'll fold them when I'm no longer cold and wet._ At once, Haruhi started to quickly towel dry her underclothes. She didn't have any extra on her or anything, but she'd be heading home in a bit anyways.

"Haruhi? I brought you some more towels if you need them." The familiar _shink_ of the changing room curtains sounded behind her and she gasped as a wave of cold air hit her bare, wet shoulders. Haruhi looked around, hoping against hope that she wouldn't see what she thought she'd see.

Tamaki stood there with a blank, yet horrified expression on his face, staring at her very exposed form. For another two seconds they just stared at each other.

"Drop the curtain, Senpai."

He did and Haruhi made quick work of changing, working on keeping the blush from her cheeks. After a moment, he finally spoke from the other side of the curtain.

"Haruhi?"

"Yeah?"

"So, you're a girl?"

Haruhi smirked and chuckled a bit, "Biologically speaking, yeah, I am." She pushed aside the curtain and stepped out in the pale yellow dress. She didn't especially like this one as much as the other uniform, but beggars can't be choosers. Still, it was pretty hilarious when Tamaki literally _freaked the flip out_.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Haruhi bit back a smile and readjusted the red bow on her neck, "Listen, Senpai, you guys can address me as a boy or a girl or even as an it. I'm not all that picky. In my opinion it's much more important for a person to be recognized for who they are, not for what's between their legs. What really matters is what is on the inside." And again, it looked like nothing Haruhi had said had gotten into Tamaki's rather thick head. He was still gaping in complete shock.

Kyoya-senpai looked down at his journal with obvious disinterest, "Well, isn't this an interesting development." The four other boys stood to Tamaki's right while the twins shared a look with each other, calling out agreement with their Vice-President. Haruhi glanced at the other boys. _I have a feeling they all figured it out before now. Huh. Guess they're not all hopeless._ She returned her gaze to the blond boy in front of her with a slight smirk. _You know, they're not that bad, I suppose._

"Hey, Senpai, I just thought you should know, I thought you were pretty cool earlier when you helped me out. That was real nice of you."

Tamaki's eyes grew impossibly wide and he shrunk back a bit, his entire face growing red, probably from embarrassment considering Haruhi was also mentioning him bringing her towels while she was only wearing a singlet.

"Well, I guess since I'm going to be a host for a while, I might as well get used to it. Besides, being fussed over by a bunch a girls might not be so bad… I'm used to Nēchan doing it when I was a lot younger, so it won't be much of a difference, I suppose. But how am I going to pull it off?" She tapped her foot and bit her lower lip, two thinking habits she had learned from her sister.

"Oh, I got it! I'll just call everyone dude and bro, now!" _Wow, now I really sounded like a host._ With that thought, Haruhi started laughing. It felt good.

_Well, Nēchan, this will certainly make our high school years interesting. Hope you're up for it!_


	2. A Phone Call Between Sisters!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short because Jin's still in America. Hope you like!

Haruhi's head felt like it was being compressed. She wasn't sure whether she should take some Tylenol or just go to bed, but whatever it was she needed to do it quick or she may very well flip the table she was sitting at. Her brand new history textbook (an apology from the Host Club for the damages done by one of their guests) was laid out in front of her, innocently enough, but the brunette couldn't force herself to actually read the questions she was supposed to be answering. How could it be that it only took a single day in the company of the host club to ruin her entire study schedule?

Scowling, Haruhi dropped her pencil and fell onto her back, pulling a pillow over her face to muffle her screams. She needed to keep ahead in her studies or her scholarship would be revoked, but it was so hard to focus with the memories of her day running around in her head! And really, how exactly was she supposed to work knowing that she'd be dealing with those boys for possibly the next three years?

_ Ring! Ring! Ring! _

Haruhi gasped and sat up, her homework and studying problems almost completely forgotten as she scurried to her feet. The brunette rushed over to the telephone residing on the wall and answered it, knowing exactly who was calling.

"Nēchan!"

"Hey, Haru!"

Haruhi laughed and leaned her left side against the counter, grinning like a fool, "You called early!"

"Well, yeah. I have an hour before school starts, so I figured I'd use it to call you! And I felt like it was needed. Is Dad home?"

"No, he isn't. He'll be working until 8 for the rest of the week, too."

"Bummer. Oh well! Tell me how school went today! Have you made any friends yet? How's the homework load? Anything I have to watch out for?"

Haruhi bit her lip. How much should she tell her Onēsan? If Nēchan found out she was a member of the host club, let alone he finding out just  _ how _ she'd been roped into that circus… how would she react? Yes, Jin would want to know everything and she'd help out in any way that she could, but Haruhi felt like it was her responsibility to fix this. She was the one who broke the vase, she should be the only one who had to pay for it. It wouldn't be fair or right to drop an 8 million yen debt on her sister's shoulders while she's over 6,000 miles away.

"Haru? Is everything okay over there? Did something happen?"

"Hm? Ah, no. I'm just trying to find the right words to describe the place. First of all, everyone there is rich, and it's kind of scary. Honestly, they're all idiots." Jin giggled on the other side of the phone. "They have four huge library rooms with about every book you can imagine, but they don't take the 'no talking' rule very seriously, so that makes studying a little hard during the school day. The homework load is decent, I guess. Pretty much what you'd expect from high school, I would think."

"And have you made friends? Even idiots can be fun to hang around with every once in a while. Just take a look at all the people we hang out with now!"

"Er… well, the thing is… they all think I'm a boy."

She was answered with silence on the other end. Then:

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"

Haruhi pulls the phone away from her ear as her sister laughs. She smiles, glad to have humored her, and waits patiently for her Onēsan to catch her breath long enough to speak. It takes a few minutes.

"W-wait. They seriously can't tell?"

"Well, remember when I told you that Eiichi got gum in my hair last week? And I chose to get it cut off?"

"Yeah... But you refused to send me a picture, so exactly  _ how _ short of a haircut are we talking about here?"

"You're coming back in about a month, so you'll see it for yourself soon enough. Anyways, with my short hair, Ojiisan's glasses, and my brown sweater, they all think I'm a boy. I didn't feel bothered to correct them."

"Huh. Sounds like you. Anyways, back to my original question: have you made any friends?"

"Not yet, but I'm a part of a club now. They're the only ones who know I'm a girl and I think they want to keep it that way."

"Really? That's kind of weird. But are they nice?" Haruhi thought about it. Were they nice?

_ Tamaki-senpai was certainly kind when my bag was thrown into the pond and when Ayankoji attempted to accuse me of assaulting her. He's still an idiot, but yeah, he's nice. Kyoya-senpai… I'm not so sure about him yet. But if someone becomes Tamaki-senpai's friend, there must be some good in him. Hikaru and Kaoru are definitely troublemakers, and a little overbearing at times, but again, they can't be all bad. Honey-senpai is really nice to everyone, so there's no contest there. And Mori-senpai seems like a good guy. He did rescue me from Senpai's hug-of-death… _

"Haru… Earth to Haru… You still there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm still here. I was just thinking. The guys at the club are nice. They're probably the biggest idiots of them all, but they are nice. In their own way. But they all drive me up the wall, and I've only known them for a day! Honestly, they take the simplest things and come up with ridiculously big plans to solve them!"

"Wow, that sounds fun! Just don't shut them out too soon, okay? The people who can make an ordinary day into an adventure are the best kinds of people in my opinion!"

"That's because you haven't met these guys yet."

"Uh huh. I guess I'll just have to decide for myself when I come home."

"Uwah… h-hey, you don't have to meet them I mean they really aren't that big of a deal and I doubt they're your type of friends anyways I mean they're kind of boring and yet over the top at the same time why would you want to-"

"Hey, hey, hey,  _ relax _ . Haru, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes! I'm fine!"

Haruhi's chest was rapidly rising and falling. While she didn't think Jin would have a problem with the host club, she wouldn't put it past the boys to attempt to woo her sister. Not only would that be weird, but it could end up embarrassing and making a bad situation worse. Haruhi knew it wasn't like she could keep them separated permanently, but perhaps she could make the transition smoother. Introduce one host at a time.

"Haru, if you really don't want me to meet them right now, then that's okay. I'll keep my distance if that's what you want, but I  _ do _ want to hear more about these club members when I get back home, alright?"

And therein lies the reason Haruhi can tell her sister anything. No matter how obvious she made her discomfort or how clearly it appeared she was hiding something, Jin always knew when to back off of a problem and negotiate. She could always tell where to draw the line and when to start being an understanding role model.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Well, I have to make myself some breakfast and get to school, so I'm going to hang up now, okay?"

"Okay. Have a good day, Nēchan!"

"Goodnight, Haru!"

_ Boop. Boop. _

Haruhi hung up the phone and let out a big sigh. An even bigger smile spread across her face as she headed back to the table and homework pile. She sat down, feeling as though her entire hectic day had never happen. There wasn't a single point of tension in her body and it felt great. Sure, tomorrow could be even crazier for all she knew, but until that happened she was just going to focus on her homework.

After all, it wouldn't be any good if she was kicked out of the Academy before her sister even arrived!


	3. The Job of a High School Host!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still following close to the real episode, but change is coming soon! I hope you like it!

The loud chiming of the clock tower echoed through the school, perking the ears of Ouran Academy's student body until it reached an unsuspecting Haruhi Fujioka. The female student dressed in the male uniform gasped.

_Crap! Is it already that late?_

Groaning, Haruhi flipped the cover of her notebook shut. She packed away the rest of her stuff quickly, put the books she no longer required on the reshelving pile, and hoofed it out of the library. Figures that the only library she could find room to study in was the one furthest away from the Music Room. It was after school hours, so she wasn't worried about being stopped by the teachers for running in the halls. It seemed that once school was over with, the students could rid themselves of every rule the school imposed and no one would stop them.

_Maybe that's why the Host Club seems to get away with a lot of things..._

Slowing to a stop, Haruhi paused in front of Music Room 3. Gritting her teeth, knowing what was about to happen, she grasped the handle and pulled down. Surprisingly, instead of the rose petals that usually rained down on her, Haruhi was met with a wave of pleasantly warm air, making the chilly host shiver in appreciation. However…

"What? Where?" The music room had changed. Instead of the usual couches and tables, the room looked like an exotic hotel paradise. Palm trees, colorful flowers, a few toucans… the works. "How…"

"Oh, never mind, its just Haruhi."

"At least she finally made it."

Ignoring the twin's jab, Haruhi pulled out her pocket sized calendar and made a show of looking at the date closely, "Now, I could be wrong, but my calendar still says it's early spring…" She craned her head back and peered out the large windows at the crystal blue sky and budding cherry blossoms, "And would you look at that? Spring."

Tamaki smirked and began his usual tirade, "Shivering in misery and fearing the cold is no way to enjoy the first days of spring! Why put our chilly little kittens through such nonsense when we have the best heating system in the world? We've turned this place into Nirvana. A balmy tropical island of evERLASTING SUMMER!"

"That's funny, because I'm feeling a _massive_ chill right now."

Hurt by her comment, the host king fell away and curled up in some far off corner of the room. However, he only had a few moments to wallow in self pity before the guests arrived and he was forced back into his happy smile. Fourteen minutes later, the Host Club was in full swing. At the moment, it was Haruhi's turn to go around and clear off any dirty tea cups from the other host's tables or refill their tea pots as needed. As always, she went to Tamaki's table first, just to get it out of the way.

Unfortunately, she also got a full face of his hosting.

She caught the tail end of his whispered devotions before letting the girl's chin slide off his palm. Tamaki's other guests weren't acting jealous, though. Princess Ayankoji must've been a fluke.

Tamaki straightened up, not in the least bit flustered by his previous actions, "Oh, I almost forgot to mention! Next week, the Ouran Host Club is sponsoring a party."

Haruhi's eyebrows crinkled in confusion and she turned back towards Tamaki's table. _We're throwing a party? Are we allowed to do that? Exactly what goes on at a rich person's party?_

In the other direction, another guest was asking the same kind of questions buzzing in her head. It was one of the twin's guests, so Haruhi drifted over and pulled the empty tea pot off of the table while they answered.

"We've rented the school's largest hall for the big evening."

"It's the perfect place for dancing, especially with all the people we're inviting."

Haruhi backed away from the table as Hikaru reached over and tilted his brother's face uncomfortably close, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. The two girls sitting right across from them dissolved into a pile of screams while Haruhi simply watched it all with a blank face. It was odd how quickly she was growing used to these acts of weirdness.

The brunette slowly made her rounds before coming to a stop in front of a bar-like pavilion. Kyoya leaned up against the countertop beside her and for a moment they watched the proceedings in silence.

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai? I've been meaning to ask about the outfits you guys are wearing."

"Well, let it never be said that the Host Club does not take theme days lightly. And besides, showing some skin proves popular with the ladies."

"Huh. Makes sense. Were you the one who came up with this tropical paradise idea?"

"I have no decision making authority. That power remains with Tamaki, as the club's president. All of our policies are dictated by him as well. But," he adjusted his glasses with a small evil smile playing on his face, "I guess there's no harm in admitting to casually slipping a Bali photo book onto his desk."

Haruhi quickly looked away so he couldn't see the fearful look on her face. _So he's the real brains behind the operation. Like a shadow of 'King' Tamaki. I wonder if anyone else has made the connection… or if he uses it to his advantage more than we know._

Filled with a sudden urge to get as far away from the "Shadow King" as possible, Haruhi quickly moved across the room and found herself seated with a few girls herself. Another table off to her left side, Honey was showing off his flower lei. He threw a few lei's onto his guests before climbing up Mori-senpai's torso to do the same.

And there it was again. The little itching in the back of Haruhi's head. _I swear I recognize them! But from where? Ugh, it's driving me insane!_

"Uh, Haruhi?" One of her guests gained her attention, "Aren't you going to wear a tropical outfit like the other boys?"

"I'd like to see that!"

 _Oh crap!_ "Oh, well, no. I, um, I just don't think it's appropriate to wear anything but early spring attire in early spring, you know?" _And like hell they're going to put me in one of those monkey suits! Besides, it's not like I can be walking around with a bare chest like the others…_

Thankfully, the girls bought it. They quickly began to practically entertain themselves, coming up with little scenarios involving the host club and early spring cherry blossoms.

"Excuse me. I hate to disturb but I think it's time for the hosts to switch clients."

The brunette jumped slightly at the new voice, "Oh, I'm sorry, you must be my next appointment Miss…" Haruhi trailed off as she saw the girl standing next to her. _What…_

"My name is Kanako. Kanako Kasugazaki."

Haruhi's chin was tilted up until she was face to face with the girl, "You're even cuter than I expected." She watched as Kanako's lips continued moving, but all Haruhi could hear was white noise. That is, until Kanako sat down and started sipping tea. Haruhi gave her head a minute shake and went back to hosting, a little embarrassed with her actions.

*Timeskip*

Two hours later, the Music Room was empty of all guests. A brilliant sunset shone through the window as the hosts planned out the party taking place next week. Until the night of the party, the hosts would be spending an extra hour at the school making arrangements. Everyone had to help pitch in their own ideas and assistance, and it was non-negotiable.

Well… except for Tamaki, apparently.

"Hey boss! How about you stop stuffing your face with ramen and _actually_ help us with the party planning?"

"Does it really bother you that Princess Kasuga has taken a liking to Haruhi? She's had the Host-hopping disease for a while now, why are you so surprised?"

Haruhi blinked, "The host... what?"

"Host-hopping disease."

"AKA the Never-the-Same-Boy-Twice disease."

"Usually our customers chose a favorite host then see them regularly, however, Princess Kanako tends to changes her favorites… on a regular basis. Just last week she switched from Mori-senpai to Tamaki, and now she's fixed her sight on you."

Tamaki's stranger-than-usual behavior now made sense. Haruhi's face fell back to her 'I'm not impressed' look. _I seem to be wearing this look more and more often now._

"So he's upset that I took her from him?"

"SHUT UP! THAT'S NOT WHAT BOTHERS ME AT ALL! I COULDN'T CARE LESS!"

"You know, shouting in my face isn't going to make me like you any better…"

Tamaki ignored Haruhi's comment, "I'm running out of patience, Haruhi! It's time you started dressing like a girl!"

Haruhi leaned back a bit, "That is _not_ the direction I thought you were heading…"

"I just don't understand it! How can you can be so popular with the ladies when _you yourself are a lady!_ And _how are we the only ones who know of it?_ "

The twins appeared behind him, "Well, it's actually pretty easy, Boss."

"She opted out of gym class and the attendance numbers are all mixed together."

"So unless she outright tells them, with her looks Haruhi does look like a boy."

Tamaki wailed, "Why!? Why would you make yourself look like a boy, Haruhi? You probably looked so cute before..."

The other boys murmured their curiosity as well, so Haruhi explained, "One of the kids from my neighborhood stuck some gum in my hair as a joke the day before school started. It's a real pain to get gum out of long hair, so I decided to cut it all off and not deal with it anymore. I didn't care if I looked like a dude, you know? It doesn't bother me at all."

"Ah! A girl should never refer to herself as a dude or cut their hair without care! MOMMA! Haruhi's using those dirty boy words again…" _Momma?_

"Okay, addressing the elephant in the room. Who's Momma?"

"Based on club position, I assume he means me…"

Haruhi let a small snort slip through at the resigned tone of Kyoya's voice before walking away from the sobbing boy, "Well, as long as we know he's not going to be of any use, can we call it a day? I have homework to do."

"Yeah. Just one question though. We usually have dance practices before we host a party. Have you had formal dancing experience?"

She nodded, "It's been a really long time, but yeah, I know a few dances. Kind of. But I'm honestly not interested in going to a party, so if it doesn't have anything to do with my quota I'd much rather be excused from attending..." she stopped speaking. The crying behind her had stopped.

As if on cue, Tamaki spoke again as if he hadn't been weeping like a toddler experiencing a tantrum a few seconds ago, "Definitely not. If you want to be a host that badly, you going to have to show us how far you're willing to go, Haruhi! I order you to master dancing the waltz in one week, and you will demonstrate your skills at the party. If you don't reach our expectations I'll tell the entire school that you're a girl and knock you back down to errand boy!"

Haruhi gasped and took a step back. _Of course it's the waltz. The one dance I have trouble with… Mom, please send me some help. Help would be nice..._

* * *

 

"Quick, quick, slow… Quick, quick, slow…" Haruhi stared at her feet with a concentration that would only be rivaled by her taking a math test. Still, she and Princess Kanako glided somewhat smoothly across the tiled floor, music and Honey's delighted squeals in their ears.

"Very good, Haruhi. But be sure to look the lady in the eye when you're dancing."

"Uh, right. Sorry." Haruhi took a deep breath and looked up. Her gaze met Kanako's… and the next moment the two were on the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Kasugazaki! Ah…" the girl beneath her had just looped her arms around Haruhi's neck and pulled her down closer. _Oh god. Oh god. Oh god._

"It's okay, Haruhi." For a second, all Haruhi could do was stare into her client's eyes, before forcing her gaze on the tile floor instead.

"Uh… Can I help you up?"

"Thank you." Once the two were out of the awkward position, Kanako gripped Haruhi's hand and pulled her closer, "Haruhi, you never meet my eyes for more than a few seconds. Is something wrong?"

Haruhi glanced over and saw that the other hosts were too busy with each other to pay much attention to the dancing girls, "Well, it's just… your eyes look a lot like my sister's."

"Oh, really? You must miss her terribly."

"Yeah. Whenever I see your eyes I get a terrible pang of homesickness in my stomach. She would always look at me like I was the light of her world. Even if I got on her nerves or said something stupid, there would always be a small twinkle in her gaze that told me she'd always be by my side, no matter who I was for or against. I know it might be a little strange for us to be that close, but we've been this way since I was born. I dunno... I just miss her a lot."

Kanako moved the two into a dancing position again, "Haruhi? Did your sister teach you how to dance?"

"Um, yes, she did."

"Well, why don't you pretend I'm her for a few minutes. Pretend you're back with your sister when she was teaching you the waltz." Haruhi blinked for a bit, then sucked in a breath and looked at Kanako's eyes. _They're almost exactly the same. Same shape. Same kindness. The only difference is the shade of brown… but then again Nēchan's eyes would always turn golden in the sunlight…_

Haruhi's feet moved on automatic, her sister's words of advice drifting through her head.

' _Dancing is like singing or reciting poetry with your body, Haru. Keep the music's tempo in your chest. Let it pulse there for a moment, then let it flow through your movements. Each pulse is a checkpoint now. Move your feet in time with the pulse. If you're especially nervous, breathing in and out every four beats keeps your body relaxed. You don't want to be dancing too stiffly, or your partner will be able to tell you're uncomfortable. Let your body breathe._ '

"Wow, Haru-chan! You're really good!"

"Huh?" Haruhi came to a stop and noticed all the boys looking at her. Even Kanako had a slightly surprised look on her face. "What?"

"Well… you were stumbling over your own two feet a few seconds ago."

"But just now you were twirling Princess Kasugazaki around the room like it was second nature to you."

Haruhi smiled softly and led her dancing partner to a table, "Thank you so much for allowing me to practice with you, I really appreciate it. Your tidbit about pretending my sister was teaching me really helped. Sorry... if that was weird for you."

Kanako giggled and leaned forward, "Oh, it was no trouble! I'm just glad I got to spend some alone time with you." Haruhi could only stare. _Well, there's no real way to carry on_ that _conversation… is there?_

Thankfully for Haruhi, she didn't need too, for the very next moment Kanako looked down at her tea cup and started complimenting it. She even knew the name. _Ginori? Now_ that _sounds like an actual illness._ Kyoya drifted over to continue the conversation with Kanako, probably well aware that Haruhi was out of her depth. She just let him do the talking. _She must really be into tableware. I wonder how she's learned all of this stuff?_

From behind her, the Music room doors opened, "Hello? I'm here with the new tea cups you ordered!" Haruhi looked around as the door fell shut. A tall brunet boy stood in the doorway, lugging a large yellow box. He was wearing an Ouran uniform without the blue jacket, instead replacing it with a yellow sweater, but he had an easy going smile.

"Ah, thank you very much. Every item that you've chosen for us has been extremely popular with the ladies. I'm quite impressed." _Woah, woah. Kyoya is impressed? Who is this guy? Jesus?_

Wanting to know more about the person who Kyoya admitted to being impressed by, Haruhi walked over to the other boys, "So, you sell tea sets?"

"No, I'm just a regular student." He handed the box over to Haruhi, who took it without complaint, "Can't you tell by the uniform? I'm delivering these from my family's business. Just trying to help out where I can, you know!"

"Oh, Haruhi, you're so funny! But I can't really blame you for not knowing he's the heir of a first class company," Haruhi and the boys looked over at Princess Kasuka with confusion, "After all… he doesn't really look the part, does he?"

The room filled up with awkwardness faster than if Kanako had started yodeling. Kyoya tried to relieve it by sharing as many details about the Suzushima trading company he knew, but no one paid him much attention. Suzushima was staring at Kanako, who'd turned back around in her seat to stare into her tea cup, and Haruhi watched the two of them. _Is there a backstory here I don't know about?_

"...He has a great eye for fine china, don't you Suzushima?"

At being addressed, Suzushima managed to tune himself back into the conversation, "You think? I've still got a lot to learn, but thank you."

"I've heard you were leaving soon to study abroad. Is that true?"

"Yes, next month I'm heading over to England. Don't worry, I'll still be able to recommend what tea sets to send your way while I'm gone. Speaking of which, I'd better go now." And just like that, he left. The mood he left behind wasn't very pleasant either. Haruhi looked over at Princess Kasuka. She was hunched over her table, hands still clasped around her full tea cup. Tamaki walked over and muttered something to the girl, who looked up at him in confusion.

"So," Haruhi drew the word out, "It looked like you knew that guy-"

Kanako jolted in her seat, scrambling up from her chair frantically and spitting out denials like it was her job. A few high-pitched well wishes later and she'd made a beeline out the door.

"Hm…"

"Haru-chan!" Honey-senpai took a flying leap landed on her back, "Guess what, you were right! They _do_ know each other! Suzushima is Kasuga-chan's fiancé! How did you guess?"

"Kyoya?

"How long have I known about the two of them being engaged?" The glasses wearing host pulled out his black journal, "Well, as I conduct general searches on all of our customers, I've known since Princess Kasuka became a client of ours. I didn't think the information would benefit us so I didn't feel the need to share it. But from what I can discern from it now, having witnessed that episode... Let's see, Toru Suzushima. Outstanding grades, fair social status, reliable. Unfortunately-"

"-he doesn't have much presence-"

"-and he's faint hearted."

"So, in other words, he's boring." _Snap!_ went the journal. Haruhi felt a couple beads of sweat appearing on her face. _If they're so judgmental of other guys, how on Earth are they so popular throughout the entire school?_ Haruhi was liking her fellow club members less and less.

"Suzushima is a good boy, right?"

"Yeah." _Well, at least_ some _of them are kinder than others._

"Alright everyone, we'll have to work on our strategy."

"Which one?"

Tamaki flipped his hair out of his face, "Men, it is our responsibility, as members of the elite Ouran host club, to make _every girl happy!_ "

* * *

*One week later*

"It is so good to see you here tonight, my little lambs. The Ouran Host Club would like to bid you...welcome!"

The entire hall was suddenly ablaze with light. Magnificent chandeliers hung from the grand ceiling, the crystals glittering enchantingly. A string ensemble began their first piece as background music to the beginning of the night's festivities. The girls in the audience applauded as the host club straightened up in sync.

Kyoya's voice rung out across the hall, giving out what sounded like a well practiced speech. He welcomed the ladies to dance with the hosts to their hearts content, and that at the end of the night one of them would be crowned as 'Queen'. The reward? A _passionate_ kiss on the cheek from Tamaki. As the girls fell over themselves at the idea of being kissed on the cheek, Haruhi felt her fake smile dipping lower and lower.

"Haruhi!" The twins moved to her side, "Show some enthusiasm!"

"Sorry you guys, but I'm not really feeling it tonight. I'm not exactly used to events like this. The only parties I ever went to were the festivals held in my neighborhood park and whenever Nēchan invited her friends over."

"I don't know if you could really consider those "parties" or not. Well, perhaps until you're feeling up to dancing you should get yourself something to eat. We have quite a spread tonight."

Haruhi stopped scowling, " _A… spread?_ " The brunette nibbled at her lower lip. Nēchan used to bring fancy stuff home on occasion, but for the past year… there was one treat Haruhi had been missing. "Um… do you have fancy tuna?"

The boys gasped around her.

_Uh oh._

Tamaki flipped off of the top balcony down to where the twins were cuddling Haruhi, demanding Kyoya to order fancy tuna even as he was dialing a number on his phone. Haruhi felt her face grow red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment, doing her best to block out the twins repeating the words 'you poor little thing'. _Damn these rich jerks. Why did I even say anything? Damn it. Damn it all._

After a few more seconds, she wriggled out of the tight embrace, "Okay, that's enough! Now, go attend to the guests before we have a riot on our hands!" Before the boys could protest, she turned on her heel and marched down the steps. The girls squealed and Haruhi found herself being hauled onto the dance floor.

The first half hour passed by in a blur. Haruhi only danced with two girls before she managed to sneak away to the side. The other boys didn't have that luxury, but they didn't seem to mind it. They were probably used to dancing for hours at a time at fancy dinner parties, so Haruhi wasn't very surprised. Jin used to be able to dance for an hour straight before needing to take a break.

Haruhi felt her smile do a funky dip and rise as she recalled her sister. _Almost. Almost time. Less than a month._

"Hello, Haruhi."

"Hm?" She turned her head and saw none other than Princess Kanako.

"I've been looking for you. Do you think maybe you could give me my first dance of the night?"

"Yeah, of course." While Haruhi would deny it until her dying day, she was actually having a bit of fun being asked to dance by the girls. It was nice to know that her presence was actually desired. Of course, as the two were making their way onto the dance floor, everything had to go sideways. Haruhi felt as though she'd been hit in the stomach by a freight train.

"WOAH!" The scenery passed by too fast for her to understand where she was being taken. All Haruhi knew was that whoever was carrying her away was tall with long arms. Three seconds later, they exited the dance hall and slowed down to a walking pace.

"Okay, Haru-chan! Let's hurry and find the others!" _Honey-senpai. Which means the person carrying me is-_

"Takashi! I think this is the room!" The three walked in through another door and Mori-senpai set her down. Her first order of business on her own two feet? Giving her Senpai the best glare she could muster.

"What was that? I thought the point of this whole operation was to do it without drawing attention to ourselves! Why didn't you just come over and _politely_ ask if I could talk with you guys for a few minutes! Princess Kasuka wouldn't have noticed anything suspicious about it! And then we wouldn't have been seen running out of the dance hall like the devil was at our heels! Can't you guys do anything _normal_?"

The other boys seemed unaffected by Haruhi's outburst. Hikaru simply shoved a bag into her arms, and pushed her past a pair of curtains, telling her to get changed. She stayed in that spot for a moment to reel in her anger. _Screaming at them won't fix anything. I'm on the clock. Might as well get this thing over with._ With one last deep breath, Haruhi began undressing and Kyoya went over the details of their plan again.

Haruhi rolled her eyes, she knew the plan forwards and backwards already. Making a final adjustment to her wig, she stepped out of the changing room with her mouth set in a straight line. _Mom, I know you can see this. If there is anything you can do to help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it. Please just… ask for a favor or something._ Haruhi sat down in the makeup chair without making a fuss, knowing it wouldn't have helped anything even if she had.

The twins began piling cosmetics onto her face, muttering about how it was somewhat unsettling. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. From personal experience, she knew that fixing makeup that had already been applied was ten times harder than just putting it on right the first time.

Behind her, the door slammed open, "Gentlemen, here you all are! What are you doing? The guests are-!" Tamaki stopped in his rant as the twins gave Haruhi the thumbs up and she stood from the chair. Immediately Haruhi felt unbalanced and clutched the back of the chair to steady herself. _Stupid heels. Stupid hosts. I swear I'm going to face plant any minute now._

"Wow, you look so cute!"

"My face feels heavy and it's hard to walk in these shoes. Do not speak to me."

"Good luck, Haruhi!" She was too busy using her arms to balance to create a scathing retort. Instead, Haruhi just stumbled to the classroom the hosts had chosen the day before to have her meet with Suzushima.

Thankfully, she made it without injury, though her pride was a bit bruised. Taking a breath, she opened the door and peered inside. There was Toru Suzushima. He was staring out the window at the cherry blossoms with a face of someone who was lost in thought. At the sound of the door creaking open, he turned at gave Haruhi a good look.

He lifted a few pieces of paper in front of him, "Wait... are you the one who wrote this letter? Wow, you're not at all like I imagined."

"Letter?" Without a word, Suzushima handed it over, probably thinking she wanted to clarify that it was her letter they were talking about. Haruhi took one look and almost threw up. ' _I'm in love-love...' 'I want to rendezvous with you on Noah's Ark…' What the heck is this?! Who could've written such a stupid letter?_ Haruhi almost felt personally insulted as she continued to read the "love letter". Honestly, as members of a host club, you would think the boys would be able to portray a secret admirer better.

_I'm going to be sick if I have to pretend I'm actually like the girl who wrote this letter._

"Excuse me, but have we met somewhere before?"

Haruhi jumped, "Ah! No! Not at all!"

Suzushima went very quiet for a moment before speaking again, "I'm sorry. I'm flattered by your letter but, I'm afraid I don't feel the same way. You see… another girl already has my heart."

"Oh. You have a girlfriend."

His lips twitched upward in a humorless smile, "Unfortunately, no. Once upon a time, maybe, but I bet she's completely over me." He looked back at the cherry blossoms, "In all honesty, I'm glad. She'd be much happier with someone more self confident than me." Haruhi stayed silent. This was going better than she thought it would. It seems like his feelings were so strong it only took someone willing to listen for his true feelings about Kanako to come out. _It's a little heartbreaking that these kids have absolutely no one to talk to about their real feelings…_

"We're supposed to marry, and I would love to if only she felt the same way. So, if she's been doomed to spend the rest of her life by my side, then maybe by traveling the world I'll become the confident man she needs. I know it sounds a little selfish, but I wonder if she'll wait for me..."

"That is selfish of you." Suzushima made a noise like someone had punched him in the stomach, but Haruhi kept the heat on, "Does she know that you feel this strongly about her? Maybe she _would_ wait if she knows you're doing it for her. You'll never know if you don't tell her how you feel, so that's what you need to do. You said you were trying to become a confident man, right? Why not start by telling the girl you love how much she means to you? After all, once you've decided to change then you've already begun your transformation."

Suzushima stared at her in wonder and lifted his hand. Perhaps to hug her, or maybe even just touch her face to see if she was real, but at that moment the sound of the door opening captured both of their attentions.

And there stood Kanako.

"Uh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt, I just…" tears trickled down her cheeks as she turned and ran.

Suzushima brushed past Haruhi and hurried out the door, "Kanako. Kanako!"

Due to her heels, Haruhi was only able to wobble slowly after him. She stared after them, her heart compressing. The soft thuds of footsteps behind her brought Haruhi back to reality.

"Why did I let you talk me into this? Did you see her face…"

A warm hand gently rested on her shoulder, "But he ran after her."

_Oh..._

Haruhi let her mouth slide into a small smile, "Maybe… maybe we did alright."

"Come on. Let's get you out of that get up. We'll need to be on the balcony in a few minutes."

*Timeskip*

It only took about seven minutes to quickly scrub off her makeup and pull Haruhi's tuxedo back on, which was about the time Kanako and Suzushima made it out into the courtyard. They watched as Suzushima grabbed her wrist and the couple stumbled to a stop.

Four separate spotlights flicked on, focused on the two, as the balcony doors were opened, "Ladies and Gentlemen…" the guests flooded out as Tamaki made his announcement, "It's time for the final dance of this evening's festivities. The last waltz of the night has been chosen by the host club for... this couple."

For a second, nothing happened. Suzushima released Kanako's wrist and she took a step backwards. They faced each other in heavy silence before he pulled his right hand up to his chest. Apparently steeling his nerve, he paused before performing a deep bow.

"Princess Kasuka? May I have this dance?"

For another second, Haruhi worries that Kanako would reject him.

But she needn't have worried.

" _Yes._ "

The two danced seamlessly together, like they had been born for nothing more than this moment. It didn't look like Kanako was touching the ground at all. The other guests around them were cooing at the tender scene while the host club watched in satisfaction. Another happy guest. Another happy couple. Two more happy lives. _If this is what it means to be a host… I suppose there were plenty of worse clubs I could be a part of._

The blissful moment was interrupted abruptly as Haruhi quickly ducked to avoid being hit by Tamaki's flailing arms, "May this awkward couple be forever blessed!" _Whoever_ you _end up with_ you _is_ _going to be in the most awkward couple of the century. I pity the poor soul._

The twins slipped up behind her and Tamaki, announcing Princess Kanako Kasugazaki as the queen of the ball. And while Haruhi found it sweet to give the girl the best night of her life, should couldn't help but wonder, _When did they get microphones?_

Still, she joined the others in applauding for dumbstruck girl in the courtyard. The twins named her prize. A kiss on the cheek from-

"Haruhi Fujioka will stand in for Tamaki!"

The brunette let out a strangled sort of sound as the redheads cackled. Suzushima spoke a few calming words to Kanako, probably telling her it wouldn't really mean anything, but Haruhi had a very different train of thought, "There is no way you can make me kiss her. I'm not doing it."

"We'll cut your debt by one-third." The tally marker in her head quickly did the calculations. _A whole one-third?! Well... I guess if it is just a kiss on the cheek it's not that big of a deal._

Sucking in a breath, Haruhi made her descent. _A kiss on the cheek. Just a small little kiss on the cheek. That's all it is. Nēchan has kissed my cheek many times, and vice versa. It's not a big deal. I can do this._ She and Kanako were right in front of each other now. _I can do this._ She guided the other girl's face into the proper position, leaning in. _I can d-_

Suddenly she was lip-locking with Kanako. They stared at each other for two more seconds before jumping apart, hands to their mouths. The guests above them screamed, someone collapsed behind Haruhi, and Kanako quickly looked at her fiancé to see if he was angry. Thankfully, he wasn't. Haruhi took a few seconds to recollect her thoughts. The kiss hadn't been... horrible, but still...

 _I never would've thought that I'd end up giving my first to another girl. But it was such an amazing night…_ She saw the smile come back on Kanako's face as Suzushima took her hand in his... so _I guess it's just as well!_


	4. How to be an Older Sibling!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I'm going to try and get this story up to date with my FF.net version. Lots and lots of updates coming up... oh boy. Hope you like it!

_Click!_

_Click!_

_Click!_

Tamaki glanced over his shoulder as the clicking noise continued. He'd been hearing it almost since the party had ended, and it was making him more than a little twitchy with curiosity. At the moment, he and Kyoya were standing at the front doors, gesturing the party guests out of the hall. Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai were separating the extra food from the buffet to either be moved into storage or be disposed of. The twins were overseeing the decorations being taken down. And Haruhi...

Haruhi was roaming around the untouched parts of the hall with a camera she had recently pulled from her pocket, snapping away photo after photo. That was the source of all the clicking and Tamaki's curiosity.

"I had such a great time dancing with you, Tamaki. I'll see you at school next Monday!"

Pulled away from his new favorite pastime of 'Haruhi watching', he quickly replied to the leaving girl, "I'll count every second we spend apart until I can once again lay my eyes on your beautiful face, my darling." The ravenette squealed and stumbled out the doors that boomed shut behind her.

"Well, that was the last one. I suppose we should assist the others in th-"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a moment, Kyoya. There's something I want to do first."

Before his best friend could stop him, Tamaki quickly snuck over to Haruhi. The newest host was now making her way out to the balcony and he followed. Tamaki watched as she took a few pictures of the courtyard, trying to figure out what the heck she was doing.

Haruhi went through all her previous photographs as she made her way down the stairs.

"Hey, Haruhi?"

"Wah!" The brunette jumped and almost dropped her camera.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

She took a few breaths before turning to him, her face scrunched up in annoyance, "What do you need, Senpai?"

Not put out by her cold attitude, he shrugged, "I wanted to know what you were doing. You're not helping us tear down, so I was curious about all the photographs you were taking." Haruhi blinked and held her camera a little tighter to her chest, as if he might steal it from her. At a closer look, Tamaki noticed it wasn't a very good camera. It looked like one of those cheap disposable ones he'd seen tourists buy back in France.

"I'm taking pictures for my sister. Nēchan would've loved a setup like this."

Tamaki blinked, "Really?"

The brunette nodded and continued her way down to the courtyard. Tamaki followed. They made it to the cherry trees before he attempted a conversation again.

"I, uh, I'm an only child."

"Mm."

"So… what's it like to have a sibling?"

Haruhi almost drops her camera again, "What? Where did that question come from?"

Tamaki shrugged, but wet his lower lip at the same time. Talking to Haruhi was harder than he had anticipated. She asked questions instead of answering them, as if she needed to be convinced to give up any information at all. It was hard work, but for some reason Tamaki never liked giving up on talking to people like that. As he's found out with his previously made friendships, if someone is hard on the outside and you push for long enough, they end up having the softest centers.

Haruhi, he was positive, would be no different.

"I guess, I want to know what it's like. You always talk about your sister, and it's pretty clear that she's a very important person in your life. I've never had anyone like that for me, so I was just curious. Anyone who can change you from someone with two left feet to an impressive waltz dancer just by being mentioned sounds like someone worth knowing about."

Haruhi narrows her eyes, as if trying to decide whether he just took a jab at her pride, before softening her features, "Well, it's a little hard to explain. Not all siblings are created equal, you know. Some don't get along well at all, but Jin and I… we've always had a bit of a special relationship. After all, I was born the day before her first birthday. She's always said that I was the best birthday present she's ever gotten..." She trails off and smiles at the ground.

Tamaki waits patiently for Haruhi to return from wherever her mind had fluttered off to. She does with a small, minute shake of her head.

"Anyways, being an older or a younger sibling changes for different families and different people. There's no real way for me to explain-"

"Just… what's it like for you?"

"For me?" Haruhi thinks about the question as she returns to taking pictures of the cherry blossoms, "Well, as the younger sibling, I see Nēchan as someone to rely on. She's like my shield but she's also my sword and I never feel uncomfortable talking to her about anything. She can always tell when I've had a bad day and makes sure to give me really warm hugs when I do. She knows everything about me, and not in the creepy way that Kyoya does. She didn't have to research anything, she just picked up on stuff from spending so much time with me. My Nēchan is like having a best friend, a mother, a twin, and a soulmate all rolled into one."

Unannounced to her, Tamaki was subtly writhing behind Haruhi. While it was heartwarming to see her speak so lovingly about someone, Tamaki wanted to know what if felt like to be on the _receiving_ end of that warm spiel. _Why doesn't she ever give Daddy that kind of affection? Am I not someone she can rely on? I'll give her all the hugs she requires!_

"You know… I really, _really_ miss her right now." Blinking his way out of his mental movie theater (where Haruhi was currently hugging him tightly after a bad day) Tamaki noticed a faint shimmering in the brunette's eyes. Immediately, he panicked.

"I'M SORRY, HARUHI! I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU CRY!"

"S-s-senpai! It's okay! I just miss her a lot. I'll call her tomorrow morning. Besides, she's coming home in only a few weeks." Haruhi gently lay a hand on Tamaki's head, "I just want to thank you. Remembering all the great things Nēchan does for me while she's away is just going to make me appreciate her behind home all that much more. Come on, I think I have enough pictures. Let's go see if we need to help the others."

The blond let the short brunette lead the way back to the party hall in complete silence. But in his head, a new idea was beginning to form.

_If she wants an older sibling…_

The next Monday 

"Hey, Haruhi?"

" _No._ "

"What?"

"You don't even know what we were going to ask."

"Yes I do, and the answer is no."

The twins trailed after their brunette classmate and continued to pester her, "Then what do you think we were going to ask?"

"I'm not doing your homework for you."

"Aww… pretty please?"

"Not happening. How else are you supposed to learn?"

The trio opened the club doors, continuing to bicker back and forth. Haruhi knew Hikaru and Kaoru weren't being really serious. They were actually pretty smart, albeit lazy at times, and in the end they'd do their own homework so she wasn't actually annoyed.

Until a blond and blue blur shot at them and scooped up the small host.

"ARE THE TWINS GIVING YOU A BAD DAY? DON'T WORRY, I'LL HUG THE SADNESS AWAY!"

"AHHH!" Haruhi flailed around in Tamaki's death grip. _How is he so strong? His arms are so skinny!_

"Whoa! Boss!"

"We were only teasing!"

With the combined efforts of the twins and Haruhi herself, they managed to free her from the King's "death-hug". At least the blond had the sense to look a little embarrassed.

"I thought you were having a bad day, so I wanted to cheer you up."

"Uh… while that's very kind of you, Senpai, maybe you should _ask_ if I've had a bad day first."

He opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment the clock tower chimed in the distance.

Kyoya stood up from his couch, "Club activities will begin in one minute. Places, everyone."

The new arrivals quickly placed their bags along with the other's and raced back to the center of the room. Tamaki took his usual spot on the single chair facing the doors with his legs crossed and his head leaning on his fist, his elbow resting on the armrest. Mori-senpai was standing on the far left of the group, his back almost completely facing the door which he gazed at over his left shoulder. By his side was Honey-senpai, holding Usa-chan to his chest with his cute smile. Kyoya was almost directly behind Tamaki, standing just enough to the side to not be blocked by the chair. He had his black journal tucked under his arm, as per usual. To the other side of Tamaki's chair, the twins stood side by side with their arms linked, and Haruhi was just barely in front of them.

The moment the seven froze in their position, the doors to the club room squeaked open.

_Countdown four… three… two… one…_

"Welcome, ladies!"

It had taken Haruhi three days to correctly time the silence between the first opening of the host club doors to the verbal welcome, but she was glad that she finally got it. It was almost just as embarrassing to not welcome the guests as it was to be half a second off. Still, it was always a breath of relief when the welcoming was over.

As the hosts -other than Kyoya- split away from the center floor to their assigned tables for the day, their guests quickly filed into the room, eager to start another day of hosting. Haruhi took a moment to collect herself before the first wave. _Okay, I was given a window table today. Large enough for three to four guests at a time. I have one couch appointment today as well as three duos, but I'll be mostly around this window all day. The weather is now a safe topic._

She looked out the window at the brightly sunlit day. _Maybe we could crack the windows open just a bit… it's warm enough to let a slight breeze in. Does the host club hold outdoor events? Do we ever host outside on the commons?_

"Haruhi? You look like you're thinking hard about something!"

"Ack!" The brunette jumped in her chair, making a slight squeaking noise on the tile floor. She took in a few deep breaths before facing her senpai, "Tamaki-senpai… please don't sneak up on me again!"

To his credit, the blond looked a little sorry for startling her, "I'm sorry, but you looked so deeply in thought I figured you wouldn't hear me anyways."

"Uh…" _How am I supposed to respond to that?_

"So, is something troubling you?"

"Troubling? No. I was just wondering something about club activities. I was planning on asking you guys about it later."

"Okay! Well, feel free to talk to me about anything! I won't judge you at all and I'll help you no matter what you don't understand!"

Haruhi couldn't do anything but blink, "Well… thank you, Senpai… Shouldn't you be getting back to your table?"

The blond jolted a bit and quickly took a few steps back, "Oh, right, thanks for the reminder! Bye, Haruhi!"

The brunette watched him leave. _Something's off with him today… but what is it?_

"Haruhi!" She straightened up and turned back towards the table. Her firsts guests were already sitting down.

"Hi, ladies! Sorry about that, Tamaki just need to have a word with me."

"That's alright, Haruhi!"

"It's so nice to see you getting along with everyone!"

"Are you enjoying yourself at the host club, Haruhi?"

"W-well, the guys are a little… _much_ at times… but I do like talking to you ladies everyday."

Three identical gasps and blushes. _And the hosting begins._

* * *

"Hey, Mommy? I have a favor to ask of you."

Kyoya's pen stopped dead in the middle of a word before he sighed, "Please don't call me that. Or at least not during hosting hours."

Tamaki continued on as if he'd agreed, "Listen, this might sound a little weird, but I need all the information on Haruhi that you have."

At his request, the ravenet actually look up at the blond, "And what use would you have of that? Furthermore, why do you need it in the first place?"

"Well… it's a little hard to explain. I just want to know more about her."

Kyoya didn't move, just quirked an eyebrow.

"It's kind of like, well, I want to be… closer to her?"

"Was that an answer or a question?"

"...I think the second one. Ugh!" Tamaki threw his hands through his hair, ruffling it up out of it's neatly combed style, "Why is it so hard to explain? I want to know Haruhi better so I figured if I read whatever information you had on her-"

"Information on _who?_ "

Tamaki stiffened and slowly looked over his shoulder. You know the type. The horror-movie-character-just-heard-a-floorboard-creak kind of turn. Standing directly behind him was none other than Haruhi, her hands tightly clenched around a teapot, and it looked like she was considering chucking it at his head.

"H-haruhi! How long have you been...standing there?"

"Long enough."

The blond jerked back to facing forward and spoke in a quick monotone, "Well, thank you very much for your help Kyoya but now I need to go," before speed walking over to the other side of the room.

Haruhi glared off after him, "What was that all about?"

"No idea."

The brunette breathed in deeply through her nose and closed her eyes. _Why couldn't I have gotten stuck in a club filled with_ normal _people?_

* * *

 

"Haruhi! Come on, club activities are done for the day!"

The girl rolled her eyes and snapped her school bag shut, "I'm well aware of that, Senpai. You don't have to wait for me, you know."

"I don't want you getting lost!"

"I won't get lost! I can navigate this school just as well as anyone else!" Now Haruhi was angry. _I'm a capable person! He doesn't have to treat me like I'm some little kid who can't do anything for myself!_

It only made her more furious when the boy continued to smile as he spoke, "But I'd be worried about you!"

"I didn't ask you to be!"

"You don't have too! It's just something I'll do anyways." Tamaki laughed airily, "I guess you could just call me Niichan!"

Haruhi blinked, her anger surprisingly dissipating, "Niichan?" _Why on Earth is he calling himself my big brother… oh._

"Haruhi? Are you okay? You're staring off into space again."

"Oh."

"Oh? Oh, what?"

" _Oh…_ "

"Haru-" Tamaki's questions died in his throat as Haruhi smiled warmly at him. She reached up and gave him a single pat on the head.

"Tamaki, you're my Senpai. You're not Nēchan. Thank you for… trying to fill in her shoes, but she's supposed to be back in two more weeks, so I'll be okay without an older sibling until then." A bigger smile, "I was really sweet of you to try and make me feel better, though. See you tomorrow, Senpai."

And with that, she walked out of the room, leaving a surprisingly red Tamaki in her wake.

 


	5. Beware the Physical Exam!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keeping it coming! Hope you like it!

 

A warm breeze ruffled Haruhi's bangs, simultaneously brushing a few cherry blossoms against her cheek. She sighed softly and looked around at the trees. The entire courtyard was colored light pink as the falling petals danced in the sunlit air. Even the air was sweet in her lungs.

"Haruhi? Are you enjoying the cherry blossoms?"

"Hm?" Haruhi quickly looked back at her two guests, "Oh, yes, I am. I just wish I had remembered my camera. My nēchan loves it when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. It's her favorite thing about spring."

As per usual, Haruhi's deep affection for her sister made her guests squeal and clutch at their hearts. Haruhi smiled. Entertaining the guests was easy when all she had to do was talk about her favorite person.

While her guests attempted to pull themselves together for the last couple minutes of their allotted time together, she let her gaze sweep around to the others. She noticed that the hosts were mainly focusing on the tea sets they had. Probably because, as a thank you for giving him and Kasugazaki a push into their relationship, Suzushima had brought over about a dozen new tea sets three days ago before flying off for England. Haruhi felt her lips quirk up in a small smile. It was nice to see young love in all its glory.

Call her a sucker for romance. Which was entirely Jin's fault, by the way.

Haruhi tugged lightly at the bottom of her shirt. While this costume change wasn't as… dramatic as the clothes they had donned for the Tropical Paradise theme last week, she still felt a little weird wearing such expensive clothing. She had a feeling that this single outfit cost more than half her wardrobe back home.

"Haru-chan!"

The brunette had two seconds to whip around before Honey-senpai grabbed her left wrist, "Come watch me make green tea! I've been practicing all day!"

"Uh… sur-AH!" No sooner had Haruhi agreed Honey-senpai started dragging her away to a secluded corner where Mori-senpai and two guests waited for them. Haruhi took a seat across from Honey as he gathered all the items he needed to make the tea. The girls noticed their new company and were quick to give her a smile.

"Hello, Haruhi!"

"Are you going to watch Honey make tea as well?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be relaxing. Besides, Honey-senpai was so excited about wanting to show me, I didn't want to say no."

"Awwww…" The girls cooed and leaned against each other just as Honey was ready to start mixing. He gave Haruhi a big smile before focusing exclusively on the bowl in front of him. His cheery face fell away to one of absolute concentration as he began to mix. And mix. For the following three minutes, the five sat in silence, save for the steady trickling of water and the constant mixing of the tea.

Haruhi stared at her Senpai with a racing heart.  _ He's overdoing it…Should I tell him? _ But the blond boy's expression was so hard and concentrating that she didn't dare. The girls to her left were making soft noises of worry.  _ So they've noticed it too. Somebody has to say it- _

"Mitsukuni." Mori-senpai leaned down and spoke directly by his cousin's ear, "You overdid it."

_ He told him! _

Honey slowly pulled his tool out from the bowl and stared into the emptiness of overdone tea. After a moment his lower lip began to tremble. A faint shimmering of unshed tears covered his brown eyes and Haruhi felt her heartstrings clench up.

"Honey, I'll take it! I bet it's perfect!" The girl closest to the small host quickly snatched up the cup and started drinking what was left of the tea.

The other picked up the thread just as quickly, "It's just the right amount for both of us, any more would be too much! You never cease to amaze me!"

"Really?"

Haruhi turned around and let out a sigh.  _ These damn rich kids. Well, at least Honey isn't crying, so I suppose it's okay for them to make fools out of themselves. _

After the tea incident, Haruhi quickly excused herself and made her way into an even more secluded area. The brunette shut her eyes and took a deep breath. The sweet smell of the flowers tickled her nose, but the corners of her mouth lifted all the same. Nēchan had talked about her missing the cherry blossoms in full bloom at least once a phone call, so Haruhi figured she'd just take some extra time to appreciate them for her.

"Haruhi?"

"Huh?" She looked over her shoulder to see Tamaki. No surprise there, but she wondered how he had slipped away from his guests long enough to speak with her alone.

"How are you doing?"

"Tamaki-senpai, if you're still trying to act like my older brother, I assure you it's not necessary." Haruhi's smile shifted into more a smirk. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of the boy's sudden desire to be like a family member to her, but Haruhi was at least 85% sure that her senpai didn't hold any malicious intent behind it.

"Heh, no. I just wanted to say that the flower viewing reception is going over quite well. But even so… it's rather daunting to spend more time being admired than doing the admiring."

His meaning suddenly clicked in Haruhi's mind and she sweatdropped, her eyes squinting a bit, " _ Oh wow _ , Senpai… you're blooming in more ways than one."

"You noticed! Yes, it would appear that I am in full bloom!" Haruhi felt her slight fondness of the soft-headed boy dissipate into smoke.  _ I swear... one of these days. _

"So, Haruhi," the scowling girl suddenly found herself in what could only be described as a headlock by the twins, "have you decided your elective courses for this term?"

"How about Conversational French?" Kaoru suggested. Haruhi mulled it over. She'd been thinking about taking Introduction to Law or picking up another language like Jin had, but the boys didn't need to know her life plans…

"Well…"

Hikaru spoke up next, "I think the three of us should take it together. It makes perfect sense."

" _ We are in the same class. _ "

Not liking the way the boys had spoken that last sentence, Haruhi quickly disentangled herself from the twins, "Look, I already had a couple ideas for my elective courses, and I highly doubt that you two would enjoy them. Conversational French just… isn't my thing. I need to go clear away my table now."

And that she did. Haruhi knew that her solitude from the other boys wouldn't last very long, but she was still glad that the guests had already left. Time seems to fly at the host club.

Some distance across the reception area, Haruhi could see Tamaki alternating between sulking and freaking out, but she was too far away to see the source of his "turmoil".

_ It's probably something idiotic. Or something to do with me. Please don't have something to do with me... _

Of course, two seconds after she thought that, Tamaki was booking it over to grab her shoulders. Bent backwards just a bit, Tamaki used his 'serious' voice, staring directly into Haruhi's eyes. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel at least slightly uncomfortable. Their noses were almost touching!

"Listen, Haruhi! I want you to stop hanging out with those shady twins from now on!"

The twins were quick to defend themselves, shouting out across the courtyard that if anyone among them was behaving shady-like, it was him. Tamaki looked like his world had just been shattered and then set on fire as he stumbled backwards. Haruhi straightened up before moving to duck behind a chair.

"Alright then! We can't go on hiding the fact that you're a girl from everyone in the school any longer! A-all Daddy wants is for you to go back to being the girl you used to be! For you to surround yourself with girlfriends and circle your wholesome life!"

"Who are you calling 'Daddy'?"

Tamaki jumped over the table to grab Haruhi's shoulders again, this time shaking her back and forth, "So do it now! Change back! Change back now! Become Daddy's little girl!"

"H-hey! Let go of me, you weirdo! This is harassment! Let go!"

"Yeah, Boss, you can calm down you know? It's not like she'll be able to hide it for much longer."

"Physical exams are the day after tomorrow."

Haruhi slowly looked over to the boys, wondering if she'd heard them correctly, "Physical… exams?"

* * *

Haruhi had thought the problem over in her head between heading home until early morning. _ There's really no way for me to be excused from the physical exam, and even binding my chest would make it obvious. _ Nēchan hadn't had any ideas, either. She'd suggested a private room, but Haruhi shot it down saying it would look suspicious.

But one thought was nagging at the back of Haruhi's mind.  _ Would it really be so bad to be kicked out of the host club? _

Sure, she'd have to find another way to pay them back, but at the same time, she wouldn't have to keep her real gender a secret. While she didn't care about being viewed as either gender, this "undercover" thing was starting to pile on just a little bit more stress than she wanted. Having to remain at the top of her class was one thing. Making sure to not slip up and reveal that she was a girl was another. It was just time-consuming. Though, she had to admit, she liked the boy's uniform better than the girl's.

_ Still, if I'm not in the host club… then that's just one more way to keep them away from Nēchan! She doesn't need to be pulled into their craziness! And I'd rather not be embarrassed in front of her. _

It wasn't until the school day was over that Haruhi came to a decision.  _ I'll just let them know that it's not a big deal. I'll stop being a host and pay them some other way. I hope they don't freak out. _

She walked to the club room and opened the doors, "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late but we need to tal-ACK!" Tamaki had her by the shoulders again. _ What is it with this guy and personal space? _

"Don't you worry Haruhi! We're determined to keep your secret safe! No one will find out you're really a girl during tomorrow's physical exams! So please, promise you'll stay our secret princess!"

Haruhi blinked twice, "Actually, that's what I came in here to talk to you guys about…"

"You know what? I think both of us would be a little peeved if we had to watch all the guys flirt with her."

"Then that settles it."

Haruhi wriggled in Tamaki's grip, "Guys…"

No one paid her any attention as they quickly drew up a "battle strategy". Letting out a deep sigh, Haruhi walked over to the windows and waited for them to slow down in their craziness. It took a few minutes, but eventually Tamaki rounded off their plans.

_ Well, it's now or never. _

"Guys, I think I'd be okay with everyone finding out my true gender."

_ That _ sure got their attention. As the boys gaped at her she continued, "Look, I really need to focus on my studies to stay in this school. I can find some other way to pay you back but it's not like we can really hide the fact I'm a girl tomorrow. There's nothing we can do that won't look suspicious or just confuse everyone, so what's the point?"

The twins quickly turned to Tamaki, "Do something! The subject doesn't have any motivation!"

The blond growled lightly, pointing at Haruhi accusingly, "Are you saying you hate being a host?! That you hate this club?!" Haruhi chuckled.  _ Well, that's an easy question. _

"To be completely honest, I kind of do," Tamaki sort of fell backwards, which made Haruhi laugh harder, "Well, okay, you guys aren't completely terrible, but I honestly have better things to do with my time! And it's not like we can do anything about it if they find out the truth, right?"

"She doesn't seem to care at all!"

"We have to find a way to motivate her…"

"Fancy tuna."

It was like lightning suddenly cracked across the room at Mori-senpai's words. There certainly was enough tension to do so. Haruhi sucked in a quick breath and tried to not actively drool at the thought of…  _ fancy tuna~ _

"Oh that's right… you didn't get the chance to eat any during the party…  _ did you…? _ "

"Did you hear that? She's never eaten fancy tuna before, how terrible!"

"Wow, talk about a difficult childhood."

She swallowed harshly, "H-hey now, I've had it before…"

"If only Haru-chan could stay in the Host Club, she'd have the chance to eat all kinds of yummy things whenever she wants!"

Haruhi shut her eyes and pretended to wave the accusations off, "What are you guys talking about? Don't be ridiculous! Just because I haven't had my favorite food in a few years doesn't mean I'd fool everyone about my gender just to have some… and… and…" she sighed and looked at the floor, " _ Will I really get to have some? _ "

The boy's happy laughter made her stomach sink.

* The next morning *

_ 'We will begin conducting physical examinations shortly. All students please proceed to the clinic in your respective school building.' _

As one, the students of class 1-A stood up and filed out of the classroom. Students from other first year classes soon joined them and a pleasant level of noise filled the hallway. Not one of them seemed to notice the small aura of nervousness emanating from a certain Haruhi Fujioka. Sure, the boys had claimed to have come up with a fool-proof plan, but even so, Haruhi still had a few questions.

"So, since I'm going in blind here, what do they do during physical exams here at Ouran?"

"It's no different than a physical exam you'd get at any other school."

"Yeah, why would a physical exam be any different for us just because we're rich?" Haruhi was a little surprised at being answered plainly and not being laughed at.

And actually, their explanation helped her to relax a little, "Heh, you're right. I didn't really think about it that way." She was still smiling as she reached up to open the infirmary doors, "I guess I'm just so used to this school throwing everything out of-" she was abruptly cut off by the sight of no less than fifty or so doctors and nurses waiting for them on the other side of the door.

"Welcome, students!"

" _...proportion. _ " That last word came out more of a squeak than Haruhi had planned for, "What… what is all this?"

The twins walked past her, clearly not bothered by the… excessive number of medical staff currently staring at them from the infirmary, "Just a physical exam."

"The usual."

_The usual?_ _How could something so… unnecessary be 'the usual' for them? There can't be more students here than in any other school! Why do these damn rich people have to be so extravagant with their money? Why not use it instead on something important!?_

The three walked no more than twenty steps into the room before two nurses showed up to lead the twins away. It took every ounce of Haruhi's patience to not turn around and walk right back out again.  _ I've been here for two minutes and I'm already tired of it. Maybe I should've just stayed home today, called in sick. That would've solved everything... _

"Mister Fujioka?" Haruhi jumped and turned to see another smiling nurse, "I'm your nurse for the physical exams this afternoon. Please come this way." The nurse then took Haruhi's hand and started pulling her along. Gently, of course. Nothing that she'd ever experienced being in the host club so far...

As they walked along, Haruhi took in as much of the room as she could.  _ Has the infirmary always been this big? What is it with rich buildings always having such large rooms? Exactly how much space do they need? _

"Why are Honey and Mori dressed as doctors?"

_ What? _

Sure enough, standing a few yards away her two senpai's stood rod-ram straight in actual lab coats and glasses, both of them sticking out like sore thumbs. The nurse that had been holding onto her hand let her go, and as soon as she was out of hearing range-

"Honey-senpai? Mori-senpai?"

"Shh…" The boys were quick to shush her, and she almost wanted to laugh at how poorly they blended in.

"I've got those two for backup just in case anything happens…"

Haruhi looked over her shoulder, no longer surprised by how the boys, especially Kyoya, seemed to appear out of thin air, "But why are they in doctor disguises?"

"To set the mood. Disguises make our operation feel like a real espionage mission."

"Er…" _ Should I tell them that we're not shooting a movie? Wait… they don't _ actually  _ shoot movies, right? Better not give them any ideas either way… _

Looking around to distract herself so she didn't blurt out something that would get her in more trouble, Haruhi's eyes and ears landed on another student in the middle of her physical exams. The doctor was telling the student how much weight she had lost during the past year, and while it was heartwarming to see the girl smile in relief-

"Don't you think it's weird that these doctors are all so nice?"

"They're chosen by the school's chairman. This may be a school, but it's also a business. Therefore he wants to keep the students happy. After all, most of the students that attend Ouran Academy come from prominent families that have their own private doctors at home. So this… is just a formality."

Haruhi couldn't think of a single thing to say, so she settled for walking after her nurse again.  _ These damn rich people… _

* * *

"Hitachiin brothers, would you please come with me? We're ready to do your chest measurements." Haruhi paused for a moment, because it almost looked like the girls watching the twins were… waiting for something.

"You can use the area behind this curtain to undress."

Much to Haruhi's complete and absolute shock, the boys began undressing where they stood. In front of everyone! It took a few moments for anyone to really react, but when they did…

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"See, Haruhi? A rather impressive turnout today! Physical exam day is quite popular with the ladies..."

_ What's wrong with the girls at this school? Doesn't anyone here know the meaning of shame? Or perhaps modesty? I knew I should've stayed home today… _

The twins began their usual twincest act, and that, apparently, was the cue. Honey and Mori quickly grabbed her upper arms and hurried her towards another curtained off area. Since everyone else was paying attention to the shirtless brothers, no one noticed the high school students in doctor's outfits shoving another student away.

The two pushed her backwards through the curtains, making her almost topple over. Except she was caught by a pair of strong arms.

"I've been waiting for you, my princess."  _ Tamaki. _ Quickly, Haruhi pushed herself out of his grip, but only ended up on the floor anyways.

"Tamaki-senpai…"

"Ha ha! You're so cute when you're surprised!" _ I'm not sure if 'surprised' is the word I'd go with. More like… annoyed. Or confused. _

From the other side of the curtain, Haruhi could faintly hear a nurse instructing 'Mr. Fujioka' to come out for 'his' chest measurements. And there seemed to be some girls out there, too. Instantly, all the blood drained into her feet.

Tamaki stood up, "This is it."

"But what are you going to do?" Haruhi was slowly becoming more and more annoyed with all this secrecy going around. Why wouldn't they just  _ tell _ her? And then he puts his finger on her lips! What the heck!?

"Don't you worry. I'll protect you." Haruhi's chest did a weird tightening thing at Tamaki's words. He walked past her, a strange set to his jaw, steeling himself up fro whatever he was about to do.. for her.  _ Maybe I shouldn't sell them short. They just… want to protect me.  _ Haruhi's eyes followed her senpai as he walked towards the curtain. What was that he just pulled out of his pocket?

Tamaki situated the thing onto his head before pushing open the curtain, "Yes. I'm Haruhi… Fujioka."

_ No. Way. _

The girl slumped forward and rested her face against the linoleum floor, contemplating smacking her head against it a few times.  _ How could someone be so _ stupid?  _ Honestly? _

From the other side of the curtain, everyone started laughing loudly. Some of the chuckles even sounded like the adults were finding the scene amusing. Tamaki was yelling something at someone, and Haruhi could only assume it was one of the twins or both of them.  _ Did they set him up for this? But how on Earth could anyone  _ fall _ for that? _

"I'm sorry. They… figured it out." Haruhi couldn't even speak. She just gave him her best  _ 'No _ shit  _ Sherlock' _ look over her shoulder, hoping that it, combined with a soft growl, would give him the hint. It did, if his high pitched scream said anything.

Once she was back alone with her thoughts, Haruhi sighed.  _ Just as I thought. Tamaki-senpai lives in his own carefree little world where he thinks everything is going to happen as easily as a snap of the fingers. _

Someone lightly tapped her shoulder.

"Haruhi? I went ahead and set up a separate room for you. There's a doctor standing by, sworn to secrecy."

"It turns out the doctors here today are all on staff at one of Kyoya-senpai's family's hospitals."

"Would've been nice if he had said something to us earlier." The twins gave identical shrugs, indicating in that they were a tad bit more upset than they were letting on, but Kyoya appeared almost… smug.

"I had to get my revenge too. I'm sorry, I just don't think I'm supporting cast. Homosexual or otherwise."  _ … What? _

Before Haruhi could verbally question whatever they were talking about, Kyoya gave her a quick run down of directions to the clinic. Since she wanted to get this whole fiasco over with as soon as possible, Haruhi just up and left the boys. The walk was short, thankfully, and no one stopped her to ask where she was going. They all assumed she had finished with her examinations.

_ Knock knock knock! _

"Come in!"

Haruhi pushed the door open and saw a female doctor sitting at a desk. The sight made her smile a bit, considering that all the other doctors she had seen today have been male.

"Hello, Mr. Fujioka. I have been made aware of your situation. If you wouldn't mind could you please disrobe for me over there." Haruhi leaned her head into the room a bit to look at the curtained off area the doctor was referring too.

"Sure. Thank you."

The doctor gave her a warm smile, "There's no need to thank me, Mr. Fujioka. I'm just glad to help." Haruhi decided that she liked this doctor as she shut the door behind her.

Now that she wasn't in a rush or in a highly uncomfortable situation, Haruhi felt her body fall into a bit of fatigue. _ If this is how the rest of the school year is going to be for me, I'm going to need a few extra hours of sleep every night. This club sure wears me out. _ Undressing was taking a little longer than it normally would've because of how heavy her limbs felt, but it wasn't like anyone was going to-

_ Shink… _

Haruhi's back straightened at the sound of the curtain moving and she turned around. Someone dressed in a lab coat was closing the curtain as quietly as they could… but it wasn't her doctor.

"Excuse me… but what are you-"

The man turned around quickly and clasped a hand over her mouth. Terror shot down Haruhi's spine as a million and one scenarios raced through her mental theater. None of them were good. From behind the large hand she tried to scream out her sister's name, even though it wouldn't have helped her any.

"No it's not what you think, please just keep quiet!"

"HARUHI!"

It was in that moment that Haruhi realized how nice Tamaki-senpai's voice sounded.

The man turned around just in time to receive Tamaki's 'Tama-chan kick' right in the jaw, knocking him into the wall. Haruhi gripped her shirt to her chest, trying to even out her slight hyperventilating as one by one, the other boys stepped out of the shadows.

"One: Good looks that attract the public eye."

"Two: More wealth than you can imagine."

"Three: Chivalry that will never be able to overlook-"

"-the hideous wickedness of this world."

Haruhi felt something drop onto her head as Tamaki walked past her to deliver his own line, "That's what makes up the Ouran Host Club!" A white sleeve fell into her view.  _ Well, that explains why he's suddenly shirtless. _

The boys congregated around Haruhi, "We are here! Watch out!"

Now, Haruhi knew she should probably still be feeling terrified, but she couldn't get a question out of her head.  _ Did they _ practice  _ that? _

The man screamed and bowed low, begging for his life.

"Mr. Fujioka? What's going on in there?"

"Uh…" Haruhi looked at the doctor on his knees in front of them, "How about we discuss this in the other room?" The boys exchanged looks before nodding and walking out of the dressing area. Her private doctor didn't look especially happy about the disruption of Haruhi's physical exam, but she agreed to let the man tell his story. He introduced himself as a Doctor Yabu.

"Wait, his name is 'Yabu'?"

"What a terrible name for a doctor!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean to make such a fuss, honest! I'm here because I was hoping to find my daughter and talk to her. My wife left me last month and took my daughter with her. But I know that she attends school here!"

Haruhi walked closer to the man and knelt down, "Hey, I don't mean to pry or anything, but why did your wife and daughter leave you? Maybe we could help you make it up to them." Yabu looked up at Haruhi with wide eyes before he started explaining his backstory. She could feel the boy's staring at her back with probably wide eyes, but she ignored them. This is exactly what Jin would've done, which was good enough of a reason for Haruhi to want to try to help this man.

"Once I entered I was mistaken for a doctor here to examine students!"

" _Well, of course they_ _did._ "

" _ You're wearing a lab coat… _ " Haruhi couldn't help but agree with the twins a little. This man clearly never thinks things through. Still, of all the rotten luck…

"And then it happened. I walked up to a girl to ask her if she knew where my daughter was… but when I tried to ask her the girl started screaming! And before I knew it there were all kinds of people chasing after me!"

Haruhi was roughly pushed past by a teary Tamaki, who looked like he wanted to hug the man but didn't know where to put his hands, "That's so tragic!"  _ Of course he'd be deeply moved by this. Still, at least he cares. _

"Doctor Yabu…are you looking for Ouran public high school?" The man nodded and Kyoya sighed, "I figured that might be the case. This is Ouran  _ Academy _ , a private institution. Your daughter doesn't go to school here." The whole room filled up with tension and embarrassment before Haruhi could blink.

"Man, that's pretty sad. You don't even know what school your daughter goes to?"

"I bet your relationship is messed up because you don't pay attention to her, not because of some stupid debt."

"Wow, Kyo-chan! How did you figure out he had the wrong school?"

"Well, there's no way that the daughter of such a small time doctor would ever be able to afford Ouran Academy without a scholarship. And since Haruhi is the only Honor Student here, it was obvious." Haruhi narrowed her eyes at her senpai and growled lightly from the back of her throat.  _ What a pretentious- _

"Kyoya, would you please find a map of all the public schools in this area? I'd like to help this man find his daughter."

There was a slight pause after Tamaki spoke.

"Whatever you say."

Haruhi watched as Doctor Yabu hastily stood up from the floor with a shocked look on his face as Kyoya called up a map and Tamaki began straightening out his lab coat. Not even five minutes later, he was back outside, nodding his wordless thanks before hurrying off to the front gates. The hosts watched from the window.

"Are you sure about this?"

"After all, even if he does find his daughter, she might not even wanna speak to him."

"Well then… that's something he'll have to find out for himself." Haruhi sucked in a breath.  _ Maybe… maybe Tamaki isn't that bad after all. He really does have a kind heart, and he might not be a complete idiot either. However… there's still something that has to be taken care of today. _

"Well now that that's over, could you guys please leave?" The gasps she received in response almost caused her to laugh out loud.  _ God, they're all so thick. _

"Haruhi…are you still angry? You're not thinking of quitting the host club, are you?"

"Not even close, Senpai. I just have to finish my physical exam... as a male student. But let me explain; I'm not doing this because you're bribing me with food." Haruhi shot the boys a sly glance, "I'm doing it because I still have a debt with you guys. Besides, hosting can be fun on occasion."

Tamaki gave her maybe two seconds before he jumped at her, squeezing her in another one of his famous tight hugs, "YOU'RE SO CUTE, HARUHI! I can see right through you! I know you're just after that fancy tuna! But it's so cute how-"

"Stop that, Senpai! Let go of me; I'm only half-dressed!"

"Looks like Tamaki-senpai-"

"-is the real pervert in this school!"

"NO I'M NOT!"

"Would you guys just get out of here?!"

"Excuse me, Mr. Fujioka?"

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Instantly, Haruhi covered her mouth with both hands, "I-I'm so sorry, Doctor… uh…"

"Hamasaki. And it's quite alright, you've had a trying day. Your father has directed a phone call to you though the school's number." She held out the phone to her, "He states it's of utmost importance to speak with you right now."

If question marks could appear above her head, Haruhi was positive that there would be at least five of them floating around. The boys watched her reach out for the phone and put it up to her ear. The twins moved closer to try and listen in, but she moved away.

"Dad? Why are you calling-" she yanked the phone away as a loud voice screamed from the earpiece. Haruhi held the phone at arm's length until the voice stopped speaking. She pulled the mouthpiece closer, "Dad, I can't understand you when you're shouting. Say that again…  _ slowly… _ "

The voice spoke again at a noticeably lower volume, so Haruhi pulled it closer. Suddenly, she gasped, "Wait…wait, wait, wait are you serious? No kidding?!  _ Really?! Oh my gosh! _ " She started bouncing up and down, making Tamaki's shirt sleeves flop around, " _ OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT YES YES YES! _ "

"Haruhi? What happened!?"

She turned back to them, her eyes shining and grinning from ear to ear, "My sister! Her flight was bumped up! Nēchan's coming home  _ tomorrow!" _

 


	6. Meeting Big Sister!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jin is entering the storyline! Whoot whoot! I hope you all like her because I sure do!

 

Haruhi tapped her fingertips against the tabletop, grinning so widely her cheeks were beginning to hurt.  _ I can't believe it! It's happening today! _

The brunette had woken up this morning with a smile and an unusual amount of pep in her step. She had somehow remained focused in her classes throughout the school day, but now that she was sitting in Music Room 3, counting down her last hour before going home, the restlessness had returned. Even her guests were being affected by her good mood, so much so that the main topic of conversation for the day was Jin.

This group was proving to be no different.

"So, your sister is coming home today?"

"Yeah, she is! I can't wait to go home and see her!"

"Is she going to start attending Ouran tomorrow, too?"

"Mhm. She told me that she's really excited, but I can tell she's nervous about it too."

"Awww…"

One of the girls leaned forward slightly, "Haruhi, do you and Jin look similar?"

Haruhi tilted her head to the right side, thinking it over, "Kind of. I mean, we have the same eyes, hair color, and nose, but she takes more after my father's side of the family while I look more like my mother's side. Nēchan is taller than I am, but I like to think we look alike. She's very beautiful."

"Really? What does she normally like to wear?"

"Um, Nēchan prefers to wear pants and t-shirts, but I think she looks good in anything."

"Do you and Jin do anything together?"

"Of course! Nēchan is the one who helped teach me how to cook; she's amazing at it!"

"What else is she good at?"

"Ha, if I told you everything we'd be here all day! She's just one of those people who just… excels at whatever you throw at her."

"What's her favorite subject?"

"Probably maths."

"She's good with maths? That's so cool!"

"I think it's neat how both you and your sister are so smart! She must've taught you a lot!"

"Ha ha, yeah, I was her regular tutoring session! Whenever she came home from school she'd tell me all about what she learned in class. Honestly, I've pretty much been a grade ahead ever since she started Preschool."

"Do you always call her Nēchan? Does she have a nickname for you?"

Haruhi laughed, "I've called her Nēchan since I would speak. It was actually my first word! Oh man, my dad couldn't decide whether that fact was cute or just hurtful, but Nēchan smiles every time someone brings it up. And yeah, she calls me Haru unless she's being serious.  _ Then _ she uses my full first name."

"You must really love her!"

Haruhi paused for a moment, and gave her guests a very sincere, warm smile, "Yes. I love her a lot. She's my role model, my constant… she means the world to me. I can't believe it's been almost a full year since I've seen her… it seems like so much longer."

"AHHHHH!"

As the two girls fangirled over Haruhi's cute attachment to 'his' sister, the rest of the hosts were listening carefully. And, truthfully, they were all kind of jealous. If Haruhi just wanted to spend time with her older sister when she came to Ouran, then what if she never hung out with the host club ever again? They'd worked so hard to keep Haruhi in their club during physical exams, and now this Jin was going to ruin everything!

As they entered the last hour before closing time, Haruhi's excitement escalated and Tamaki couldn't take it any longer. He rounded up the other hosts before calling out to her.

"Haruhi? May we speak with you for a moment?"

"Hm? Oh, sure thing, Senpai!" She stood up and apologized to her guests before walking over, a smile still on her face, "What's up, guys?"

Instantly, she's surrounded by everyone in a tight-knit circle, "Guys?"

"Promise us you won't ignore use when your sister comes back, my precious Haruhi!"

She blinked in confusion at the tear-streaked face of her senpai, "Huh?"

"You can't leave us, Haru-chan!"

"Leave… you?"

"What we're saying is you can't just forget about us when Jin comes to Ouran."

"Got it?"

"And don't think about skipping out of the Host Club, either. You still have a debt to pay off, don't forget."

Haruhi frowned, "How could I? You remind me about it almost every day."

"But you still have to prom-"

The doors opened and a new voice called out, "Wow, this school is  _ huge! _ I'm surprised no one's gotten lost in here before." The hosts froze for a moment before Haruhi shoved the twins to the side and ran out of the circle.

" _ Nēchan!" _  She tackle hugged the person who had opened the door and knocked them both backwards into the hallway.

The hosts stare in shock for a moment. They just went from being Haruhi's center of attention to being brushed aside in a matter of seconds! Tamaki and the twins raced for the door, chasing after the sisters, followed closely by Mori and Honey.

Knowing he had to say something, Kyoya turned around and announced, "Please excuse us, ladies, as we greet the Host Club's newest, special guest." He exited the room and closed the door before joining the surprised looks of the other hosts.

They watched a blue and brown blur in the middle of the hallway as the two girls spun around and around in a tight circle. Haruhi's delighted laughter bounced off the walls, mingling with a similar, yet higher pitched laugh.

Once the two finally stopped spinning, Jin's back facing the host club, they were finally able to note a few things about her. First, she was much taller than her little sister; somewhere around the twin's height, if not a little taller. Her straight hair was the same chocolate brown color as Haruhi's, stopping just an inch past her shoulders with the ends coming up in a slight flip.

The hosts watched in silent shock as Haruhi's older sister cupped her cheeks, "Let me look at you… Oh, you've grown so much!" She pressed a quick kiss to Haruhi's forehead before pulling back again, "And your hair! It's super short!"

"Yeah!" Haruhi's smile was wider than the boy's had ever seen it, "Do you like it?"

"I love it! Oh, it's so cute, Haru!"

"Thank you! I love your hair too, Nēchan! It's much longer than the last time I saw it!"

Jin laughed, a full laugh, filled with joy, "Why, thank you, Haru! I'm glad you like it."

Haruhi wrapped her arms around her sister again and squeezed her tightly, nuzzling her shoulder a bit, "I missed you so much, Nēchan."

"I missed you too, Haruhi."

For a moment, the two sisters stood still for a moment, breathing in each other's scents, which was like a cup of hot tea for each other. They had missed their other halves so much…

"A _ hem _ ."

Haruhi's eyes opened immediately, the peaceful moment now gone. She peeked over her sister's shoulder (by standing on her toes) and mentally groaned. The host club had followed her out and had probably been staring at her and Jin the whole time.  _ Figures. I can't even reunite with my sister in peace. _

She sighed and pulled out of Jin's embrace, "Sorry guys, I kind of forgot you were here. Meet my older sister, Jin Fujioka." The taller female finally turned to face the hosts and they got their first look at the eldest Fujioka.

Jin was exactly as Haruhi had described. The two of them had the same exact eyes and nose, but other than that and their hair color, the two looked quite a bit different. Unlike Haruhi, Jin was curvy and had more defined muscles, her face not as rounded with more pronounced cheekbones.

Yet, despite how the two girl's body's contrasted, there was something about Jin that just screamed  _ Fujioka _ . Maybe it was because, instead of a skirt or a dress, Jin was decked out in black skinny jeans, a loose t-shirt with a blue sweatshirt over it, and a pair of red & green plaid converse. Or perhaps it was while Haruhi was busy glaring at the club members, Jin's expression was more open. Friendly and warm and looking generally interested in the boys she was meeting for the first time. She had the same smile that Haruhi used when she spoke to her clients. It was a sincere smile, which made sense if Jin preferred showing her true emotions like her younger sister.

And, like Haruhi had described, she was most definitely beautiful.

"Well, you're definitely Haruhi's sister."

Jin's smile widened a bit and she laughed, her eyes shutting for a moment, "Why, thank you. And hello!"

Tamaki stepped forward, "Jin Fujioka! We, the Ouran High School Host Club, wish to bid you welcome to our school!" He whipped out a white rose from his pocket and offered the flower to the girl. For a moment, she stared at the boy and the rose, before she smirked and looked at Haruhi out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh… a  _ host _ club. I don't recall Haru ever mentioning what  _ kind _ of club she had been forced into."

The sister in question shrugged, "You never asked."

"Mhm," Jin turned her attention back to the blond, gently accepting the rose before gently gripping his hand and giving it a firm shake, "Well, it's nice to officially meet you all. Haru has told me quite a bit about you. But, uh, who's who?"

Haruhi stepped up and attached herself to Jin's right elbow before she gestured to each boy in turn, "Those two are Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya Ootori, 2nd year students and the club's president and vice president, respectively. The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, 1st year students like me. And our 3rd year students are Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, but we all call them Honey and Mori."

Jin's eyes rested on the last two boys for a moment or two, her smile wider, "Well, you all obviously already know my name. I'm going to be a 2nd year student starting tomorrow in class 2-A."

"Really? That's our class as well!"

She turned to look at Tamaki, who had thrown an arm around a disgruntled-looking Kyoya, "Guess I'll see you two in class, then."

Honey finally spoke up from his position atop Mori's shoulders, "It's really nice to meet Haru-chan's sister! You're... not what we expected!" He and Mori were still staring at Jin, Honey with an extremely excited look on his face, and Mori with a surprisingly warm look.

Jin giggled and looked at the cousins before Kyoya cleared his throat, "In case you've all forgotten, we should probably head back into the club room. Our guests will be wondering where we've gone."

Haruhi frowned and held onto her sister's arm a little tighter, but Jin gently detached herself, "Hey, I'll see you in less than an hour! Besides, I should probably go home and unpack before Dad gets home." The boys watched as Haruhi's aura of happiness slowly dissipated until it was almost nonexistent. She nodded mutely before accepted another kiss on the forehead and walking back to the doors.

She's greeted by all the guests gathered by the door, trying to peer around the host club and into the hallway.

"Is Jin out there?"

"Is that her?"

"Haruhi's sister?"

Completely caught off guard, the hosts turn back around. Jin looks just as surprised as they do, but when the boys part to allow the guests to view her she smiles at them and waves a bit.

"Uh, hello! I take it you've heard about me?"

The girls let out a unanimous squeal and pulled the two brunettes inside the club room. The boys quickly followed and watched in surprise as the Fujioka's were sat down on a couch and bombarded with questions.

"It's so great to finally meet you! Haruhi's told us a lot about you!"

"You're so pretty! You and Haruhi look so much alike, Jin!"

"Oh! What's your type?"

"What class are you going to be in?"

"Haruhi, were you planning on doing something special with Jin now that she's back?"

"Jin, are you joining the host club? I think that would be great!"

The taller brunette blinked once before counting off her fingers, "Thank you for the compliment, I'm so happy that you think I look like Haru. I'm not sure what you mean by 'type'. I'm going to be in class 2-A. In all honesty I'd just like to relax and be with my family once we get home, and I hope that's all we do. And-"

"She's not joining the host club."

Jin looked over at Haruhi with a smirk, "I'm not?"

"No."

The older sister laughed out loud, throwing her head backwards before shooting Haruhi the warmest grin they'd ever seen on anybody, "Alright, if you say so. I can't see myself as a host, anyways. You've nothing to worry about, Haru." The two siblings smiled at each other for a moment before the guests started talking again.

"Haruhi talks about you all the time, Jin-senpai! I feel like I already know you!"

"Yeah, we were just talking about you before you came in, too!"

"Oh! You don't know what we mean by 'type'! We mean which host are you going to meet with!"

The last comment was the one that caught Jin's attention, and she cocked an eyebrow at the guests, "Meet with?"

"She's not going to be a client!"

Jin laughed again, "Well, I dunno, Haru. Maybe I'd  _ like _ to come watch you everyday." She turned to the girls, "What exactly are my choices?"

"There's the Princely Type."

"The Mischievous Type."

"The Strong and Silent Type."

"The Boy Lolita."

"The Cool Type."

"And the Natural Type!"

Jin smirked, "Hm… well, I'd normally go with the Natural Type, but I assume that's my brother, so I should probably go with-"

"Nēchan!"

More laughter, "Okay! Okay, Haru, I won't be a guest." Jin reached into her right jacket pocket and pulled out a small wrapped candy. She pulled the purple hard candy out and popped it into her mouth.

"Any more questions?"

"Oh! Oh! Jin, has Haruhi changed much since you've been away?"

"Well, he's certainly grown. I remember when he gave me one last hug at the airport… the top of his head barely reached my shoulders!" The girls suddenly had a picture of a smaller Haruhi giving his older sister a teary hug, looking a bit like a lost toddler, and they squealed. How cute!

"I have a question." The group parted to let the 3rd year forward from the back of the congregation. She had long black hair pulled into a high ponytail and a fairly sharp face, which made her look as though she were almost glaring at the brunette girl in front of her.

"Jin, if you love Haruhi as much as you claim, then why did you go to America for a whole year and leave him behind?"

Jin's smile faded, "Well, Haru and I are both our own separate people, who want different things. It just so happened that there was a school in America that was taking students interested in Accounting from the school I was attending, and I wanted to go. Haru understood. We messaged each other as often as we could, even though working around the different time zones was a bit of a hassle. And I meant to come home during winter break, but the town I was staying at got hit by a huge blizzard and all the planes were grounded. It wasn't for lack of trying."

"That's so tragic!"

Haruhi smiled and leaned over to hug her sister, "It's alright, Nēchan. I'm just glad that I get to hug you in person now."

_ Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! Ding! _

A hush fell over the room at the sound of the Ouran clock tower chiming. Kyoya stepped forward until he stood between the Fujioka's and the guests, "And that, ladies, marks the end of another day of hosting."

"Aww…"

"Will we get to talk to you tomorrow?" It took them all a moment to realize that the question had been directed to Jin, who looked a little lost.

"Um… maybe. I mean, if that'd be okay with everyone."

The girls looked over at the hosts with wide eyes and hands clasped tightly in front of their chests. Which gave the boys only one possible response.

"Yes."

After that, the guests left happily, calling out their goodbyes until the doors echoed shut. As it did, the sisters fell backwards into the couch. Haruhi leaned to the left until she fell against Jin, the two sighing in unison.

"Jet-lagged, Nēchan?"

"Yup. Emotionally exhausted?"

"Of course. I just can't believe you're home."

"Ha, well, I'm not home just yet."

Tamaki inched himself closer, "Um, Jin? Would you mind answering some of our questions before you leave? We've also heard a lot about you…"

The girl smiled and sat back up, ignoring her sister's groan, "Sure. What would you like to know?"

"Well…" Tamaki looked like he was exploding with so many questions he had no idea what to ask first, "Why did you call Haruhi your brother just now?"

Jin smirked, "Haru's told me all about how everyone at this school thinks she's a boy and how you all want to keep it that way."

Honey picked up the string next, "What's that candy you're eating?"

"Oh," Jin pulled out another candy from her pocket, only this one was blue, "This is a Jolly Rancher. It's a candy I got addicted to in America. It's just a fruit flavored hard-candy. Sort of a sucker without the stick, and it's a great mix between sweet and sour."

"I have a question." Kyoya pushed his glasses further up his nose, "If you don't mind me asking, exactly how were you accepted into Ouran Academy? I was only aware of  _ one _ full tuition being offered."

"Because there  _ was _ only one. I'm here on a half tuition, and we're paying for the other half. I only need to be in the top five of my class to keep the scholarship, whereas Haruhi needs to be number 1."

"Yeah, yeah, but how can you afford it?"

"You and Haruhi can't even afford uniforms on your own."

"First off, we didn't have to pay for my first year of High school at  _ all _ because school in America is free. Secondly, with her scholarship Haruhi's education is also free. Basically, between the two of us, we only have to pay the amount of one year stretched out between two. And besides, I've pitched in a bit of my own money. I worked two jobs the whole time I was in America, one at a restaurant and one as a bank teller. They both paid me a good deal over minimum wage and I actually have enough money saved up to pay for this year all by myself. Dad is saving up for my final year as we speak."

"Really? That's so cool!"

Jin clasped her hands together and pushed them between her knees with a grin, "Yeah. Not only that, but I was also able to purchase a few things for my family." She suddenly poked at her sister's side, "We have a laptop now~"

Haruhi grinned, but playfully batted at Jin's hands all the same, "I hope you didn't waste any money."

"Have you ever known me to be loose with it before?"

Haruhi giggled and pushed at her sister who was now leaning heavily into her side, "No… I suppose not. Anyways, we should go home, Nēchan. Dad's going to want to see you!"

Jin smiled and pushed herself up onto her feet, "Let's go, then!" She offered Haruhi a hand and quickly pulled her sister up so she could collect her school bag. The other boys dispersed to grab their own bags, each other wrapped up in their own thoughts, except for Honey and Mori. They stayed still as Jin waited for the others to be distracted before rushing over and wrapping the two boys up in a big hug, which they reciprocated gladly.

"I haven't seen you guys in forever! I honestly didn't recognize you at first!" The three pulled apart with big smiles on their faces.

"It's okay, Jin-chan, we didn't realize you were Haru-chan's sister!"

"Well, that was kind of the point."

"Nēchan? Are you ready to go?" Jin looked over to see Haruhi standing by the door.

"Oh, I have to go, bye you two! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye-bye!"

Jin lifted her right leg in a sort of half skip before running over to her little sister. Haruhi looked at her oddly when she bounded to a stop just beside her. However, she didn't say a thing until they were both out the door and walking down the hallway.

"Nēchan, what did you say to Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai?"

"Oh, nothing too important. I'll tell you on the train ride home. Come on, we'd better get home or Dad's going to have a fit." Haruhi pushed her lower lip outward in disapproval over having to wait, but she didn't push the subject. She could wait for the train ride.

* * *

"Alright class, could I have everyone's attention?" The class of 2-A swiftly cut off any conversation they might've been having and turned to face the front of the room, where their first teacher stood with Jin Fujioka at her side.

"We have a new student who will be joining us for the rest of your time here at Ouran." Sokai-sensei gestured for Jin to step forward, which she did. The brunette was pretty much wearing the same outfit she had had on the day before: the same sweatshirt, a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a pink t-shirt with a small pocket above her left breast, and cameo converse shoes. Immediately everyone's eyes were boring into her, but she seemed very relaxed and bowed respectfully to her new classmates.

"Kon'nichiwa. My name is Jin Fujioka and I look forward to studying with you all here. Please take care of me." The brunette lifted her head back up and flashed a sparkling grin at everyone. Tamaki, who was sitting a little ways in the back, looked around at the other students for their reactions. The boys were staring intently at the new student, most of them with blushes or smiles of their own. And the girls were acting very similarly, except there were fewer blushes. Instantly, an idea popped into the blond's head.

"Alright, Ms. Fujioka. Please take the empty seat on Mr. Suohs left side. Mr. Suoh? Please raise your hand." Tamaki did so, even though they both knew it was pointless. Nevertheless, Jin smiled broadly at both the blond and the ravenet as she sat down near them.

"I guess we're desk neighbors."

"Yeah!"

"Could everyone pass up last night's homework then turn to page 47 in their textbooks?"

The host and the new girl looked away and began moving their items across their respective desks, but the blond's mind was still running wildly.  _ If she's just as good at conversation as her sister… _

The rest of the school day passed in a surprisingly normal function. While the news of the new girl in school had spread like wildfire, most of the girls had already met her at the club yesterday. On the other hand, most of the boys had not. They were clearly anxious to catch a glimpse of her during the lunch period, causing more than one overly crowded hallway that forced said girl and her two host classmates to practically swim to the cafeteria. Or, at least the boys did. Jin got separated from them in the crowd and they didn't see her again until the following class period.

Inside the classroom, Jin proved herself to be worthy of her scholarship thrice over. Kyoya had once wondered how she had been accepted into their school so late into the semester with a half scholarship, but no longer. First off, during their math segment, it almost looked as though she already knew the new equations and she always finished the practice problems before anyone else.

Secondly, her English was  _ perfect _ . She almost sounded native! And the thing was, she could pick up two different accents along with it. One, she could sound British, but not in the drastically-over-doing-it kind of way. The second apparently came from the state she had spent her time in America, which was Michigan. According to her, it was a Chicago accent. And it was nearly flawless.

And thirdly, when they split off to their respective extracurricular classes, Tamaki asked her if she was taking a language class. Jin just laughed, and explained that Ouran didn't teach any language that she didn't already know, and she was currently teaching herself her seventh language in her spare time. She then walked away, leaving a shell-shocked Tamaki and an equally surprised Kyoya.

By the end of the day, Jin was officially the most interesting person on campus. To no one's surprise… but hers.

"I just don't get it. Why do people keep following me? It is because I'm the new kid?"

Tamaki looked at the brunette and blinked, "They want to talk to you. Everyone in class thinks you're wonderful and incredibly intelligent, so why wouldn't they follow you?"

Jin cocked her left eyebrow as well as the left corner of her mouth, "Everyone? Wow, don't I feel special."

The three entered the club room and Jin immediately bee-lined it for her sister, "Hey, Haru."

"Nēchan! How was your first day?"

She shrugged, "Oh, the usual. Class was pretty easy, especially since I'm so ahead in Maths and what not. Advanced Art was a lot of fun, though. What about you?"

"Well, I scored a perfect 100 on all of last week's homework assignments."

"Oh wow, Haru! That's incredible!"

"Haruhi, we need you over here for the welcoming."

"Coming, Senpai," the shorter brunette called over her shoulder. She took three steps before stopping and looking back at her sister, "Tamaki-senpai? Where should Nēchan stand?"

The boys looked around, "Well…"

"It's alright, Haru. I'll just sit over here. It's only for today, anyways."

"Okay, Nēchan."

Tamaki squirmed in his seat.  _ Haruhi sounded so cute when she said that! But... it's all because of Jin. _ He bit his lip. If he did anything to Haruhi that Jin didn't approve of, then who's to say that Jin wouldn't find some way to pull her sister out of the club? Didn't she say something about working two jobs while in America? Exactly how much money was she talking about?

The doors creaked open and Tamaki was pulled away from his unnerving thoughts, opting instead for a warm smile.

"Welcome ladies!"

The greeting was met by the same exact enthusiasm as any other day, but this time when the guests flooded into Music Room #3, nearly half of them requested Haruhi, a new record for any of the hosts. And the moment that they reached Haruhi's couch?

"So, Jin, do you like your classes so far?"

"Is it hard for you to readjust to the curriculum? You missed about a month of school!"

Haruhi didn't appear bothered by the fact that all of "his" guests were more interested in speaking to Jin. She simply sat beside her and smiled as Jin blushed lightly from all of the attention she was getting.

"Well, I've always been a little above and beyond regarding a few subjects, such as Math and English, but it's still a little disorienting. Still, I think I'm doing just fine here. I like your school."

A redhead spoke up next, "Do you style your hair?"

"Yeah, I love the little flip at the end!"

Jin giggled and tugged at a lock of her hair, twirling the very slight flip around her finger, "I don't really do anything special with my hair, it just does this, but only at this length. Probably because the ends of it press up against my shoulders. Not that I'm complaining, of course!"

"Jin?" Everyone turned their heads when Kyoya spoke up, "The hosts wish to offer a proposition for you."

Jin blinked, "Oh, sure. What is it?"

"Would you mind becoming our waitress for the day? We'd only require you to provide tea and cakes to each host table, and this way you could speak to every guest one at a time."

"That sounds perfect!" Jin quickly stood up, her shoulders deflating in relief, "Where would you have me start?"

Ignoring the equal amounts of disappointed sighs and excited chatter behind them, Kyoya steers Jin to the storage room and gave her a quick rundown of all of their supplies. Five minutes later, the host club was in full swing, properly. Each of the hosts had their usual guests again, and Jin was able to answer a question or two for each guest she encountered.

Everything ran smoothly for perhaps an hour.

Then, Kaoru gently bumped his hip against a table. He let out an exaggerated shout of pain and his twin quickly swooped in, gently caressing the spot of pain through his twin's uniform.

"Kaoru! Does it hurt when I do this?"

"No… Hikaru, don't… i-it's inappropriate for you to touch me like this in public…"

Hikaru smirked and pulled his brother's face incredibly close, their noses nearly brushing, "Let the others stare… I don't care what they think."

"H-Hikaru… you're so brave."

Their two guests started squealing almost immediately, which was fortunate, because that was when Jin started giggling. She quickly set down her empty tray on an unused table and clapped a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. Because of the loud praises for the "brotherly love" package, no one noticed the new girl's odd behavior except her sister.

Haruhi excused herself from her clients and laid a hand on Jin's shoulder, "What's so funny?"

It took her a moment to respond, but when she did it was a little difficult for Haruhi to translate through her laughter, "I… I do-hon't kno-o-ow! But somethin' about their act is makin' me laugh!"

By that point, some of the other girls had noticed that the Fujioka siblings were standing together again, and they all stared at Jin. The girl had a light pink dusting her cheekbones, which were even more pronounced with her wide grin and the way her eyes were squeezed shut. Her upper body bounced with each laugh and her face radiated complete and utter enjoyment and happiness.

Discovering that all of the attention of their clients was once again on Jin, Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a glance. As usual, they were sharing the exact same thought. They knew what their guests wanted… so they might as well give it to them.

Hikaru struck first, sliding up onto Jin's left side, "You know Jin, we've been meaning to ask. What do you look for in a guy?"

"Yeah," Kaoru added from her other side, brushing Haruhi out of the way, "Do you look for someone intelligent? Or perhaps they have to be involved in a sport?"

"Or…" the two leaned in, their breath tickling Jin's ears, "Would you rather be in a relationship that's more than a little rebellious? Say… a taboo thre-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Tamaki tackled the twins to the ground behind two shocked Fujioka's. They watched as the three boys tussled on the floor for a few moments. Tamaki continued to shout about inappropriate behavior in a club setting while the twins started taking sharp jabs at the blond.

It continued on for a few seconds before the redheads escaped and took off, calling out, "You're only upset because you didn't think of it first!"

"DEVILS! TWINS! DEVIL TWINS!" Tamaki gave chase, pulling a metal bat out of nowhere and wielding it over his head. The twins, laughing loudly, raced around the edges of the club room, jumping couches and tables. The guests only laughed and watched the show, shouting out encouragement to their new found entertainment. Honey was laughing as well as he jumped onto Mori's shoulders, instructing him to give chase of the redheads as well.

Suddenly, Jin let out a huge gasp. She stared at the running boys for a few seconds, mouth in a wide, open smile and her eyes sparkling.

"Nēchan?"

"They're  _ dorks _ !"

"What?"

"Haru…  _ they're dorks! _ " The girls looked over at the boys again, then looked back at each other, sharing identical smiles.

"You're  _ right! _ "

Just then, Kyoya stepped out from his own corner, "Tamaki, I believe that's enough. As for the rest of you, don't you all have guests to entertain?" The chase slowed down until the boys were walking back to their respective couches, panting a little heavily. Haruhi and Jin were still grinning at each other, so Kyoya approached them next.

"Haruhi, your guests are waiting. As for you, Ms. Fujioka…" he inspected her for a moment. Her face was still a little flushed from all of her laughing earlier, and her eyes were sparkling clearly up at his. "Perhaps… for the rest of the day, you can remain at this table and serve your own guests. Would that be alright? It's just for the day, mind you."

Jin's smile dimmed into a playful smirk, "Oh, absolutely not, Mr. Ootori. That's the most terrible idea I've heard all day. Oh no, talking to guests, how will I ever survive?"

When she was done with the sarcasm, Jin agreed willingly and with a large smile. And, if Kyoya were to be completely honest, he was smiling a bit too. Jin Fujioka was turning out to be a very interesting person.

* * *

Jin wiggled her fingers at her retreating guests, "Goodbye! I hope to see you again, ladies! It was great talking to you!" The brunette sighed and sat back in her chair, grabbing her tea cup again.  _ Who knew hosting would be this easy, yet this tiring? _ Ever since Kyoya had offered Jin as a one-day-only host to the other guests, she had had a steady stream of girls coming over to her table for tea and a million and one questions about her.

In a word, she was exhausted.

Still, if it meant spending more time with Haruhi, then it would be worth it.  _ Only one more guest today, and then I get to go home and sleep for ten hours. I wonder who my last client is going to be? _

"You're nothing special."

Jin's hand stilled, her fingers pinching at the handle of her tea cup so hard that her fingertips grew white, "Excuse me?"

The girl who had spoken stepped around the table and sat directly across from her. Jin recognized her instantly. It was the girl from yesterday. The one who had asked why she had stayed in America for a full year without coming home to visit. And she was still glaring at Jin.

"Exactly what I just said. You're nothing special. I just wanted to clarify that before we began."

For a moment, Jin said nothing. Only when she was completely sure that, yes, this was her final guest of the day, she gently replaced her teacup onto its saucer and sat back in her cushy chair.

"And what, pray tell, makes you say something so rude? I've never once said that I was special in any way, shape, or form, so what brought this on?"

"You walk around this room looking so  _ pleased _ with yourself. Almost like you've  _ won _ everyone's attention or something. I merely wished to inform you that the only reason everyone is interested in you is because you're Haruhi's sister. In a week, no one will even remember your name, so stop acting so high and mighty and like the hosts are going to pay attention to you at all after this week."

Jin, again, said nothing at first. Nothing but a mildly amused look flickered in her eyes as the other girl glared right on back. After nearly a full 15 seconds, the brunette shifted in her seat and picked up her teacup once again, a small smile curving at her lips.

"Well, thank you for being honest with me. I had a feeling that all the attention upon my arrival at this school couldn't be completely by my doing, so I'm glad someone has clarified the true reason to me. Although…" she took a small sip before narrowing her eyes slightly at the other girl, "I also have a small nagging suspicion that you only said those things in an attempt to hurt my feelings or elicit some sort of rise from me. I hate to say it, dear, but you've failed miserably."

She set the teacup down with a sharp click, followed by an even sharper voice, "In case it's unclear to you, I have no intention of being the center of attention at this school. I simply do not care what others think of me, something which, I think, other people should try to strive for. The one thing I do care about at this school, other than maintaining my grades, is spending as much time with my brother as possible. If this displeases you, then I'm so sorry but nothing is going to change that."

The girl spluttered for a few moments before she stumbled up out of her chair, "How  _ dare _ you speak to me like that! My wardrobe probably costs more than your home! You have no  _ right _ ! You're just being a menace by  _ being here _ ! Why don't you just  _ get lost!" _

"Excuse me, Miss Asato?"

The girl, Miss Asato apparently, whipped herself around to find herself under the scrutiny of the entire host club. And they didn't appear especially pleased.

"I-I… I was just… I-"

"You were being a meanie, is what."

"Jin-senpai hasn't done anything to you-"

"-that could warrant such unladylike behavior."

"We had planned on limiting Ms. Fujioka's visits to the host club to once a week, but now I believe she has earned the right to come as often as she pleases. To repay her for the unkind words she has experienced while in our presence." Kyoya swiveled his eyes to meet Jin's, "Does that sound fair, Miss?"

The brunette hid a small smile behind her teacup, "Undeniably. And please, call me Jin."

Kyoya smirked, impressed by her cool head, "Jin it is, then."

"B-but…  _ that's not fair! _ "

"Oh, you are right, Princess Asato," Tamaki stepped forward this time, gently cupping the girl's chin, "It truly is unfair to allow someone so disrespectful unlimited access to our host club, where they could have negative effects on our other guests and their time here."

Asato's eyes filled with hope.

"So, it is only fitting to ban you from the host club. Forever. I am sorry, Princess, but I must ask you to leave now."

Asato blinked once. Twice. Three times fast. Then she let out a wail and pushed Tamaki aside, racing for the doors.

Soft conversation floated from all around the room, and Tamaki quickly turned around to face the remaining guests, "Ladies, I'm afraid today's final hosting hour will have to be cut short. But don't you fret, my darlings, as tomorrow we will be back on schedule!" The girls nodded their understanding before quietly walking out the doors. They were probably more surprised than the hosts at the sudden hostile act against Jin.

After the girls were all gone, Tamaki spun around and held his chin, observing the brunette who was sadly staring into her teacup, the drink having gone cold by now, "Hm... now, since this was all your fault how do you propose we punish you?"

Jin's eyes snapped up to stare directly into Tamaki's, a hint of anger shining through, " _ My _ fault? Please, explain to me how being disliked is  _ my _ fault."

Tamaki ignored the question, "Well, you're not a client, so we can't cut down your hosting time. And you're not a host, so we can't give you a debt… Well, I guess we'll just add onto Haruhi's debt."

" _ WHAAAT?" _

"Debt? Haru, what is he talking about?"

Her little sister froze in place, disbelief suddenly replaced with panic. Her entire body tensed up and she licked her lips, "I, uh, I was going to tell you eventually, but I might've accidentally knocked over a vase when I first came here… and now I owe them some money… which I pay off by being a host."

Jin's eyes narrowed a bit, "Uh huh... And, exactly how  _ much _ money are we talking about owing here?"

"... _ mbby... eght mllen yn… _ " Haruhi ducked her head as Jin slowly stood up from her chair, placing her teacup down.

"Maybe... _ what?" _

"I said  _ maybe eight miln yn… _ "

Jin stepped closer to her sister, her face showing a hint of fear now, "Haru… Eight  _ what…?" _

"Eight… mill-i-on?"

The sisters froze, just staring at each other.

"Haruhi…"

"Yeah, Nēchan?"

"You broke a vase.. that cost  _ eight MILLION yen?" _

"... A bit, yeah."

"…Oh."

"Yeah… just a little bit."

"And now you're a host… to pay it off?"

"That's how it works."

"Uh huh." Jin sucked in a deep breath, letting her eyelids fall shut before speaking again, slowly, "So, to clarify, you are up to your neck in debt, and you didn't tell me or Dad, huh?"

The shorter of the girls looked down at her toes, "I didn't want you to worry. And… I almost forced our family into bankruptcy. I just wanted to fix it."

Jin took in and let out another breath, "Haruhi… honestly, when are you going to figure out that it's okay to ask for help every once in awhile?"

"Nēchan, I-"

"No, Haruhi. We'll talk more once we get home, alright? For now," she looked over at the boys, who had been watching the scene with as much fascination as observing a car wreck, "I'm joining the host club to help pay off Haruhi's debt. I don't care if I'm hosting alongside her or by myself or if I'm not hosting at all, but everything I do goes to paying off Haru's debt."

Tamaki and Kyoya looked at each other. Tamaki nodded once and Kyoya pulled out his black journal, scribbling down on an empty page, "You will become something akin to a waitress, providing new tea sets and refilling empty tea pots for each host between their clients, exactly as you were doing today. Should a guest request you, you will take a break from your duties until you have done so. You will take part in whatever cosplay we select and now require a school uniform, which we will provide for you, but will be added onto your debt."

Jin pressed her lips together, "I have one demand, and one question."

There was a very pregnant pause before Kyoya responded, "People in debt do not lay down demands."

"Well, this one just did. I refuse to wear the girl's uniform. Instead, I request one similar to the male uniform of Ouran. I will only require the blazer, the white shirt, and the tie, and will use my own black skirt and heels. This choice should cut down on the amount being added onto our newly shared debt."

She and Kyoya were suddenly locked in an intense staring contest. The others slid a few inches away. Never, in the history of the host club, had anyone ever dared to suggest something be handled in a way differently than Kyoya's decision (besides Tamaki, of course) and get away with it.

It took perhaps a full minute before Kyoya looked back at his journal, "Agreed. Any other  _ demands _ , Ms. Fujioka?" All the air came rushing out of the other's lungs, but they all noticed how he referred to her as Ms. Fujioka, and not Jin, like she had asked for a few minutes prior.

"No, just a question." Jin smirked, "Do I get my own rose color?"

Haruhi stepped up to her sister's side, gently gripping the sleeve of her sweatshirt, still looking well chewed out "I think she should be green. Technically, it's on the opposite side of the color wheel as my rose color, but they still compliment each other very well."

Jin gave Haruhi a soft look as Kyoya scribbled a single word on the opened page, "Green it is. Well, Ms. Jin Fujioka… welcome to the Host Club."

 


	7. Attack of the Lady Manager!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into the changed episodes now! Hope you like!

 

Haruhi looked around the music room as she waited for her next customers, looking for her sister. She wasn't over by Tamaki, who was being his usual overdramatic self, or any of the other hosts that she could tell.  _ She must be in the back. Kyoya sure works her hard. _

The thought made her pout. Ever since Kyoya and Jin had had their little spat a week ago, there had been a slight amount of tension in the air at the host club. Of course, the guests were either ignoring it or they were completely unaware, but the hosts could tell that those two were clashing just a tad, especially Tamaki who had them both in class. Apparently, during school hours the two ignored each other except to spout out a quip or two against the other. Haruhi could easily understand it, as Kyoya-senpai and her onēchan were  _ very _ different people. But then again, they were also a bit alike. Enough alike, perhaps, that they could become friends later on.

_ If only Kyoya would stop adding money to our debt for every little thing. He's going to get punched in the jaw if he keeps that up! _

"Haruhi!"

Two girls scurried over to their host, "Sorry for running a little late!"

"You look so cute in your kimono!"

"Really? Thanks."

"Haruhi?" Kyoya called over from his spot just beside her, "I've just finished recalculating how long it should take for you and your sister to pay off your debt. By the looks of things, if your popularity continues to climb at its current rate your debt should be completely paid off before Jin graduates in two years. That is... if nothing else is added to your debt from now on."

A sudden cold wave washed over Haruhi's entire body.  _ How on Earth do so many girls at this school like him? He's heartless! _ As soon as she thought that, however, two of Kyoya's own guests appeared between them.

With the shadow king now occupied, Haruhi turned her attention back to her customers, "Well, ladies, thanks for coming over to talk to me. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please!"

Haruhi poured out two tea cups and saw out of the corner of her eye a few empty plates she had had to set to the side earlier. And empty plates meant-

"Hello, Jin!"

Haruhi quickly spun around and saw her older sister walking up with an empty tray balanced expertly against the right hip of her green, white, and blue kimono. A green rose was tucked behind her left ear, a signature accessory that Tamaki had first insisted on and had the precise endearment effect he'd been hoping for.

The elder Fujioka sibling smiled and waved at the guests before ruffling her sister's hair affectionately, "Hey girls, are you enjoying yourselves today?"

"Mhm!"

Jin looked down at Haruhi, "And you?"

"Never better, Nēchan."

"That's great! How have your days been?" Jin expertly bent down and scooped up empty plates, never fumbling with the tray or wrinkling the kimono for even a moment. She lifted the teapot to see if it needed a refill as the girls took turns discussing the significant highlights of their day. Haruhi took the time to admire her older sister while her customers were distracted. Only a week after she had come to Ouran and she was already used to how the Host Club worked and operated, and the guests just  _ loved _ her.

"What about your day, Jin? How are your classes going now that you're back in school?"

Soft brown eyes shifted from the mat to the guest, twinkling slightly in the light as she smiled, "I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking, Princess Kiyomi." The girl squeaked and covered her face with her hands, trying (and failing) to hide her sudden blush.

"I hear you're almost at the top of your class! Tamaki said that your grades even surpassed his!" Jin's gaze flicked to the other guest, except now they held the sheen of mischievousness in them.

"You've heard right, Princess Hiromi, all except for one thing. If you can keep a secret…" she looked to her left and right before leaning in close, " _ I'm actually tied with Mr. Ootori for the top of the class. _ " Jin backed away with a wink and walked away as the girls giggled together. Even Haruhi was smiling softly.

_ Maybe the reason Nēchan and Kyoya are clashing so much is because he sees her as an academic threat? Could that be it? _

"H-H-Haru-ch-chan!" Haruhi quickly lost her train of thought when Honey-senpai shuffling closer with his bare feet, voice thick with unshed tears, "I - _ sniff _ \- I lost one of my sandals!" She quickly stood up and walked over to the crying boy. She reached him just as Jin re-appeared and pulled the blond into a hug, her tray of dishes gone.

"Shhh… don't cry Honey-senpai. It's alright."

"But you were just wearing them, weren't you?" Honey didn't respond, only crying harder into Jin's shoulder.

"Mitsukuni."

Mori-senpai padded over to the group of three and slipped Honey-senpai's missing sandal onto his right foot. The smaller boy's whimpers quieted and he looked away from Jin.

" _ Takashi? _ "

"I noticed that you dropped it."

"Takashi!" Honey quickly jumped from Jin's arms and into Mori's, rubbing his tearstained face against his cousin's chest.

Jin stood up and assessed the damage done to her outfit. "Mmm… just some tear stains. It'll dry, at least."

Haruhi slipped up to her sister's side, "Speaking of tears, haven't you noticed that most of the boys are crying today?"

"Yeah, a bit. You think it's on purpose?"

"Maybe. I just don't know how they do it so easily."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyways. You should go back to your guests. I left the other dishes on an empty table. We don't need Kyoya to see that, now do we?"

Haruhi merely nodded as she walked away, still staring at the third years that were embracing on the floor behind her. And it was for that reason that she bumped right into Kaoru, startling him into dropping whatever he'd had in his hand. She quickly went down to pick it up, an apology on her lips, when she noticed exactly  _ what _ it was.

_ Well, this certainly explains a lot. _

"Oh, please, Haruhi. No need to act so insulted."

"I didn't even say anything."

"It's all over your face. But think about it; no woman alive could resist a man on the brink of tears! It's a common tool for Host Clubs for that reason."

"It's cheating."

"Oh, please. Fake tears are props for us, just like..." A candy was suddenly placed into her hands, "this."

"Uh... why-"

"Ooh! I didn't know you liked sweets, Haruhi!" The heart eyes she was getting from the girls answered her unspoken question.  _ Ugh. _

"Well, to be honest with you I'm not the biggest fan of these store bought candies. But…" an idea clicked, "I think this would be a nice memorial offering to my mother." The girls let out quiet little gasps or clasped their hands over their mouths. Haruhi couldn't help but smile.  _ I may not be willing to use eye-drops, but I suppose a "tragic backstory" works here too. _

"Such devotion to your mother's memory!" Haruhi leaned backwards before Tamaki was able to get too close to her face like he did during the physical exam snafu. He started piling sweets into her hands. "Please, take as many as-"

"Tamaki, we won't be able to fit all of those in our school bags to take home." Jin swooped in and laid a restraining hand against the blond's shoulder, "One will be just enough, but thank you." A quick smile later, and Haruhi once again had only one sweet in her cupped hands.  _ Nēchan saves me again. _

"Thanks, Nēchan. I wasn't sure how to tell him."

"Well, it's for Mom." Jin pressed a kiss to Haruhi's forehead, "I don't blame you one bit."

The guests stumbled away to different sides of the room, cooing about the adorable sibling love. Even if it wasn't like the twin's usual standards, Haruhi and Jin were always cute together without even trying. Something of which Tamaki seemed to like.

"Incredible! Both Jin and our beloved Haruhi are such masters at the art of hosting! No training ever required! It's always a pleasure to watch your sibling love at its height!"

"Let me take a guess and say that those tears of yours are fake?"

Tamaki sucked in a breath, "H-how could you! My tears are always genuine, Haruhi. Being able to cry without the use of eye-drops is the mark of a true host!" He spun around, accidentally brushing Jin a little further away from her sister, "Tell me, do I impress you? Have you fallen for me yet?"

"You wish."

As Tamaki continued to ramble along to himself, Jin snorted softly and tapped her sister's shoulder, "Uh, Haru? What does he mean by  _ fallen for him _ ?"

A deep red blush darkened the short brunette's cheeks, "He doesn't mean anything by it, Nēchan."

Jin had a hand pressed against her mouth, her entire body quivering, "Are… are you  _ sure? _ " If possible, Haruhi's blush darkened and she looked away. Her eyes landed on the doorway, where a lone figure stood, peeking out into the room shyly. Haruhi reached back and touched her Nēchan's arm, which drew both her attention as well as Tamaki's to the door. Soon, every host had noticed the strange girl.

"Looks like the host club has a brand new guest." The twins zipped over to the doorway, roses outstretched.

Noting the way the girl was quick to withdraw from their advances, Haruhi tugged at her sister's arm again, " _ They're scaring her. Nēchan, go- _ "

But it was too late, Tamaki was already over there with a rose of his own. Jin smiled and whispered back, " _ It's alright, Haru. This is Tamaki's element. _ " Despite Haruhi's gut feeling that Jin should be the one speaking to the shy girl, she couldn't help but agree with her. Tamaki was a bit more used to comforting nervous or shy girls. Perhaps he was-

"No! Don't touch me! You're phony!"

The whole group gasped as Tamaki stumbled backwards, holding one of his hands to his face where a red mark was starting to show, "What do you mean… I'm phony?!"

"Just what I said, you're phony! I find it hard to believe that someone like you is the prince character of this Host Club!" The entire host club went silent as the girl continued verbally bashing Tamaki until he fell flat on his back. Once he was lying still, the others looked up at the girl with the annoying voice. She was panting a bit, apparently a little winded by her screaming, but seemed pleased with herself. Haruhi could feel Jin tense up behind her.

_ Uh oh. _

"Excuse me, but... you are..?"

At Kyoya's words, the girl's attitude made a complete one-eighty, "It's you~! Kyoya~!" Without further preamble, she wrapped her arms around his middle and clung on for dear life, "Oh, how I've longed to meet you! My one and only prince charming!"

The other hosts and their waitress stared at the vice president.

_ What? _

* * *

"Kyoya-senpai-"

"-is your fiancé?"

"Of course!" The girl was now seated on a couch, acting perfectly calm as she introduced herself, "My name is Renge Houshakuji and I'm transferring into Ouran Academy's Class 1-A tomorrow." Haruhi felt a bead of sweat appear on her neck.  _ She wasn't nearly this calm when we tried to pry her off of Kyoya-senpai a few minutes ago. And now she's in my class? This school just gets more terrifying by the day! _

"Tamaki-senpai, you can stop sulking now."

"Yeah, we get you're upset, now come on out."

Jin frowned at the sight of Tamaki wallowing by himself in the far corner of the room and walked over, beckoning her sister to follow. She knew Haru would. The sisters always helped each other out, no matter what. Crouching down by his side, Jin poked Tamaki's shoulder until he finally looked up at them. The girls noted the pink mark still on his right cheek from where Renge had hit him.

"Tamaki… is Renge  _ really _ Kyoya's fiancée?"

"I... What? Jin, it seems a little obvious that she- why are you- why are you asking  _ me _ ?"

Jin sighed and tucked her legs underneath her, gathering her thoughts. Her black skirt was spread out around her on the floor, covering up the black sandal wedges she had put on when they had changed into their usual uniforms for the rest of the day. Jin had certainly raised a few eyebrows from the rest of the student body at Ouran with her strange uniform, but no one could deny the fact that she could pull the blazer off well.

"Well, Kyoya looks really uncomfortable sitting over there by her and he didn't even recognize her when she came into the room. That doesn't seem like a happy couple to me."

Haruhi looks over at the French girl who was now babbling on about her romance with Kyoya, who seemed just as lost as the others, "You have a point, Nēchan…"

Jin rested both of her hands on Tamaki's shoulders, "Think real hard about it. Does Renge seem like the kind of girl Kyoya would  _ actually _ propose to? You're his best friend, so be honest."

The blond looks at the ground for a moment, appearing to be in deep thought until, "You're right, Jin. She really isn't the type of girl Kyoya would be-"

"He looks like the star of the popular dating sim 'Uki-Doki Memorial'! You're my real life Ichijo Miyabi!"

The entire room grew quiet.

"Uki-"

"-Doki?"

"OTAKU!"

While Renge started flailing about the room, jabbering about getting married to Kyoya, the host club regrouped by a set of couches. Haruhi watched the French girl in confusion. While she'd never say it out loud, Haruhi couldn't understand why Renge was so excited about the idea of marrying Kyoya.

"Does that mean she made the whole thing up?" Tamaki looked over at Jin in awe, "How on Earth did you call that?"

"I notice the details. That's where the story is."

Kyoya looks at the brunette girl, "You knew?"

"From the moment you didn't immediately recognize her when she walked through the doors."

"What are you guys talking about?" Renge hopped down and sat on the couch, as close to Kyoya as she could. The others, noticing just how uncomfortable the ravenet actually looked, stayed close. The twins sat down on the opposing couch and Jin moved around to sit on the arm of the same couch as Kyoya and Renge. The rest were content with standing.

"Kyoya? I did do a little research on my way down from France, is it true you're the manager of this club?"

"Well, Kyo-chan is more like our director-"

"You're the club's director? That's perfect! I can help advertise your business, maybe even wear a sandwich board! Ah! It's going to be so exciting!"

"We don't advertise."

"And you actually  _ want _ to wear a sandwich board? That's one of the most boring positions in a business I would think." Jin popped a pink jolly rancher into her mouth with a shrug, "Well, to each his own, I guess."

"But I'll need a title if I'm going to help my precious Kyoya run this business! Oh, I've got it! From now on I'm the manager of this host club!"

Haruhi grimanced at the thought of seeing this girl not only in her classes, but also in her club. She leaned down by her sister's ear and whispered, " _ How long do you think she's going to be here? _ "

" _ I honestly don't know. There's not much here she can manage… but I'm worried about what she plans to do to this club. Especially since she ignores everything she doesn't want to hear... _ "

"Well boys, I can't wait to work with you!"

One look at the others and Haruhi knew it was time to go home, "Come on, Nēchan. Let's go home and start dinner."

Jin stood up and suddenly Renge called out, "Wait!" The sisters froze as their new lady manager walked up to them. She was a little shorter that Jin, and the difference in height was even more pronounced when they stood in front of each other. Renge was staring at Jin, as if just now realizing that she was there.

"Who are you?"

"Jin Fujioka. Haru's older sister, the only waitress and part-time hostess in this club."

Renge blinked, "Hostess? Do you serve to boys?"

"No, just other clients if they want a nice girl chat."

"What's with the uniform?"

Jin looked down at her clothes, tugging at the fabric of her black skirt, "No real reason, I just like the boy's uniform better. I figured I probably wouldn't get away with wearing both the top and bottom, though that's what I would prefer, so I just went with the top and my own skirt as a bottom. I'm still technically wearing the uniform, so I'm not breaking any rules."

"Hm."

The two girls stared at each other for a little longer, tension starting to rise between them, though no one could figure out why. Haruhi reached out and touched her sister's hand, "Nēchan, we should go home."

The two long-haired brunettes eyed each other for another second before turning away at the same time. Renge marched off to corner Kyoya again while Jin faced her sister.

"Yeah, let's go."

Jin's face was scrunched up slightly as they walked out of the music room with their school bags, like she usually looked when she was trying to work through a word problem. Haruhi knew better than to disturb her sister's thoughts now. And she had a feeling that her Nēchan was trying to answer the same question she had.

_ Does Renge have a problem with Jin? _

*The next day*

"So… Tamaki wants a meeting with everyone before Renge shows up today."

"Yeah."

Haruhi shifted her bag in her grip a little, "Do we still have some of those cookies you made at home?"

"Mhm."

"Good. Maybe we could have them for dessert tonight."

Jin smiled softly at her before looking forward again, her eyes shifting back into a far off gaze. Haruhi watched her sister in concern as they walked down the school hallway. Ever since they had left the host club the day before, Jin had been oddly quiet, thinking hard about what Renge had said to her the day before. So had Haruhi, but neither of them could come up with a reason behind it.

_ Rich people are weird. _

The girls opened the club doors and walked in. The boys had already gathered and they were waved over. Since there was only one seat left open, Jin remained standing and leaned her arms on the back of Haruhi's chair.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, I'd like to begin. I thought about it a lot last night, and maybe having a lady manager isn't such a bad idea. After all, Renge just transferred into the same class as Haruhi. So, maybe if Haruhi has a girl friend around it could bring out the female within her!"

"Good grief."

"But Haru-chan's got Jin-chan!"

Tamaki waved off Honey's comment, "If Haruhi is this out of touch with her feminine side, even with an older sister, then it's likely that Jin needs the same help as her." Jin let out a puff of air through her nose, but kept her mouth shut.

Just then, the doors creaked open and a now familiar face poked inside, "Hey everyone! As a gift for welcoming me as your new manager, I've baked you all some cookies!"

Understandably, Honey-senpai was the first to jump off his couch at the prospect of sweets, but Renge passed over him in order to appeal to her 'fiancé'. She murmured something about burning a few of them, but quickly disappeared off into her fantasy land. Kyoya took one look at the pile of cookies in his hands before promptly handing them off to Honey-senpai. The blond boy nibbled the edge and almost immediately spat the crumbs back out.

"She wasn't kidding, these cookies really  _ are _ burnt."

"Don't eat those, Mitsukuni! It's bad for you!"

The girl froze before letting out a loud shriek of fury. She started chasing Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai around the room, the small blond crying out in the taller boy's arms. Jin, who had remained in her original position behind the chair until then, suddenly pushed herself up and took off after the three. She easily passed the other girl, even in her wedges, and plucked Honey-senpai from Mori's grasp. The two then split off into different directions, which made Renge pause and look heatedly in both directions, not knowing who to chase.

The other hosts had been watching the scene with what could only be described as contempt and Haruhi looked down at the cookies that had been thrown into her hands. She plucked one out to inspect. It didn't look  _ too _ burnt. Okay, well, it wouldn't be winning any cooking show anytime soon, but only the edges were dark. The center looked pretty golden brown.

She took a bite big enough to get some of the soft center and chewed it slowly, "You know… these aren't half bad. I mean, they're a little burnt around the edges, but the center is pretty good. Not super soft, but not bad all the same."

The cookie was suddenly plucked from her fingertips and pushed past her lips. Haruhi tried to jerk her head backwards, but her chin was being held tightly as it was tilted upwards. Taken by surprise, Haruhi couldn't do anything other than watch as Hikaru leaned in close to her face.

" _ May I try? _ " He then took the other end of the cookie in his own mouth and broke off a piece.  _ What… _

"Uh oh, Haruhi. You've got crumbs on your face." The next thing she knew, something warm and wet was touching her face. It was Kaoru's tongue. Haruhi felt a shudder trickle down her spine.  _ Eeeeeeeheheheeeew. _

The twins smiled at the reaction they'd pulled from their classmate, but the feeling was short lived. One second they were grinning smugly, the next they were being tugged harshly backwards, being forced to lean back to avoid falling down. Turning their heads around, the redheads looked up at a certain Fujioka who had their shirt collars clenched up in her fists.

"Excuse me…  _ what was that? _ "

The word 'oops' was written all over their faces.

Haruhi rubbed her cheek off calmly, "It's alright, Nēchan, you can let them go. I'm sure they were just trying to get a reaction from me. Where did Honey-senpai go?"

The brunette girl released her captives with a warning glance and took a step back, "I sent him into the kitchen to get some milk. He needed to calm down."

Tamaki suddenly grasped Haruhi and spun her around, "That's not the way you're supposed to react, Haruhi! You have to stay strong and reject them, then casually brush them to the side!"

"This is sexual harassment, in case you were unaware."

The only thing louder than Tamaki's sudden shouts of denial and disapproval was Jin's laughter as she slung an arm around her sister's shoulder, "Haru, your bluntness never ceases to disappoint!"

"Every single one of you!"

"Hm?" The group looked over and saw Renge having another one of her little "fits". This time, however, she was upset and shrieking about their 'characters'. Haruhi found herself confused, yet again, by rich people.  _ Characters? Does she not understand that we're not acting? We are literally behaving exactly as we would anywhere else... _ Unfortunately, it looked as though Renge  _ didn't  _ understand this.

"As your manager it's my duty to change your character background, starting with  _ you! _ " Honey-senpai nearly dropped his cup of milk as Renge thrust her finger into his face, but she ignored his discomfort, "If all you are is cute inside and outside, then you're no different than a  _ baby _ ! Therefore, from now on you're the 'Baby-faced thug'!"

"WHAAAAAAA!"

"And Mori-senpai, you're his childhood friend, the drop-out! The twins will be basketball players who feel exorcised by the world because they look identical! Haruhi, you're the new-kid honor-student who is constantly being bullied!" The hosts stood frozen in place, completely baffled as Renge turned her cold gaze to her next victim.

"And as for you, Tamaki, you're the school idol who is admired for your good looks but you actually have an inferiority complex! The Lonely Prince!"

"You'd better stop there." Renge stiffened and turned her head to meet Jin's stare.

"Whatever do you mean, Fujioka-senpai? You've already got a troubled backstory, so there's no need."

Jin cocked an eyebrow, " _ I _ have a tragic backstory? Alright, do tell."

"I did some digging last night and came across an interesting piece of information. Both you and Haruhi received scholarships to this school, but only Haruhi received a  _ full _ scholarship. Your story is obvious. You're the older sister who is constantly being outshined by your younger brother, who was always loved more than you were by friends and family because he was smarter, kinder, and more attractive. So you use your only weapon at your dispense to cope, which is to act as the perfect older sister in the hopes that you'll be noticed due to your brother's praise, but deep inside you're insanely jealous and wish to be half as great as him!"

The room went silent. Even the twins and Kyoya, who had been in the middle of a quiet, yet intense conversation a short ways away were watching the two girls in a mixture of shock and surprise. Half of them were expecting a fist fight to break out.

What they weren't expecting was for Jin to smile sweetly at the French girl, "Oh, silly Renge, you've obviously done your research wrong. Yes, I only got a half scholarship, but did you ever read what my scholarship would've been if I hadn't studied abroad in America last year and instead came directly to Ouran?"

Renge fidgeted.

"Hm, I'm gonna take that as a no. I sort of figured. Well, what about the actual exam scores? Did you read those?"

The other girl adverted her eyes.

"Again, that was fairly obvious," Jin walked forward and bent down so they were face to face, "For your information, Haru and I both scored 100% on the entrance exam. And when I told the school that I would be studying abroad,  _ they offered me a half scholarship if I came back to Ouran for the last two years. _ "

The brunette straightened up, "Well, I think I've made my point. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." And with that, she walked off, her steps echoing off the tile floor.

"Uh… Renge, do you think these poses work for a lonely prince?"

The girl tore her glare from the waitresses' back and watched Tamaki strike a few movements. Instantly, her mood flipped, "Wow, you're good at that!"

With the new girl distracted, Haruhi turned around and looked at her senpai, "Kyoya-senpai, don't you think we should do something about those two? If Renge has an issue with Nēchan-"

"Let's just see how things play out."

"But-"

"Shouldn't you go check on your sister? I'm sure she's upset." Not satisfied, but not willing to start an argument, Haruhi turned around and followed her sister into the kitchen.  _ One way or another, someone is going to snap. And I sure hope it's not Nēchan. _

* * *

Screams echoed around the gymnasium as Ouran Academy's star basketball team regained possession of the ball. One of the team's best players, Hikaru Hitachiin, was dribbling back down the court towards the hoop. Not that any of the fans would know that it was him and not his twin brother. Then again, it wasn't like they cared either. The screams intensified as he shot the ball at the hoop.

_ Swish! _

He grinned, despite the fact that the fans were refraining from shouting out a name, for fear of saying the wrong one. Hikaru tried to laugh it off, tried to feel some pride for scoring, but there was a notable absence from his side. Where was the hand that always clapped his shoulder after every perfect toss?

The screams died down and were replaced with a gasp just as Hikaru saw the medical team rushing onto the court. There was a player lying down on the wooden slabs. Someone from his team. A teammate with red hair that stood up in every direction.

"Get a stretcher! Take him to the infirmary, immediately!"

"K-Kaoru? Kaoru!" The med team lifted his brother onto a stretcher just as he was able to push past the stupid people blocking his way. Hikaru threw himself down next to his injured brother, "Kaoru!" A hand touched his shoulder, but it didn't belong to his brother.

Therefore, it didn't matter.

"You've got to get back in the game, Hikaru! We need you!"

"Shut up!" Hikaru swatted the hand away.  _ The only reason you know I'm Hikaru is because I was just calling out my brother's name a few seconds ago! _ He probably would've said that out loud too, if it wasn't for a softer voice speaking to him.

"Hikaru? Listen..." He looked down at his brother, whose eyes had opened again, thankfully, "Please don't worry, there's nothing you can do. You can't share my pain." Kaoru cupped his older brother's face, "You're not the one who got hurt…now go on..."

Hikaru felt the tears start, so he squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his brother's hand, "I can't! It hurts! It hurts, Kaoru!"

_ Your pain is my pain. It doesn't matter to me if no one else understands. As long as we have each other, we can go on living. _

" _ Hikaru? Hika _ ru! Hikaru, are you alright?"

The boy's eyes snapped open as large drops of water struck the back of his skull. He looked up at his twin's face just as all the right memories fell into place.  _ It was just… a memory. That's right. _

"Hikaru." Kaoru cupped his face, eerily similar to Hikaru's previous memory, "Where are we, right now?"

"We...we're on the school's outdoor basketball court."

"Right. Now, why are we out here?"

"Practicing. For next week's game."

"And what happened just a few seconds ago?"

"It started to rain… and the ball slipped out of your hands so you went after it… and you tripped. I don't… I don't remember much of what happened next."

Only then did Kaoru sigh and drop his hands back onto his lap, "Hikaru, you've got to stop doing that. That injury happened  _ last year. _ This can't go on."

"But you got  _ hurt. _ And I couldn't help you! How am I supposed to forget that?!" Hikaru was pulled into a tight embrace and he buried his face into his brother's shoulder, letting the angry tears roll down his cheeks, disguised by the rain that had soaked the brothers through.

" _ As long as I'm here, you can forget about the rest of the world. The past, and the future. And as long as you're here, I'll do the same. _ " Kaoru pulled away enough to look at his brother, " _ Think we can manage that? _ "

"I... I..."

" _ Hikaru? _ "

A low, humorless chuckle interrupted their moment and the boys quickly looked towards the edge of the court. The darkness and the sudden heaviness of the rain made it hard to make out exactly who it was, but the next moment the figure spoke.

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your moment, but... I have to say, I'm envious. The way the two of you support each other like that? I can only imagine…"

Hikaru squinted at the figure as the rain let up a little, "Suoh-senpai?" Yup, it was Ouran Academy's number 1 pretty boy. He was devoid of his school jacket and looked drenched from head to toe. He must've been out in this rain for as long as they had been. It took a moment for what he said to register in the redhead's brains.

"How would you be envious of...  _ us _ ?"

"Yeah, basketball players are one thing, but to be the school's idol..."

The blond chuckled, the sad look never leaving his eyes, making them look more grey than their usual bright purple, "An idol, right. I  _ hate _ that they all worship me for something as superficial as my appearance. If only they would just leave me alone-"

"Oof!"

The three boys look back at the edge of the court to see yet  _ another _ boy out in the storm. It took less time for them to recognize this person, as the rain was growing lighter by the second. It was the new honor student, Fujioka-san. He was on his knees, probably from tripping over a tree root or something, and for two seconds, the brunet boy stared up at them all. His big, brown, girlish eyes seemed to be pleading with them.

But if Fujioka-san was out here, then that could only mean one thing.

"I'd suggest you keep running, little one. He won't hold back, even if there are others present."

The honor student's shoulders deflated before he scrambled back to his feet and took off again, heading deeper into the woods. What he didn't know was that Suoh remained still, watching him take off into the trees. And what Suoh was unaware of, was that Fujioka had heard everything he said when he had been hiding behind that tree, only to slip and fall onto the ground when he had leaned closer to hear better.

_ One lonely heart meets another. They pass each other, wounding one another. What are the hearts of these young men made of? _

Haruhi's shoes slapped the muddy ground. His legs were so weak, and his uniform was weighted down with the cold rain that was clinging to his body tightly, restricting his movements greatly. There were mud stains on his knees and the palms of his hands, but he dare not stop. Not stop. Not stop. Not…

The brunette had to stop. He stumbled to a drier piece of dirt and pressed his hands against a tree, taking in deep breaths and trying to not hack up a lung.

"You can't run away forever." Haruhi spun around, ready to run, only to have his legs slide out from under him. He had no energy left. The last of it had been spent when he'd silently begged for help from the star basketball players and the school's idol… only to be turned away and left to fend for himself. There was no point in running any longer. This… this was inevitable.

"I'm gonna show you what happens to anyone who crosses me." Haruhi fought the urge to scream at the small blond boy. To argue that he had only bumped into his shoulder when they had both attempted to enter the bathroom at the same time. But there was no point.

"Don't do it, Mitsukuni." Haruhi sucked in a quick breath as Mori-senpai came up from behind them.  _ He must've followed us. _ It was known by everyone that Hani-senpai's only childhood friend, who had flunked out right before high school, was the only person in the this world who could hold back the boy's rage every once in awhile.  _ Please, let this be one of those times. _

"You should've realized by now that whenever you hurt others… you're only hurting yourself."

"I didn't ask for any advice. You want me to put you over my knee again?" The tall boy looked away, not answering, but Haruhi knew that he'd get no more help from the flunkie. His fate… was sealed.

_ Will it be the light of salvation that ultimately awaits these boys? Or will it be something else? _

"You know… it really pisses me off when people don't know their place." Haruhi swallowed and stared up in fear at the eyes that mirrored his own so very well… Until they teared up and the serious face fell away to fear and sorrow.

"Wahhhh! I can't do this anymore!"

And just like that, the scene was broken.

" _ CUUUUUT!  _ CUT CUT CUT! What is  _ wrong _ with you? You've got to stick to the script! Do you  _ want _ this movie to fail? In _ competent little- _ "

"I can't do it! Stop yelling at me!"

Renge growled, "Stop rolling already! We'll be taking a short ten minute break, or until  _ someone _ can keep themselves together long enough to actually  _ do their job _ !" And with one last glare in Honey-senpai's direction, she moved on to the other men around the set, shouting things about the scene.

Honey whimpered in Haruhi's arms for a moment before Mori scooped him up and escorted him to the buffet table, where there were thankfully a lot of sweets. Someone handed Haruhi a towel as she walked off set towards the twins and Kyoya.

"How did we go from changing our characters to shooting a movie about them?"

"Yeah, and why is there an entire film crew here to shoot it?"  _ What happened to a plain old handheld video? _

"Apparently, she flew them in from Hollywood. Don't you recognize the director? He directed the number 1 grossing box office hit in America last year."

_ Damn these rich people. _

"Hey guys, how's the movie going?" Haruhi turned and gave her sister a smile. Despite the obvious tension going on with Renge, Jin had still turned up to help out with the movie. Of course, Renge hadn't given her a part. She was merely mentioned in passing about two thirds of the way through. Even so, it was clear that Jin didn't mind.

"Hey, Nēchan, where'd you go? Last I saw, you were talking to one of the camera men after you finished putting up the last tree for the forest set."

Jin grabbed Haruhi's towel and started rubbing her sister's hair with it, "I was. Turns out, he didn't get a lunch break earlier so I took over his position for a while so he could grab a bite to eat. I even filmed one of the angles for the twin's basketball flashback scene." She flashed the twins a thumb's up, "Nice acting, by the way. I was impressed."

"Thanks!" The twins attempted a smile, but it was short lived as Hikaru thumbed through his script.

"It's alright, but this stupid thing portrays Kaoru as the 'pitcher'! What's the deal with that?"

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. I mean, sure, I'm a little flattered I guess, but on the other hand..."

Jin shook her head, "I did some research last night on the dating sim Renge was talking about. Turns out, all of your "characters" are the mirror image of the characters in the game, with Haru being the exception. She's trying to turn Ouran Academy into her own real version of Oki-Doki Memorial. This script is a pile of her own fantasies, nothing more."

"Wait, what does 'pitcher' mean?"

The twins snickered, "If you don't know, nevermind."

Jin hides her smile by kissing her sister's damp hair, "Oh, little Haru. Still so innocent."

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, "Wait… it's something dirty?"

"Ms. Fujioka? I'd like to point out that if Ms. Houshakuji had overheard your little comment about playing out her own fantasies, she would've been quite upset with you."

"More than she already is? I highly doubt that's possible." The twins nodded in agreement, but that just reminded Haruhi of the question that had been on her mind since the french girl had arrived.

"Exactly why  _ is _ Renge acting like this?"

"No idea."

"She's acting almost threatened by me, but I'm not sure why."

"Maybe it's because she thinks you're going to steal Kyoya from her." Hikaru mused. He, Jin, Haruhi, and Kaoru all made eye contact with each other before bursting into loud laughter. They laughed so hard some of them even had tears in their eyes, and they didn't stop until the ravenet behind the twin's chairs cleared his throat.

"And why is that so hilarious? I understand it's ridiculous, but why is it funny?"

Jin gasped for air, "Number 1, Renge would need to think I'm interested in you. Number 2, she'd then need to think there was a possibility of you being interested in me in return. Number 3, you have to remember that she's under the delusion that you're Ichijo Miyabi, who would never do something like that. And if any of this is true, then she's more deluded than we originally thought!"

The four started laughing again until a cameraman walked up, "Excuse me, Ms. Fujioka?"

"Yes?"

"The rest of the camera crew would like to discuss where to cut in your angle for the scene you shot, since Ms. Houshakuji has extended our break for another half an hour."

"Alright." She ruffled her sister's hair, "I'll be back in about ten to fifteen minutes, okay, Haru?"

"Yeah, just go impress them already!"

The girl walked away and Haruhi turned back around to face the boys, only to have them looking at her intensely, "What?"

"We've been curious about something."

"It's about what Renge said about Jin's 'character'."

The redheads leaned forward, "Is any of what she said true?"

Haruhi blinked and tried to recall everything that had been said the previous day, "Um, well… not that I know of. I've never  _ really _ been better at Jin in anything. There are a lot of things where we're equal, as well as a few areas where I'm equal to where she was my age, but… no. There's nothing I can think of that I'm better at than her. Except, of course, looking like a boy. I think Renge was just trying to spite her."

After that explanation, Haruhi walked away to find a chair to sit in. Even though she hadn't  _ really _ been running for half an hour, she still wasn't a very good runner. Or actress. She needed a break.

A break that was cut short five minutes later by Tamaki running up to her, "Haruhi! Haruhi! So, what did you think? Do you think I nailed it?"

Haruhi smiled up at the blond, "It was very well done, Senpai. I'm surprised you had it in you! But that last line… I didn't think you had a line there?"

"I didn't, I just had a feeling that if I only looked away it wouldn't have truly captured how withdrawn my character was supposed to be, so I improvised!"

"Very impressive. Your performance made your character really believable. I'm surprised you're able to get into your character so easily."

"Ha, I'm discovering a new, darker side of myself. Maybe we should keep these characters up for awhile?"

Haruhi tilted her head in confusion, "You think so? I'm sure the girls will like this movie just fine but… if we keep up these characters, wouldn't your character hate having the girls fawn over him? If the clients come to that conclusion, they could stop coming to the Host Club." The blond stopped rubbing his wet hair.

"Oh, I never thought of it that way. Perhaps… a happy medium could be reached?"

"Maybe. But clients aside, I think you're fine just the way your are right now, Senpai, without all the pageantry of being all lonely and sad. If you 'explore' your character too much, you might just lose yourself along the way."

"Uh… really? Well, if you say so, Haruhi."

The brunette quickly looked to the side, hiding her smirk.  _ As if the Tamaki right now isn't so much trouble already. None of us need to see a 'darker side'. _

"Haruhi! You're on!"  _ What? _

Renge was waving at her from around the corner of a building, away from the cameras, confusing the brunette even more, "But we still have twenty minutes left in our break!"

"Just get over here!"

Sighing, she dropped her towel back onto her chair and walked around the corner as Renge shouted at someone else, "Where'd my cameraman go?"

"He's with the others discussing the angles for the first scene of the movie."

"Well get someone else, then! It's time to shoot the first big conflict scene with Haruhi!"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Hmph. Oh, Haruhi, here you are! Come on, this way!" Renge walked around the corner with Haruhi in tow. For a moment, Haruhi was completely confused.  _ Why are we back here? There's nothing but some extra planks, some lights, and- _

The death glares she was receiving from the two boys she just noticed cut Haruhi's thoughts short. Renge, however…

"These two gentlemen have just agreed to make a special appearance in our film!"

"In your film?"

"What are you talking about?"

"After all, we're going to need some tough guys for the big climax!" At the words 'tough guys', the boys made surprised noises.  _ Tough guys? What do we need tough guys for? And why do these guys sound just as lost as I am? _

"What sort of climax are we talking about?"

"Didn't you read the script? We're going to have all of the club members come together to fight off the  _ real _ villains in their school! According to the script, these two are from a wealthy family that got their wealth by being a part of the Japanese Mafia! This makes having these two gentlemen a brilliant casting choice!"

The boys shifted into defensive poses, "H-hey! That's not fair! Whatever my dad does has nothing to do with me!"

Haruhi's eyes grew wide, "Renge, hold on a second!"

Of course, Renge ignored her and grabbed one of the boys by his shirt sleeve. She dragged him towards the camera with a smile, talking about cue's and lines, unaware of the look of agitation the boy was sporting.

He ripped himself out of her grip, "Let go of me, psycho! You think you can order me around? You don't even  _ know _ me!" And he struck, shoving Renge away with all his strength towards the extra wood planks and metal poles.

"WATCH OUT!" Haruhi jumped behind Renge and stopped her from hitting the wall at full force. Unfortunately, the power behind the shove still pushed her against the poles leaning on the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of her for a moment as pain erupted in her back. Nothing… too bad. But it certainly didn't feel  _ good _ . And  _ ohmygoshwhatgotinmyeye?! _

The girl in front of her stood up on her own, giving Haruhi a chance to pull away from the wall. She took a deep breath and crouched down to her knees, holding a hand to her face as her eye watered in pain.

"Are you okay, Haruhi?"

Whimpering around the pain, she tried to explain, "That guy was right, Renge. You're  _ stereotyping. _ That's not who he is!  _ None _ of this is who we really are!"

"Haruhi!"

"Haru! I was told to come video something but then I heard-"

Haruhi turned her head when she heard both Tamaki and her sister's voices. Both of them were a little blurry, which answered the reason behind her eye hurting so badly. But she can see just enough to watch their faces change. Tamaki's eyes narrowed and he shot forward…

But Jin was faster.

Haruhi's eye gave a painful twinge and she shut them just as she heard a foot connecting with someone's gut. A few grunts and shouts later, Haruhi managed to call out around the ache, "Nēchan, stop! They were provoked!"

Her right eye flickered open to survey the damage. Tamaki and Renge were standing to her left, mouths agape and eyes wide. Jin was standing directly above the two boys, who were curled up in little balls on the concrete. There didn't appear to be any blood or major damage, and Jin wasn't even winded. Her hair was a little disheveled, but that was it. Jin looked up from her adversaries and stared right into Haruhi's eyes, the soft glow in them all but completely gone. In its place was something cold and hard. When she spoke, it was in a short, demanding tone.

"Why? What for?"

Haruhi stood up, holding one hand to her left eye still, "They were brought into the movie to play the bad guys, but they didn't want to. It got physical when Renge tried to force them into it."

Jin watched her sister for another moment or two, her eyes softening before growing hard again as she looked back down at the boys, "Get out of here." She nudged them with her toe and they took off at full speed to the front gates. Haruhi rubbed at her left eye until she felt something in the corner. A pair of hands cupped her cheeks.

"Haru? What hurts?"

"Ugh, this thing," she pulled out her contact, "Must've gotten knocked out of place when I hit the wall. Other than that, I'm fine."

The two second year students stared at the contact perched on her finger before her sister huffed a laugh and leaned up against the wall, "You scared me to death, you little jerk!"

Tamaki also started laughing, "Well, what do you know? You _ are _ a full-fledged host! Crying without eye-drops...hilarious." Haruhi thought it over a bit, and couldn't help but join in on the humor.  _ Wow. That conversation was from before this whole craziness even started. How about that? _

"You… you…  _ please tell me you got that, cameraman! _ "

"Yes, Boss!"

"Other than Haruhi's contact falling out and Jin-senpai rescuing him instead of one of the boys, that was the perfect final scene! All we need to do now is photoshop Tamaki in Jin's place! After all, we can't have a  _ girl _ saving a boy, can we?" Jin's eyes darkened again as Renge started laughing along with the camera crew. Haruhi felt all the blood rush to her feet.  _ Oh boy _ .

In one smooth motion Jin swooped down, grabbed a rock about the size of her fist, turned around, and flung it towards the group of cameramen who had been shooting the scene. It zipped between Renge and the boom mic guy before shattering the camera lens that had taped the fight. And standing not ten centimeters away was Kyoya, who had his own rock in hand that looked ready to swing.

For a brief moment, everyone was quiet save for a quick simultaneous intake of breath.

" _ W-what… what was that for? You nearly  _ hit  _ me! _ "

Jin dusted off her hands, "This is starting to become more that just annoying, Renge. So I'm going to put a stop to it."

"... _ Annoying? _ "

She stalked over to the girl and didn't stop until they were no more than a centimeter apart, her neck craning to stare her down, " _ You've been nothing but trouble since you've arrived at this school, Renge, and I think it's high time that you realized that. You know nothing of these boys and have about as much of a right to tell them how to act as I do which is why I haven't said anything until now, but your last comment crossed a line. My brother was put in danger, and I reacted as I should've. Telling me and telling your viewers that women are not allowed to be strong and be able to defend their family is about as wrong as you could go, and you will never see me not stand up for my brother. Just keep that in mind from now on. _ "

Jin took one step back, breathed deeply in and out, and turned on her heel and walked around the corner of the building. Everyone watched her go, none of them daring to make a sound until she had been out of view for at least ten seconds. Tamaki broke the silence.

"Haruhi… should you go after her?"

"No, she'll be fine. She just has to calm down for a bit. She'll probably get a drink of water then jog around the set."

"I… I didn't realize that your sister could be so… so…"

"Tough?"

"Yeah."

Haruhi felt the barest trace of a smile fight its way onto her lips, "Hell hath no fury like a raging Fujioka."

Renge took a few more deep breaths before whirling around to face Kyoya, "Kyoya… why are you holding that rock?"

*Several days later*

"Alright, gents! It's time to invite the guests in for the day. We're going to start out with everyone around this couch, so make yourselves comfortable!" The hosts pulled close and settled down into their opening pose. Jin was with them, standing on Mori-senpai's right side. The girl had returned to her naturally calm appearance, but Tamaki would still sneak the occasional glance at the older Fujioka girl, searching for traces of-

_ Creak! _

The blond whipped his head around to face forward, "Hello, ladies. Come on in!"

"I bought the video of that film you made!"

"I bought it, too!"

"And so did I!"

The host's collectively stiffened, "You… did? Ho-"

"That scene in the rain was just phenomenal!"

"I loved the lonely prince!"

"And the loving relationship between Hikaru and Kaoru was so sweet!"

As the guests continued to gush over the movie, the hosts watched in silence, every single one of them coming to the same conclusion.

"Kyoya…"

"Ms. Fujioka may have broken the camera's lens, but the film inside of it remained unharmed along with everything we had already shot and put together. After some editing and removing all traces of violence, I was able to put together a final product. It seemed a waste to put a whole afternoon of our time in the garbage. Sales have been pretty good so far. That Hollywood film crew did a fantastic job, but then I guess that's to be expected. I might even consider hiring them again to produce a sequel someday."

"Renge and Jin-senpai nearly tore each other's heads off!" The twins caught a certain brunette watching them with a quirked eyebrow, "No offence, Jin-senpai."

The girl smirked and shook her head, "None taken. I probably could've handled that better than getting all up in her face about it. So much for being the mature one. But Kyoya, exactly when did you start calculating all of this?"

The ravenet leveled a cool gaze at his classmate, "Early on enough to deal with the girl hanging off my elbow every second of every day telling me what kind of flowers she wanted in her wedding bouquet."

Jin chuckled, "If you were willing to suffer like that, then do whatever you want with that footage. But I doubt you'll be getting a sequel out of these guys."

Kyoya opened his mouth again, probably to deliver some sort of rebuke, but another voice interrupted, "Good day, everyone."

The hosts were quick to look at the new arrival, "Renge? But, I thought that you were going back to France?"

In per Renge style, the girl completely ignored Tamaki's question, "I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner! The chivalry when you risked your life to protect me. The love when you lectured me about judging people. When you told me it was fun to get to know people little by little!"

"Uh…"

"Woah! Woah, woah, I know what you're heading with this!  _ Not _ happening!"

"And Jin-senpai," Renge rested her right hand on the taller brunette's shoulder, "I'm so sorry for how cruelly I acted towards you. I simply didn't understand how much pain you were enduring when I made my mistake! But the way you put all that aside for other people's happiness has shown me a different way of living! I'll never forget your lesson!"

"Um… good?"

"From now on, I'll stay out of your way! I hope we can become good friends later!" The Fujioka's exchanged a glance.  _ Doubtful. _

"Come on, Haruhi!" Renge pulled the smaller of the two away towards the door, "Let's go to my house! I think it's time you got to know me better!"

"What?"

Jin's jaw dropped before she started to follow, but Honey grabbed onto her uniform sleeve, "Jin-chan, what did she mean by you being in pain?"

"I… have  _ no _ clue, Honey-senpai."

"NO IT ISN'T!" Tamaki's shout caused both of them to jump in place.

"But I thought you were the one who wanted here to have a female friend-"

"Yeah, a female  _ companion _ , NOT A GIRLFRIEND!"

"Come on, Haruhi, let's go play together!"

"Wait! Don't take Haruhi from me!"

"Haru!"

"Nēchan, help!"

 


	8. Jin Study 101!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of an insight on everyday life for Jin Fujioka. Hope you like!

 

' _ Don't wake me up~! Don't wake me up~! Don't wake me up, up, up, up, up, up~ _ '

"Ugh…" Haruhi lifted her right hand and swatted at her nightstand, searching for the device that was playing the American song. However, it wasn't until the chorus had looped twice that Haruhi was able to scoop up the phone and swipe at the lock screen, effectively cutting off the alarm.

The brunette scowled at her sister's iPhone in her hands. Her own alarm clock had broken yesterday (after nine years of service) so Jin had offered to loan her new phone as a replacement until they could buy another one. It had been a very sweet gesture, but that didn't change the fact that Haruhi was now awake. The Fujioka's had never been known for being early risers. Well, except for Jin, but that's a different story.

Still, seven a.m. Time to get up.

Wriggling herself out from under her sheets, Haruhi stood up and padded over to her closet, setting the phone back down on the nightstand. Once she was standing next her bedroom door, she realized that she could smell something. Something…  _ good _ .

Knowing that could only mean one thing, she quickly grabbed her school uniform and pulled it on. She opened her bedroom door and stumbled out into the kitchen, her left foot stuck just before the opening at the bottom of the pant leg. Since she didn't have either her contacts in or her glasses on, everything was really a big blur, but she could still see someone moving around the kitchen with a big stack of pancakes piled high on the counter. She could hear her father's light snores from his own bedroom. Seriously, that man could sleep like the dead.

"I know you're there, Haru. Go finish getting ready for school and then come eat, okay?"

Haruhi attempted to answer, but a huge yawn slipped through instead, so she turned back around and disappeared into the bathroom. The mirror was steamed up a bit around the edges and the shower cubicle was wet. Haruhi shook her head in disbelief.

To think, there used to be a time where Jin would sleep until noon if they allowed her to. Now however, ever since she went to America where she had to wake up at 6 every morning, it seemed as though her internal clock had placed a lock. Every day, with or without an alarm, Jin always woke up between 6 and 7 in the morning. 8 if she had been exhausted the previous night.

_ Just thinking about it makes me tired. _

Once Haruhi was done with her morning rituals, she went back into the kitchen and saw a plate of pancakes awaiting her on the table. She passed by her sister who gave her a fleeting kiss on the forehead and a murmured 'Morning, Haru' before returning to the dishes.

She sat down and started digging in. The pancakes were warm and fluffy, melting in her mouth a little bit. They didn't have anything else on them except for some butter, but that was all that was needed.

"Mmm… Nēchan, how do you make these so good?"

Her sister shook her head with a smile, wiping her hands dry before joining Haruhi at the table, "You know where, Haru."

She hummed, "Yeah, I suppose I do. So, what are your plans for today? Anything big?"

Jin chewed her first pancake bite slowly as she thought about it, "It's Friday, right? Well, I have a math test today, but that's about it for school. My boss wants me to go in from six to eight to cover for him, and then I'm going to bed early because I've been invited to give a demonstration at 8 tomorrow to celebrate my return and then I have to babysit Eiichi between 6 and 11:30 tomorrow night."

Haruhi shook her head and took a sip of milk, "Sometimes I think you work yourself too hard, Nēchan."

Jin reached across the table to ruffle her sister's hair, "Yeah, me too. So, do you have anything planned?"

Haruhi shrugged, "Renge wanted me to go over to her house again sometime this weekend to play some more video games, but then her dad showed up from France and now she has a few dinner parties to attend, so I'm just going to study." This made her sister chuckle and shake her head.

"Haruhi, there's more to life than studying, you know."

"I know, but all my fun times left when you did, Nēchan."

Jin suddenly pressed her hands against the tabletop, leaning forward with a bright twinkle in her eyes, "Do you know what? You're right. We haven't done  _ any _ of the fun things that we used to do back in the old days since I got back home. So… what if we finish these pancakes as quick as we can and ride my bike to school?"

Haruhi grinned, the sparkle having now spread to her eyes as well, "That... sounds  _ awesome _ , Nēchan."

Their eyes twinkled identically as Jin swallowed another bite, "I sure hope you remember how to hang on."

*1 hour later*

Tamaki crawled out of the backseat of his limo, "Thank you, Aoi. I'll be waiting for you when I finish my school day."

"Yes, Master Tamaki. Have a great day." And with that, his chaffeur drove off. The blond smiled up at the pink school in front of him. Another day at Ouran. Another day being a host. And another day with Haruhi!

He walked up the lawn, greeting the girls along the way until he reached one of the bike racks for the school. It was a bit of a mystery as to why the school even  _ had _ bike racks. No one biked to Ouran. Still, they were always kept in perfect condition just in case of the off chance. Tamaki leaned against the polished metal and waited. This was generally the place he'd meet up with Kyoya before school started the year before, and now it was where he waited for Haruhi to arrive from her train ride so he could be the first person to greet her in the morning. Of course, he knew he wasn't  _ really _ the first. She had Jin.

His smile faltered.

Okay, wait, he  _ did _ like Jin. She was a really great person. Intelligent and tough, yet caring and compassionate, and everything Haruhi deserved as an older sister! But still, she was a little frightening. During the movie shoot she had those two boys on the ground in a matter of seconds!

"You look like you're in deep thought. Is it Haruhi or Jin this time?"

The blond jolted slightly as Kyoya walked up to his side, "What?"

"I said that you looked like you were in deep thought. Were you thinking about Haruhi or Jin this time?"

"How did you know I was thinking about-"

"You tend to follow a very strict pattern. If you meet someone who doesn't fit where you want them to, you think about how to change their minds. And right now you are stuck on both Fujioka's, so which one of them is it now?"

Tamaki blinked, "Jin. And how frightening she was last week."

"Ah, yes, so I've heard. It was rather impressive I've been told."

"But it was scary! Where did she learn to fight like that?"

The other boy shrugged, "I do not know."

The blond leaned more heavily against the bike rack, "Kyoya… exactly how much do you know about Jin? She's a student here now, have you looked in on her school record?"

Kyoya pulled his black journal out of his school bag and flipped a few pages, "Yes, I have. And again, I'm a bit impressed."

Tamaki crossed his arms, "You continue to say that you're impressed, but whenever you and Jin are in the same room you both take cheap shots at each other. Why?"

"She's the one who starts it."

"Now you're sounding defensive."

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Tamaki lifted his hands in defeat, but they both knew that the topic was going to come up again soon. That's just how things worked with them.

Kyoya cleared his throat, "Let's start at the beginning. Jin Fujioka… she's been the number one student in her class ever since she started school. She began to take piano lessons at the age of 4, quit before she turned 6, and then started again when she was 11 under the instruction of Kagome-sensei, who is Ouran's most prominent music teacher, and she taught herself guitar at the age of 8. By the time she was 14 she won 3rd place in a national essay competition, 2nd place in a national art competition, and performed her final piano recital in Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. She knows seven languages including Japanese, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and is teaching herself Swedish, despite only ever taking English and French classes in school."

Tamaki's mouth was agape again as Kyoya snapped his journal shut, "How did she meet-"

"I do not know."

"Is she a robot? How is all that possible for one person?"

Kyoya slipped the journal back into his bag, "Unclear, but it's all true. And that's only what she told the school academic-wise. She might have-"

Loud laughter coming from the gates interrupted the ravenet. All of the students still waiting outside on the school grounds turned to watch as two people on bikes pedaled through the school gates at top speed. Tamaki squinted at the figures before his eyes snapped wide open. _ Wait a second… that's Haruhi and Jin! _

Tamaki straightened up as the two girls moved closer. But it wasn't until they were halfway between the gates and the bike racks that he noticed something even stranger. There was only one bike. Jin was on the seat, smoothly pedaling her and her sister down the stone pathway, but Haruhi was standing up behind her with her arms wrapped around Jin's chest.

There was no second seat. There were just two bars sticking out from the bike frame near the center of the back tire where Haruhi's feet were planted. The sight of it almost gave Tamaki a heart attack if it wasn't for Haruhi grinning from ear to ear and her laughter as the wind blew at her hair.

The siblings zipped along the path. As they drew closer to the bike rack, Jin stopped pedaling. But she didn't brake.

"Ready, Haru?"

"Ready!"

"3, 2, 1!"

When they reached '1', Jin turned to the left, riding alongside the bike racks and Haruhi let go of her sister, jumping off of the bike. She stumbled an inch or two when her feet hit the pavement, but other than that she landed smoothly. Haruhi removed her helmet and finger combed her short hair.

"Hey, Senpai."

"J-j-j...j-j-j… juST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

The short girl patted her school bag which had been fastened securely to her side, "I'm not sure why you're shouting, Senpai. I just rode my sister's bike to school. It's no big deal-"

"YES IT'S A BIG DEAL! HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE! THAT WAS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS!"

"What are you talking about? Nēchan and I do that all the time!"

Tamaki's head jerked back, " _ All… the time..? _ "

The poor blond was trembling from head to toe as Jin pedaled back. She climbed off the bike and wheeled it onto the rack one handed while she unhooked her own helmet. Haruhi fastened her helmet onto the right handlebar while her Nēchan chained up the bike. It was painted lime green with a few chips in, but it was still a nice bike.

"Maybe we should've practiced the dismount a couple times before we headed here, Nēchan. I stumbled a bit."

Jin attached her own helmet to the other handle, "Yeah, I was thinking that too. The bike shook something awful when you jumped off. I just figured that since getting on the bike went so well, the dismount would be fine too. Oh well, I suppose that counts as practice."

The girls grinned at each other and Jin threw an arm around Haruhi's shoulder, "Let's head to class."

They walked up the steps, but Kyoya and Tamaki remained immobile. Tamaki was about fifteen seconds away from hyperventilating while Kyoya simply stared off after them. A few seconds later the twins ran up.

"Boss! Did you see that?"

"That was so cool! I didn't know Haruhi had that in her!"

And with that, Tamaki crumbled to his knees rocking back and forth on the cement, " _ My precious daughter… so dangerous… how could they… _ "

Kyoya looked down at the blond, "Quit being so overly dramatic, Tamaki. Yes, it was surprising, but clearly those girls have practiced that move before. It's no use crying over it."

"Tama-chan! Why are you crying?" Honey and Mori appeared at the side of the group, having just missed the Fujioka's stunt.

"Honey-senpai! You're not going to believe what Jin and Haruhi just did!"

"Hm?"

Kaoru opened his mouth, but Tamaki jumped up to his feet and interrupted, "I've made a decision! We have to increase Jin's femininity! Only when we do that will we ever make any progress with Haruhi!"

The boys stared at their club's president with dry looks.

"Hey, Boss-"

"-we know you're very sold on the idea of making Haruhi act more girly-"

"-but in case you've forgotten, we know even less about Jin than we do about Haruhi."

"Tama-chan, don't you think you should get to know Jin first before you try to change her?"

The blond boy gripped his chin and started pacing, muttering under his breath, "What if… what if we try to classify her? Yeah! We find out what kind of personality she has, and if the girls notice it we can tell them that we're trying to give Jin a type for the club!"

Kyoya cocked an eyebrow, "Must we  _ all _ take part in this?"

"Yes! It is a requirement! We're going to need all the manpower we can get! Operation Classify Jin Fujioka is now underway!"

* 3 hours later *

"Can anyone provide the answer to question one?"

The class of 2-A didn't even bother to raise their hands. Instead, they just watched as Jin Fujioka and Kyoya Ootori instantly shot their hands up in the air at the same exact time, leveling less than friendly stares at each other. Their math teacher waited for a few moments before sighing.

"Ms. Fujioka? I saw your hand first."

The brunette nodded with a smile and stood up from her seat, "The answer is X=25. There are no other solutions."

"Correct."

The brunette shot the ravenet behind her an unreadable look before going back to scribbling numbers on her page. Kyoya didn't even need to look to know what she was doing. He'd seen it before.  _ Completing tonight's homework assignment during class time. Ridiculous! _

" _ I believe that is one more point to me. _ "

Kyoya scowled and hissed back, " _ It's not a competition. _ "

Jin merely smiled sweetly, her eyes never leaving her book, " _ Is that why you keep tabs on my test scores? _ "

The boy clenched his fingers tightly around his pencil, but chose not to answer.  _ She's winding me up. If I don't pay attention in class she _ will _ pass me. _ Kyoya didn't know what to think of the elder Fujioka anymore. At first, he thought she would be a good asset to have. She was very intelligent, socially skilled, and had a bright future ahead of her.

Now, however, he saw a more sarcastic side of her. One that was a tad bit headstrong and even, on occasion, smug. What was worse was that she was perhaps the kindest person at this school. Perhaps even honestly... Just not to him. Of course, he knew it was partially his own fault for goading her on. For example? Most of the time he only  _ said _ he was adding onto Haruhi and Jin's debt, just to get back at her for "innocently" asking for his score on a test she did better at.

So much for dealing with this in a mature fashion.

"When dealing with radicals in the denominator-"

" _ Psst! Jin! _ "

Kyoya kept his head facing forward, but his eyes flicked down to Tamaki. The blond was crouched low over his desk, leaning so far over to the left he was about to fall off his chair. The brunette he was trying to talk to peeked out at him out of the corner of her eye.

" _ What? _ "

" _ I was just wondering. What's your favorite type of music? _ "

This time, both Jin and Kyoya physically turned their heads to stare at the other boy.

" _...Can I tell you after class? _ "

" _ No. Just tell me. Is it K-pop? _ "

Jin's mouth fell open for a split second before she shut it again. She quickly turned back to her desk, pulled out another sheet of lined paper and started scribbling frantically on it. Kyoya returned his attention back to the front of the classroom, but found it hard to focus when he could hear Jin's pencil scratching at the paper and Tamaki kicking Jin's shoe underneath her desk, trying to regain her attention.

Ten minutes of that nonsense later, she folded up the paper into halves. Then fourths. Then eights. Sixteenths. And finally thirty-seconds before tossing the paper onto Tamaki's desk. In his surprise, the blond nearly swatted the paper onto the floor. Kyoya tried to keep himself focused on the lesson, but was finding it difficult with his friend squirming in front of him as he quickly unfolded the paper.

_ Could he just _ stop  _ already? _

Almost like he said the magic word, Tamaki froze. And deflated. He folded the paper back up and stuck it in his jacket pocket as the teacher continued with his lesson. Kyoya was  _ finally _ able to focus for the final twenty minutes of class time, relieved that their lunch period followed the lesson. He needed to get away from the two in front of him. Unfortunately he knew Tamaki would stick to his side like glue, but at least Jin never ate in the cafeteria.

_ Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring~! _

"Class dismissed."

There was a great shuffling of chairs as the students began chattering away amicably. Kyoya packed away his textbook and notes but remained seated, not wanting to be bothered with the initial rush of students out the door. He had tried perhaps once to get out of the classroom ahead of the crowd only to be jostled from every which way by the mad rush. Now, he was plenty comfortable with waiting out the tide of bodies.

Tamaki, though he liked to be in the throng of things, had decided some time last year that he would accompany his friend in waiting. Jin, however, had no such qualms. She packed away her things, stood up, and skillfully slipped through the crowd of her other classmates. She was usually the third or fourth student out in the hallway, and today was no different.

As soon as she was gone, Tamaki slumped back in his seat until his head was resting on the back of the chair, nearly sliding off altogether. Kyoya cast an unamused glance at the blond.

"What exactly was that?" Tamaki let out a groan and pulled the paper back out of his pocket, holding it up for his friend to take.

Kyoya unfolded the paper as Tamaki explained, "I wanted to know what kind of music Jin liked to help classify her, but she only made me more confused." And Kyoya could see why. The paper Jin had given Tamaki had a very long list of song genres, ranging from Classical to Pop to Jazz to Punk Rock to Acapella to Rock N' Roll. At the very bottom she had scribbled, 'I listen to whatever songs I like. The genre, time period, or artist really doesn't matter to me.' Kyoya rolled his eyes and handed the paper back.

"I'm not exactly sure what you were expecting, but I'll have you know that if those are the types of questions you're going to ask her you'll find out nothing."

Tamaki pushed himself up and whipped around in his seat, staring straight into Kyoya's eyes, "So, you'll help me?"

"I never said that."

"But do you know the right kind of questions to ask?"

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean-"

"To the lunchroom! We have to start planning our attack!"

Kyoya frowned but allowed himself to be yanked harshly out of his seat and out into the hallway. It wasn't like this was an odd occurrence anyways. Besides, this could prove to be interesting. It always is.

*In Music Room 3*

"Alright men, you're all aware of the question you're supposed to answer, correct?"

"Yes, Sir!" The five boys nodded, Honey and the twins saluting their "king".

"Good! Now, divide and conquer!"

"Yes, Sir!" they responded once again before splitting off in different directions around the music room. No reason to make the girls suspicious the second they arrived at the host club. Tamaki nodded to himself.  _ It's only three classifications. Surely with the six of us we can find the correct one before club activities are over. _

Still, he felt a bit nervous. What if Haruhi or Jin found out what they were trying to do and got angry again? Tamaki didn't want Haruhi mad at him and Jin still frightened him a bit. How could she not? She nearly kicked those boy's heads in!

"Hey, guys. Sorry we're late, I forgot my pencil in the library and we had to go back for it." The brunettes of the host club entered through the double doors. Haruhi was looking around the room like she couldn't care less about being there, but Jin was wearing her usual smile as she flicked a wave at the boys she hadn't been in class with all day. The twins were quick to approach the girls and start chatting.

Tamaki flicked his gaze back and forth between the group of four and his table for the day that he was supposed to be preparing. For a strange reason, he felt nervous. Jin was unlike anything they had seen before (except for Haruhi, in a sense) so when they had come up with possible classifications during lunch, they could only come up with three likely candidates.

The serious one, the bookworm... or the Yandere.

Tamaki really hoped it wasn't the last one.

"One minute, everyone. Positions, please." The hosts quickly regrouped at the front of the room. There was no chair set up, so they all stood in their signature poses. From left to right it was Kyoya, Kaoru, Hikaru, Tamaki, Haruhi, Jin, Honey, and Mori.

Just before the doors creaked open to allow the guests in, Tamaki snuck one last glance at his target for the day. Jin was leaning slightly against her sister, her elbow planted on Haruhi's shoulder so she could rest her chin on her palm. She looked calm and collected and just plain ol' pleasant, but Tamaki still couldn't figure her out.

_ Maybe she could be the mysterious type... but then again Kyoya and Mori cover that area fairly well. _

The front doors opened and Tamaki had to redirect his thoughts back to his guests.

"Welcome ladies!"

* * *

"Jin, what's your favorite book?"

The brunette pursed her lips as she scooped up the empty tea cup and set it on her tray, really thinking it over. She read so much that asking for her favorite book was like asking which of her fingers she liked best. Deep inside, she felt the oncoming feeling of embarrassment.  _ Only half an hour to go and now they give me the hard questions! Will they think I'm weird if I don't answer right away? _

Thank goodness she always had a signature answer for this question in case she wasn't given the proper time to think them all over.

"Well, I've never finished a book I didn't like so it's almost impossible for me to even consider choosing a favorite. But if I really have too… it's probably the Harry Potter series, and don't ask for me to pick a favorite one from that!"

The two girls giggled away at her (severely lame) attempt at a joke and Jin glanced at Kyoya to see if he wanted her to continue with the conversation or go away. But, as usual, he was refusing to look at her, and had been ever since she had appeared at his side.  _ Probably so that he doesn't accidentally snark at me in front of his guests. _

She sighed internally. Jin wished that they could be friends. Kyoya seemed like a cool guy, if not for his taxcollector-like attitude when it came to Haruhi's (and now her own) debt, and she'd hoped that some friendly banter would get him to relax a bit around her.

But  _ nooo _ … instead he had to be a ja-

"Are fiction books your favorite?"

Jin shifted from one foot to the other, knowing that at least one person at this table wanted her gone, "Well, I mostly read fiction books for joy reads, but I also love reading about mythology. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, you name it, it's all incredibly interesting to me. As for the fiction books, I prefer ones with action and perhaps some humor."

She tilted her head to the side as a random memory resurfaced, "Well, except for one."

The three girls leaned in, eyes shining and completely ignoring the host sitting at their table. Jin regarded Kyoya to see if he was sending out any 'go-away-or-so-help-me' signs, but all he did was pull out his black journal and scribble something out on one of the pages.  _ Oh, fine then. Might as well. _

She pinned the tray between her left hip and her left wrist, leaving her right hand free to emphasis her words, "I read it while I was in America. It's called World War Z. Yes, it's about zombies and all that fuss, but it's actually really interesting. I only liked it because it had a different way of looking at the zombie apocalypse. There were more psychological aspects in it and spoke more about the humans than the zombies. It dealt with religion, instincts, society, class, mindsets, and morals and was pretty serious for a fiction book. World War Z is just a very serious and deep way to think about a zombie apocalypse in a very real way. With a dash of humor I suppose."

The girls were positively shivering with interest, and Jin noticed a small frown working its way onto Kyoya's lips. He was finally displaying his inner emotions.  _ Aaaand that's my cue. _

"Well ladies, I should probably get back to my work. Maybe you should check out the book for yourselves if you're interested. Kyoya, any other books you think these ladies would enjoy?"

The ravenet lifted his head from his black journal, fake smile back in place, "Of course! I was just reading one myself a few days ago that I found rather interesting..." With the host back on the center stage, Jin flicked away back into the kitchen. Once she was able to slip into the other room, she let out a big sigh and leaned against the door. The emptiness of the room swept over her and her nerves calmed down greatly.

_ I wonder if they can tell I have a little public speaking anxiety? _

Jin thought about it, then started giggling. The giggles became loud laughter as she pushed away from the door and further into the kitchen-like room.  _ Of course they can't tell. I'm so used to pushing it down when in public sometimes even Dad can't see it! _ Her laughter dies down as she sets the dirty dishes down by the sink. She had already washed the last round of dishes, so Jin decided to wait before filling the sink up again to wash just 3 little cups and saucers.

_ I should probably put the clean ones away now then send out another round of cake for Honey. _ Jin nodded once to herself before she started scooping up all the matching Foley tea cups. She skillfully opened one cabinet door with her chin, set everything back where it belonged, and bumped the door shut again with her hip.  _ Hips don't lie. _

She giggled slightly at her own mental joke, but stopped quickly when her phone began ringing from in her jacket pocket. A quick glance at the screen told her it was Mrs. Inoue. Eiichi's mother.

'Hedwig's Theme' was abruptly cut off as she answered, "Ello?"

"Hello, Jin?"

"That's me. Is there a problem, Mrs. Inoue?"

"I'm afraid so, Jin. Eiichi's teacher called me at work today because he wasn't feeling well. I think he has a stomach bug."

"Oh no..." Jin let her lower lip push out a bit, "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yes, but I'm going to stay home and take care of him, so I don't need you to babysit tomorrow. Is that going to mess anything up for you?"

Jin smiled understandingly and shook her head, even though she knew Mrs. Inoue couldn't see it, "It's not a problem, Mrs. Inoue. But if you need any help just give me a call. And tell Eiichi I hope he feels better soon, alright?"

"Of course. Thank you, Jin. Have a good day."

"You too."

_ *Click* _

Jin slipped her phone back into her pocket. _ Huh. Now I have 6 and a half hours of free time tomorrow. Don't we need to go shopping soon? I should ask Haru if she wants to go shopping with me tomorrow after my demonstration. _

The brunette poked her head out into the main room again and scanned it for her sister. It was easy, considering Tamaki was currently pulling her into a more remote corner of the room. Jin smirked and shook her head. It was pretty clear that Tamaki felt  _ something _ for her sister. In all honesty, she couldn't wait to see where that led them.

Still, she remained silent as she slipped over to them, listening closely to their conversation.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Haruhi!"

" _ You didn't really give me much choice on the matter, Senpai... _ "

Tamaki waved the comment off, "Details, details. So, Haruhi, I've been meaning to ask you about Jin. What are her hobbies? What does she like? I've decided to make Jin a 'type', similar to me being the Princely type, and figured you'd be the best candidate to help me discover it." Jin smirked and silently crept even closer until she was standing about a foot behind the boy. Haruhi saw her and cocked an eyebrow.

"Why don't you ask her this yourself?"

Tamaki sighed dramatically and pressed his fingers delicately against his brow, and Jin mirrored the move behind him, " _ Because _ , Haruhi, I want to  _ surprise _ your sister. Technically, she's not an official host, so she wouldn't be expecting us to put a lot of thought into making her a type! Don't you see that by talking to you instead of Jin, she will have no idea of our plan until the grand revelation? But that will never happen if you don't help us... what's with the face?"

Now, Tamaki had been completely unaware of Jin standing directly behind him the entire time, mimicking every flail of his arms and flick of his bangs, but Haruhi hadn't. She was squeezing her lips as tightly together as she could to muffle her laughs. Closing her eyes had only created a very vivid mental image of Tamaki's face once he discovered what was going on, which hadn't helped her case at all, and the scene was nearly enough to bring her to her knees.

At Tamaki's question, however, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"HAHAHAHAAAAAA!" Haruhi dropped to her knees, clutching at her stomach. Tamaki jumped back in surprise, only to run right into Jin. He whipped around and saw her grinning too, as well as the twins who were laughing behind a pillar.

"Jin! W-what's going on?"

The taller brunette threw an arm around the blond's shoulder, "I was just making Haru laugh, Tamaki. Nothing to worry about."

The boy looked around at everyone still laughing, "What?"

The twins waved him off and Haruhi quickly stood up, a few laughs still slipping through now and then, "It was nothing, Senpai. We  _ -hehehe- _ should probably get back to our guests now." The girls linked their arms together and walked back to Haruhi's guests, still giggling every few steps. As they walked away, the twins stumbled over.

"Well..."

"I guess she isn't the serious type."

"But... what was she doing?"

The twins shared a look before turning away, "Nothing at all, Boss."

Tamaki stared after them, now with rampant curiosity. _ Maybe Kyoya will tell me. Still, there's one personality down... and it's not the one I wanted. _

"So, Jin? Do you have any hobbies other than reading?" Tamaki froze to the floor before bolting after the girls. They were now seated together on a couch talking to Haruhi's guests. The guests who had just asked the question Tamaki had assigned to himself and Kyoya. He dove behind a pillar just to the left of the group and pressed his ear against the cold marble.  _ Please be the bookworm. Please be the bookworm... _

"Well, actually there are a lot of other things I like to do, such as gymnastics, drawing, writing, cycling, biking-"

"Uh, Jin? Aren't biking and cycling the same thing?"

There was a bit of a pause before she responded, "Actually, cycling refers to a bike. Biking refers to motorcycles."

All at once the girls let out matching squeals, "You can ride a motorcycle?!"

"Yeah! I was taught when I went to America. I can drive motorcycles  _ and _ snowmobiles. It's pretty much the same thing."

The clients began asking question after question about her biking ability. Meanwhile, Tamaki was leaning his back against the pillar, staring off into space with an exceedingly dead look.  _ Motorcycles. Of all the things, why a motorcycle? _ Tamaki was at war with himself. On one hand, he wanted to jump out and lecture Jin on the dangers of riding a motorcycle, yet at the same time he wanted to keep hidden from her. She wasn't the serious type, nor the bookworm, which left only one option left.

"Do you ever wonder if you're overthinking things, Tamaki?"

The blond didn't even look up from his knees, "Not at all, Kyoya. We've exhausted all other options. Clearly, we are dealing with a Yandere. Now we must plan on how to approach Haruhi. If we don't convince her immediately, she will never believe any accusations in the future. And we have to do so without Jin discovering-"

"That you think I'm a Yandere?"

Tamaki screamed.

Straight up, high pitched,  _ screamed _ . His hair even stood up on end.

The poor blond boy bolted from his hiding spot and cowered behind Kyoya's legs, peeking out at the tall brunette girl leaning up against the pillar. She was giving him her usual soft smile, but that did nothing for Tamaki's nerves.

"J-J-Jin! I d-didn't know you were th-there!"

Jin rolled her eyes, "Mind telling me exactly what's going on? All day you've been acting weird around me, Tamaki. Did I say something? Was it the bike ride earlier?"

Kyoya responded before Tamaki could, "You frightened him last week after the movie shooting, which is why he's been acting strange around you, but today he was making the attempt to get to know you better so that he could bring out your feminine side, followed by Haruhi."

Jin's smile disappeared in the blink of an eye to be replaced by a heartbroken one. She crouched down low and stared at the other boy.

"Tamaki? Are you really scared of me?"

He twiddled his thumbs together, "Not…extremely. I just feel a slight nervousness whenever you get angry."

The elder Fujioka sat down fully on her feet. When she spoke, it was in the same tone of voice she had used with Haruhi when she had first learned of her debt.

"Tamaki, I want to make this very clear to you right now. I am not a danger to you. This is exactly the reason I don't broadcast my fighting abilities. I  _ hate _ it when people are afraid of me, even when I would never do anything to hurt them. You're my friend, Tamaki, and I promise I won't go on a rampage anytime soon, alright? Please don't be afraid."

To absolutely no one's surprise, Tamaki was in tears when she finished. He jumped out from behind Kyoya and held Jin in the tightest hug he could manage.

"I'M SO SORRY, JIN! I WAS UNFAIR TO YOU! I PROMISE TO NEVER THINK NEGATIVELY OF YOU EVER AGAIN! WE'LL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS FROM NOW ON!" Jin, also unsurprisingly, simply laughed and squeezed the boy back, a smile back on her face. Kyoya rolled his eyes and walked away. _ I should be getting paid for dealing with these idiots every day. _

Jin waited until she and Tamaki were alone before whispering, " _ Well, I'm glad we got that cleared up. And now that we have, I'm going to tell you straight up to stop trying to stereotype me. _ "

Tamaki withdrew from the hug as if he'd been burned, "What are you talking about?"

Jin scoffed and pushed herself back up onto her feet, "Oh please. 'Making the attempt to get to know me better'? If you'd been trying to do that, you should've come right to me. Instead you went to Haruhi and told her you were trying to give me a 'type'. And you were just freaking out a minute ago because you thought I was a Yandere. You're trying to make me fit in a box." She patted his head lightly, "I know I can't convince you to stop trying, so I'll just leave you with my opinion and a question. Why deal with labels? No one is ever just one thing."

Tamaki remained frozen as she walked away, turning the question over in his head. He was still thinking about it as Kyoya declared the club's closure for the day and all the host's gathered their things to go home.

In fact, it wasn't until everyone was outside and only Tamaki and the girls were left that he spoke again.

"Jin?"

"Yeah?" She asked as she unlocked her bike from the rack.

"I think you might have a point. From now on, I won't label anyone just one thing! I mean, I should know, shouldn't I? After all… I am both kind and beautiful!"

The girls gave each other the same leveled kind of look, "Right. Haru? Are you ready to go home?"

Haruhi snapped her helmet on, nice and tight, "Absolutely, Nēchan."

"Good, I'm just going to warm up, alright?"

"No problem. Take your time."

The girls nodded at each other before Jin took off down the bike racks. She pedaled around in a few circles before swerving to a stop and wound up facing back the way she came. The long haired brunette grinned suddenly and started pedaling fast. She quickly picked up speed, her eyes drilling into Haruhi who was flexing her hands and bouncing on her toes.

Tamaki was looking between each sister in growing concern, "Wait… Haruhi…"

Just then, Jin rushed by the two. Haruhi stuck out her left hand and grabbed onto her sister, jumping up onto the bike in the process. Her feet landed on the pegs perfectly, and Jin hadn't slowed down for even a second. The two girls whooped at the perfect mount and didn't even notice the blond crying out after them.

"Just because I said you had a point doesn't mean you can do something as dangerous as that! Noooo! Jiiiiin! HA-RU-HIIIIII!"

 


	9. The Twins Fight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another episode! And delving a little deeper into the Jin and Haruhi 'mind-reading' for funzies! Hope you like!

 

_ Do you remember the first time we played that game? It was so long ago... _

...

"Let's all play the which one is Hikaru game!" Soft, excited giggles greeted the twin's announcement. Even some applause was heard. Once the girls quieted down a bit, the redheads leaned forward, giving the girls teasing looks. They made sure to speak in unison for the entire game, not about to let their different voices give them away.

"So..? Can you tell which one of us is Hikaru?"

" _ That's the dumbest game I've ever heard of. _ "

Haruhi hadn't  _ meant _ for the twins to hear her. She had just wanted to hand off her completed essay to Jin for a final editing (seriously, she's like a walking spell check) when she had passed behind the twins playing their game with their guests.  _ Honestly, they aren't that hard to tell apart. _

Unfortunately, they did hear her.

"What, have you got a problem with it, Haruhi?" Haruhi smirked.  _ No need to sound so defensive of it. _

"No, I'm just confused as to why the two of you are so popular, especially when you mainly just play games like this."

The twins gasped in mock hurt, "That's not very nice, Haruhi! Didn't Jin ever teach you manners?" They slipped over to her and leaned up on her shoulders, finally stopping with the unison talk. They probably gave up on the round.

"I'm disappointed in you."

"Apparently you don't understand the merits of having a pair of twins as members of the host club."

"Listen up," Hikaru held up a finger and started gesturing, acting almost like Tamaki but with less 'spaz', "Having a couple of good looking guys with homosexual tendencies earns the club high points. It also helps if the two guys struggle between their attraction and their friendship."

"And in our case, because we're twins our relationship is taboo. And therefore, more intriguing."

Haruhi rolled her eyes and shook their elbows off, "I didn't ask for a lecture. I need to get to Jin now. Nice talking to you guys." And with that, she spun around only to walk face-first into her sister's torso.

Jin laughed and took the opportunity to wrap her sister in a hug, "Hey! Watch where you're going, Haru!"

The other brunette smiled back as she was released and her hair was ruffled, "I will when you stop being so quiet, Nēchan. I thought you were in the kitchen?"

"I was, but then I came out to see what all the commotion was about."

"Hikaru! Kaoru!"

"Hm?" Jin and Haruhi looked over as Tamaki started shouting about the club's website and something the twins had done on it. And if his shouts, angry expression, and a shimmer of unshed tears in his eyes were any indicator, it wasn't anything good. The girls gave each other significant glances.

_ This club has a website now? _

_ I guess. What do you think he's shouting about now? _

_ I don't know, but it's probably not important. _

Jin shrugged, "Fair enough. So, why were you looking for me?"

"Oh yeah! I finished my essay that's due in class tomorrow, so I wanted you to read it over and see if I made any mistakes!"

Jin accepted the booklet and skimmed the first couple lines, "No problem, Haru. Is this a professional paper or a free write?"

"Professional."

"Okay. I'll have it looked over before dinner."

"Thanks, Nēchan. You're the best."

Jin smirked, "If you say so, Haru."

"Wow, Haru-chan! You look great!" The two sister looked over at the other boys and saw a large crowd of guests staring at the laptop Tamaki had brought over. They exchanged a glance before peering over the girl's shoulders at…

_ Topless photos of Haruhi!? _

The sisters paled and couldn't do anything but stare as the girls flicked through photo after photo. There were even a few with Jin in it, the two siblings clinging to each other similarly to how the twins posed.

" _ Hey… Haru? _ "

" _ Yeah? _ "

" _ Do you remember when any of these happened? _ "

" _ No… can't say that I do… _ "

The Fujioka siblings were both so out of it, they didn't even notice Tamaki creeping up behind them with a dress that was creepily already in Haruhi's size. They didn't even react to him whispering huskily into Haruhi's ear. In fact, it wasn't until the girls still holding the laptop started  _ agreeing _ with the suggestion of Haruhi wearing a dress that she and Jin snapped out of their funk. First item of business? Glare at Tamaki until he went away. Jin left that up to Haruhi.  _ No use scaring him again after I told him to not be afraid of me. _

Once the idiot was gone, they both turned their glares to the twins.

"I'm only going to say this once: No more making weird pictures of me and Nēchan, got it?"

"What do you boys take us for anyways?"

"Hm. Isn't it obvious? You're our new toys!"

Jin's jaw dropped before she threw her hands up into the air, "Done. Forget it. I'm out. I need some cake."

"Cake? Can I have some cake too, Jin-chan? We can eat chocolate cake together!"

Jin smirked, "Sure Honey. I just have to go grab some, alright? Meet you at your table in a bit." And with that, she walked away, patting her sister on the head before scurrying off to the kitchen. Haruhi watched her senpai's walking towards their table for a few moments.  _ I keep on forgetting to talk to Honey and Mori-senpai... I need to do that one of these days. _

"As we were saying, in order to entertain oneself in this otherwise boring life-"

"-one must find himself stimulating toys."

"WE ARE NOT YOUR TOYS, OKAY!?"

As soon as Haruhi spoke, there was the sound of a door creaking open. It was very similar to the sound you'd hear during a horror film. And the voice that followed was very much like that too.

" _ You want a toy? _ " Haruhi and the twins looked over to the wall and saw a cloaked figure peeking out from a black door, " _ If you like toys you should come visit my black magic club. We've opened a marketplace that sells black magic items from across the globe! If you visit right now, I'll even throw in a free Beelzenef curse doll! _ "

Haruhi blinked, "Why is he talking to us through a crack in the door? Who  _ is _ that anyways?"  _ This place just gets weirder and weirder by the minute. And has there always been a door there? I don't remember it being there before... _

"To answer your question, Haruhi, that is Nekozawa-senpai, third year student. He likes to hide and doesn't really care for brightly lit places."  _ Kyoya-senpai just knows everything about everyone at this school, doesn't he? I wonder if he's ever done anything malicious with his information before... _

"Don't get involved with that guy, Haruhi…"

"Ah!" Haruhi jumped and spun around, far more frightened by Tamaki's strange ability to appear out of nowhere than the guy with the cat puppet.

Tamaki, however, paid no mind, "If you do, you'll end up being cursed!"

"Do you have any proof of that?" In all honesty, Haruhi was getting pretty tired of Tamaki's constant tendency to over-complicate things with his dramatic ways, but he seemed oddly serious this time.

"Yes. It happened during final exams at the end of the last school year!" He shuddered, "It's terrifying just to talk about it. I was walking down the hallway, heading off to my English exam. Greeting the ladies and doing my best to spread happiness wherever I went. When suddenly… I felt myself step on something. On that fateful day, I accidentally stepped on Nekozawa's cursed doll,  _ Beelzenef. _ Afterward, I took my exam and the entire test was written in some strange lettering! I looked to the others for help and realized I knew none of them! I was all alone in a different dimension!"

Haruhi felt herself growing faint, "Did that really happen to you? H-how did you get back, then?"

"That only happened because you were so scared you accidentally walked into the beginning Greek class and took their exam."

"No! It was a curse!" Tamaki ran up to Kyoya and started shouting more "proof", which the ravenet shot down just a quickly as Haruhi calmed down.  _ I should've known better than to actually believe Tamaki's story. _

" _ You shouldn't underestimate the dark powers of Beelzenef. All you have to do is write the name of someone you hate on his back, then that person is certain to come face to face with... misfortune. _ " Haruhi rolled her eyes and started walking back to her table of guests.  _ Everyone at this school is ridiculous. _ But at the sound of Hikaru talking again, she paused.

"Wow, this guy really is dark, in more ways that one."

"Supposedly he hates bright lights. I wonder what he'll think of this…" Kaoru held up a flashlight and Haruhi felt a sick sort of feeling in her stomach.

"Guys… wait."

They shined the bright light directly into Nekozawa's face, which would've hurt anyone's eyes regardless, and the robed student let out a loud scream before running away, " _ YOU MURDERERS! _ " Haruhi stared at the twins with an open mouth.  _ They knew that he doesn't like those… why did they do that?! What did he do to them?! _ Tamaki started chewing the redheads out, but seemed more concerned with saving his own skin from being "cursed" than the twins accidentally hurting someone else.

Suddenly, another door in the room burst open. The kitchen, "What happened? Is anyone hurt? Who screamed?"

Haruhi quickly made her way over to Jin, "It's okay, Nēchan. Just some guy who came in. The twins shined a flashlight at him and he ran away."

Her sister tilted her head, "A flashlight?"

"Yeah, I know. Weird, huh? I just can't believe they would do something like that even though they knew he wouldn't like it."

"But…" Jin looked over her sister's head and narrowed her eyes, "What's Tamaki doing in the corner this time?"

"I don't know. Maybe-"

"Hey, Haruhi. Jin. We've got a favor to ask of you." The girls rolled their eyes and faced the twins again.

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"The next time we get a day off-"

"-can we come over to your place to hang out?"

The sisters shared a confused glance.

"Uh… why would you want to do that? There's nothing really special about our place…"

"We're curious about where you live! We've never seen a commoner's home before."

"No way." Haruhi quickly turned to the side.

"Aww, pretty please?"

Jin answered this time, "Not happening."

"No matter how much we beg you?"

"Never."

The twins paused for a moment in their pestering, probably from the surprise of the girls responding in unison much like themselves. The silence gave Tamaki an opportunity to speak up himself. A soft breeze flowed through the room as Tamaki stood from the corner, "I too, have been thinking that-"

"No way in hell, Senpai."

The girls were about to walk away when the twins appeared at their sides, green caps now in place. "Hey, why don't we settle this with a game? If you can't pick out which one of us is Hikaru, then you have to let us come over to your house later tonight. No arguments."

Jin shrugged, "If you want."

"Doesn't matter, I guess."

The twins quickly spun themselves around, thoroughly mixing themselves up.

"Okay, so which one of us is Hikaru?"

The girls shared a look, "Haru, you point to Kaoru, and I'll point to Hikaru?"

"Absolutely."

The girls pointed at their target and answered in perfect unison again, "Kaoru is on the left, Hikaru is on the right."

"Uh oh! Looks like you got it wrong!"

For a moment, Haruhi and Jin said nothing, then they smiled, "Uh, no, we didn't. I know we're right."

"You guys may look alike, but you're actually very different."

Now, it was the twin's turn to gasp. They peeked at each other as if trying to not-so-subtly find the difference Haruhi was talking about. A few girls started to gather around, staring at the Fujioka's in awe.

"That was incredible, Jin!"

"Haruhi, how can you two tell them apart? It's almost impossible to do that with their hair covered up!" Every eye was on Haruhi, including Jin's. Despite the fact that she could tell the boys apart too, it was clear who the more popular Fujioka was. Jin didn't seem to mind whatsoever though. She just watched her sister with a small smile playing across her face.

"Hm, how to put it… I guess the big different, at least to me, is that Hikaru's speech and actions make him seem more mischievous that Kaoru. If you notice, Hikaru takes more risks than his twin."

"Wow, I never thought about it like that before!"

"Jin-senpai? Is it the same way with you?"

The taller girl's smile curled into more of a smirk as everyone looked at her, "In a sense, but also in a completely different way altogether." The other girls whispered among themselves. Jin was acting very mysterious all of the sudden, and it was highly intriguing. But Kaoru's laughter from behind them caught their attention before they could ask what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru, I don't mean to laugh, but...*snicker* you gotta admit it's a little funny!"

"Well, I don't see what's so funny. I'm honest and I speak my mind! It's sneaky people like you who are the troublemakers, Kaoru!"

Kaoru's laugh was cut short. His face fell flat, voice low and dangerous as he spoke again, refusing to face his brother as he rebuked him. Hikaru matched Kaoru's expression with his response. The smiles and laughter of the crowd surrounding them fell lower at every word, the true gravity of the situation showing itself as Kaoru's face slowly morphed into a more sinister appearance.

"Face it, Hikaru, if I didn't go along with your games you'd make an ass of yourself in front of everyone in a heartbeat. I'm probably the only thing that's kept you away from public humiliation or jail time. And I couldn't help but notice... even though it was your idea to call Haruhi our toy, you were really quick to make a pass at her. You're actually in love with Haruhi... aren't you?"

Finally, one of the twins showed some emotion. Hikaru gasped and looked at his brother in apparent horror. Haruhi glanced up at her sister, wondering if she'd heard Kaoru right, but Jin was staring intently at the twins, her eyes going very clear. Knowing what would happen if she broke her concentration now, Haruhi decided to go back to watching the twins.

"You've got it all wrong, Kaoru! Man, you're such a freaking idiot! I mean, come one, she looks like a tanuki!"

At the insult, Jin muttered under her breath, " _ Take it back, you moron. Haru's the cutest shit you'll ever see in your life. _ " Haruhi was incredibly thankful that everyone else was so enraptured with the escalating fight that they didn't hear Jin's swears, but that didn't mean she didn't laugh. Still, since it had been whispered Haruhi knew that Jin was still deep in thought, speaking in Haruhi's defense only on reflex.

_ But what is she so focused on? _

Out of nowhere, the floor started to rumble.

"How wonderful! It's so perfect! Our beloved Haruhi is in the middle of a beautiful yet painful four sided romantic relationship while he struggles to maintain as close to his sister as he can! And to make it even more exciting, two of Haruhi's admirers are twins, torn apart by love! Just the thought of it could make me eat three bowls of rice!"

Tamaki walked over to the crying girl, "But, Renge, I thought you had feelings for Haruhi as well?"

"Oh, I do! But I have no problem with Haruhi having a homosexual relationship on the side or struggling with a taboo relationship with Jin."

Haruhi also slipped over to try and cut off the conversation, leaving Jin where she was, "Wait, I thought you had decided to go back home to France, Renge? What changed?"  _ And how can we change it back? _

"CUT IT OUT, ALREADY! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS CRAWLING INTO MY BED! TALK ABOUT ANNOYING!"

"I ONLY DO THAT BECAUSE YOU LOOK LONELY! I WOULDN'T CHOOSE TO SLEEP IN YOUR BED, YOU IDIOT!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SUCKS AT MATH!"

"OH YEAH? WELL YOU'RE FAILING YOUR FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASS YOU BIG DUMMY!"

Haruhi quickly walked back to her sister, "Jin? Jin, shouldn't we do something? They're really getting into it…"

Jin, however remained frozen. She squinted her eyes really hard at the twins, watching their movements and listening to their insults closely.  _ This doesn't make any sense… why would Kaoru… and now the guests… wait a moment... _ Her eyes widened exponentially just as the twins roughly shoved at each other's chests at the same time, falling away from each other.

"THAT'S IT! WE'RE OVER!"

The entire room gasped, save for the tall brunette girl standing just behind Haruhi.

_ They're faking it… but why? Should I stop it? _

A quick scan of the other faces in the room showed that no one else appeared to have noticed the bluff. Haruhi turned around as the twins stormed out of the room in opposite directions, prompting everyone else to start discussing the newest piece of Ouran gossip. Jin quickly fixed her face into a look of surprise.

"Nēchan, should you step in?"

Jin looked away again, thinking about it, "Do you know what? Let's let this play out. Hopefully they'll make up by themselves in the end, but perhaps we should say something if it grows out of hand. One fight over something like this shouldn't become  _ too _ serious, I would think."  _ Besides, waiting this out will give me time to work out why they're doing this in the first place. _

Haruhi nodded, accepting her sister's logic, "Guess all we can do now is wait, huh?"

"Yeah… I guess so."

* * *

The next morning, Jin and Haruhi walked into Ouran in silence. The quiet had been going on for long enough that Haruhi was starting to grow concerned.  _ Ever since we came to Ouran, Jin has been forced to think deeply about a lot of things. First it was my debt, then Renge, and now the twins fighting. _ Even their dad had noticed her unusual behavior, considering she almost forgot to go over Haruhi's paper until after dinner the night before.

Haruhi sighed.  _ I really shouldn't be jealous, especially since they're fighting, but I wish Jin would focus more on me now that she's back. _

"Hey, Haru?"

As if Jin had heard her thoughts, Haruhi looked up and saw her older sister smiling down at her, "Want me to walk with you to your classroom? We got here early enough. I could even give you a piggy-back ride, if you want."

The shorter sister nodded, "Yeah, that would be nice, Nēchan." She moved behind her sister and jumped onto her back. Jin hefted her up and a few seconds later, they were moving again. Haruhi leaned her head against her sister's shoulder and watched the people they passed by. They attracted some strange glances, but Haruhi couldn't find the motivation to care. She was tired.

_ This must be what Honey feels like all the time. I can't remember the last time I got a piggy-back ride from Nēchan. Must've been… awhile ago. I can't... quite remember. _ Her eyes drifted shut as Jin's vanilla scented shampoo lulled her into a relaxed mood.  _ Why'd we ever stop doing this? _ A lock of hair brushed against Haruhi's cheek and she realized something.

"Nēchan, did you condition your hair this morning?"

"Yes."

"Awesome."

Haruhi turned her head so that her cheek was pressed fully against her sister's hair.  _ So soft... _

...

"Haru? Wake up, this is your classroom."

Haruhi forced her eyes open and slid down off of her sister's back, rubbing at her eyes as her contacts started bugging her. All the girls around them were cooing softly at the cute scene.

"Thanks, Nēchan. I'll see you at lunch, alright?"

Jin straightened her back just a smidgen, and Haruhi noticed, "Yeah. See you then, Haru." With one last kiss pressed to her forehead, Haruhi walked inside.  _ Why did she stiffen when I mentioned lunch? _ As she sat down, the answer came to her.

_ Oh… damn. _

Just outside of Haruhi's classroom, Jin smacked her own forehead.  _ Stupid, stupid, stupid. Come on, Jin, get it together! You haven't even been at this school for over a month and you already forgot- _

A brief flash of hot pink appeared in her vision, cutting off her thoughts. When it appeared again, Jin's jaw dropped.  _ Hikaru? _

Yup, it was Hikaru Hitachiin, with vibrant pink hair styled in a way that it stuck straight up. As he drew closer, Jin stepped to the side of the doorway and gave the twin a smile and a wave of hello, hoping her shocked surprise didn't show too much. But if Hikaru thought it was strange for Jin to be there when her classroom was quite a ways away, he didn't show it. Instead, he returned the smile and the wave before disappearing into Class 1-A's classroom as well.

Jin stared off after him as he went over to talk to her sister. All around her, other students were chatting about Hikaru's new hairdo as well.

"Was that Hikaru? Or Kaoru?"

"Is this because of the fight?"

"Look, down the hall! Is that Kaoru!?"

Jin turned and saw that, yes, it was indeed Kaoru walking down the hallway. And his hair was dyed a light blue. She blinked rapidly before smiling in greeting and flicking him a wave, just like with his twin.

The younger twin smiled as well, his gloomy expression diminishing, "Good morning, Jin-senpai! Did you walk Haruhi to class today?"

"Yeah…"

Hikaru's voice suddenly sounded from the open doorway, "Because pink suits me! Don't you think it's cute?"

Kaoru's smile dropped and he continued walking towards his class, "Excuse me, Jin-senpai. I have to get to class now. It was nice talking to you." Jin stared off after him as well.  _ Huh. I guess it's no secret who the friendlier twin is… _

"Jin-chan~"

"Huh?"

Jin turned around just as Honey wrapped her up in a hug, "I didn't expect to see you here! Let me guess, you walked Haru-chan to class today, didn't you!"

It took her a moment to respond to the hug, but she did with a grin, "I never could fool you, could I, Honey-senpai?" She looked up at his tall companion, "Good morning, Mori-senpai!"

"Morning."

"Hey, did you see Hika-chan and Kao-chan's hair this morning? We saw them when they got out of their limos!"

"Limos? As in, plural?"

Honey slipped to the floor and walked over to Class 1-A's doorway, looking in, "Yeah, they came to school in different cars today. Kao-chan looked so sad…" He looked back at Jin, "Did they say anything to-"

A hand reached over and pulled Usa-chan right out of Honey's arms. The small boy was so surprised at first that he didn't even react. Of course, that didn't last long.

"Usa-chan!" Honey ran into the room, closely followed by Jin and Mori, and for a second the two taller students just stared at the carnage the twins were creating. They were throwing chairs, school bags, vases… anything within reach. And Usa-chan was now in the mix.

Honey spotted his precious bunny quickly and ran after it. He caught the stuffed pet before it could hit the ground, but just then Hikaru grabbed the back of his uniform and tossed him at his brother. The blond didn't seem to be very bothered by it, contently holding his Usa-chan.

Jin grabbed Mori's arm and shook him, "Lift me up, quick!" The black haired boy grabbed her hips and hoisted her high up in the air with the help of her jumping a bit at the start. With their timing and holding Jin up at the correct height, Honey was thrown straight into her awaiting arms, not a scratch on him. Mori, seeing that Honey's momentum was about to knock the three of them over, quickly let go of Jin, twisting her body as he did so so that she fell bridal style into his arms before he set her down on her feet.

She and Honey stumbled for three seconds before regaining their bearings, but Honey was quick to hug both of them after his dizzy spell wore off, "Thanks Takashi! Thanks Jin-chan."

The girl huffed a laugh, "No problem. But we should probably head to our own classes." She gave her sister a fleeting look, "I wish we could take Haruhi with us…"

Honey started pushing at the back of Jin's legs, "She'll be alright. Come on, you'll see her at lunch time and you don't want to be late to class, right?"

At the word 'lunch', Jin remembered what she had been worrying about before the hair-dying incident.

"Oh, yeah. Let's go, then."

*Noontime recess in the refectory*

"Haru? Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Come on, I saw them both heading down to the refectory. You said you were going to step in if it got too bad, so we might as well."

Jin didn't argue the point any further, but followed her sister down the hallway and through the doors. The school's lunch room was just as big and grand as every other room in the school. The two girls, having never been in this portion of the school before, thought the same thing.  _ These damn rich people. _

"Haruhi, there they are, by the school lunch line."

They looked over and saw both a pink haired and a blue haired boy standing side by side, trying to order their lunch from the two cafeteria workers waiting.

"I'll have the A lunch." The room fell silent as the twins stiffened. "No, give me the B pasta and the D salad! I'll take the F Cappellini with the Barbary duck! Hold on, make that a foie-gras poêlé sauce!" As their unison shouts increased in volume, everyone around them slowly pulled away.

Finally, the two boys faced each other and snarled in each other's faces, "Stop copying me! Why don't you just leave me alone?!" A good couple meters behind them, the Fujioka siblings watched the fight.

"Amazing. Perfect unison even when fighting…"

Jin rested her chin on her fist, staring hard at the twins again, "Yeah. They're so close it's probably second nature to them to order the same thing by now. They sure do think a lot alike…"

Just then Haruhi noticed the rest of the club walking into the cafeteria. She docked Jin's hip with her own before jerking her head towards the rest of the host club. They walked over to the other members as everyone else in the room started gushing over how the entire host club was in the same room.

But one comment really caught Haruhi's attention.

"I've never seen them all together like this!"

_ Do they really not hang out outside of the host club? I thought that they were all pretty close with each other, considering they've all seen each other half-naked and stuff for some of their cosplays. But if they don't hang out with each other outside of the host club… then who  _ do  _ they spend their free time with? _

"We've had enough of this!"

Honey marched straight over to the twins and Haruhi tugged at her sister's sleeve, "Nēchan, do you think he'll be alright?"

"Yeah, Honey-senpai can look after himself…"

"Jin, where is your lunch?"

"Hm?" The remaining hosts turn to look at Kyoya, who was staring at Jin (or, as near as they could figure, the glare on his glasses made it a little hard to tell) with a small frown. It took Jin a moment to realize he was waiting for her response.

"Oh, I forgot to make one last night."

It was true. While Haruhi was holding onto a small boxed lunch, Jin had nothing in her hand but her school bag.

"And what were you planning on doing with yourself during this lunch period, then?"

Jin hefted up her bag, "I was going to work on some projects on my laptop. It's what I normally do if I forget a lunch. I don't exactly have any extra money for a lunch from this place, now do I?" She ended her explanation with a smile, but Kyoya was looking at her oddly, like he didn't quite believe her.

Actually, Jin was very confused. It was rare for Kyoya to initiate any sort of conversation with her that wasn't a snippy comment or a reminder about the debt she shared with Haruhi. The other hosts seemed to share her confusion.

"I'll buy you a lunch."

The others have a sort of collective jaw drop (Mori had already left to grab Honey away from the twins) so he readjusted his glasses and explained, "You've brought in 23 new customers after being at this school for two and a half weeks. Think of it as a way to say thank you. Just be less careless about your health from now on, Jin. We don't need you passing out while carrying our expensive tea sets."

Without another word, he walks away, leaving Jin no other option but to follow. She and Haruhi shared a look before Tamaki jumped over to Haruhi's side like an excited puppy. Jin smirked and walked up to the ordering counter. Ever since the twins had been there, none of the other students had worked up the courage to come back and order, so there was no line at all.

Kyoya waited for Jin to join him at the counter before placing his order first, "The A lunch, please."

"And I'll take the C lunch."

"Wait," Kyoya holds a hand up before the (still shaky) cafeteria worker could calculate the total cost and turned to face Jin, "Money's no object."

"Hm?"

"You just attempted to order the cheapest item on the menu. There is no need, I assure you. I can pay for whatever you want."

The brunette cocked an eyebrow and motioned to the worker to ring it up, "I know, I just happen to like what comes with the C lunch. Don't forget, you're the host that keeps adding extra money to our debt for every little thing and you haven't exactly been very nice to me ever since I came to Ouran. If the A lunch had food I liked, I would've ordered it without a second thought. Now please, I think you should pay before the other students deem it safe enough to order their own meals."

Kyoya stares for a moment before smirking and handing over his credit card to the shaking cafeteria worker, "You are an interesting woman, Jin Fujioka."

"And you are just as strange, Kyoya Ootori."

"I DON'T CARE IF MY BOXED LUNCH IS IN AN EMBARRASSING HEART SHAPE! I WILL EAT IT!"

Jin eyed the blond for a moment before deciding to sneak past him with her new lunch. From behind her, Kyoya was making a comment about Tamaki's fantasies being 'completely incoherent'. Jin felt her lips twitch.  _ That comment was actually pretty funny. Maybe we  _ can  _ be friends. _

She spotted her sister and Hikaru sitting down at a fairly empty table and made a beeline for them. In truth, all she wanted to do during this lunch period was eat this yummy food and think over the reason for the twin's fake fight. Again, she wondered why she hadn't told Haruhi about the fight being fake… but then the memory of Haruhi's acting skills popped up and she knew she made the proper decision. Still, it was difficult hiding the truth from her sister.

As it was, Hikaru had just traded lunches with Haruhi. Jin stopped and watched as Haruhi took a small bite of the food. And, just like last time, her face changed in an instant as the rich flavors hit her mouth. Jin grinned as Haruhi's eyes sparkled.  _ Some things never change. _

Ignoring Tamaki crying behind her, Jin continued to walk towards her cute-as-all-get-out sister. She was perhaps ten steps away when Kaoru appeared from the other side of the table and took the seat she was planning on.

_ Uh oh. _

Thankfully, Jin was smart enough to notice the impending explosion and backed away.  _ Welp, Haru and I are going to need a new place to sit once the twins start fighting. _ She scanned the room for any familiar faces, and she saw Kyoya, Honey-senpai, and Mori-senpai sitting down at a nearby table, close enough to keep an eye on the twins but far enough to not be an accidental victim of their fight.

Jin followed them over and set her lunch down beside Honey, who looked up at her in surprise. In fact, they all did.

"Jin-chan, why aren't you sitting with Haru-chan?

"Wait for it." The four of them watched as Kaoru attempted to feed Haruhi a bite of his own lunch, only to have it eaten by his brother. Slowly, with a blank face, Kaoru reached down to his tray and grabbed a dish.

_ Splat! _

The twins start another throwing match, Tamaki now the one caught in the middle.

Honey jumped out of his chair, "Don't worry, Jin-chan, I'll go get Haru-chan!" Jin shook her head as he was sucked up into the items being thrown again. Seriously, he was almost too small. Mori was quick to grab him and land safely on the floor. Unfortunately, Tamaki wasn't so lucky. With a deep sigh, Jin calmly walked over to the fight. Haruhi saw her sister approaching and stood up from her seat, grabbing her lunch as she went. They passed by each other and exchanged a high five.  _ Tag in. _

Jin stood on Kaoru's side of the fight and watched as Tamaki was grabbed by Hikaru and thrown for all he was worth. She planted one foot behind her and held up her hands. The blond was caught by the front of his jacket and quickly dragged away from the fight.

"Tamaki? Can you stand up by yourself?" Jin grunted as she continued to drag him across the floor towards the other table, "You're not light, dude."

If Tamaki heard anything she just said, he didn't show it. Jin growled and gave him one final pull before she was bumping into her chair. Honey was now seated in Mori's lap, trembling slightly, so Jin hooked her arms underneath the taller blond's armpits and heaved him up onto the now empty chair beside her.

Haruhi took a bite out of her boxed lunch, "Is he going to be like this all day?"

Jin sat down with a huff, "Probably not. I mean, this is Tamaki we're talking about. Now," she took a small bite of her potatoes, "Does anyone have any napkins they're willing to share?" The others passed their napkins over to Jin, who started wiping Tamaki's face clean in between bites of her lunch.

"Nēchan, does this count as too far yet?"

Jin glanced at the twins, who had grown tired and had now retreated to separate corners of the dining hall, "No, not yet. Trust me, when they go too far, we'll know."

* * *

Tamaki sighed and collapsed his upper half onto the table. It was now after school hours. Due to the current… situation with two of the hosts, they had put up a sign to let the guests know that they wouldn't be opening today, but everyone had still met up in the music room. It was quiet. Jin stared out the window with her head in her arms, sucking on a cherry jolly rancher while Haruhi ran her fingers through her sister's soft hair. Hey, she conditioned it. It felt like silk. And running her fingers through it calmed Haruhi down.

"According to the numbers, if this situation isn't resolved I'm afraid we'll have to stop offering our 'Brotherly Love' package. We're down one pair of loving brothers." Jin huffed a short laugh.  _ No shit, Sherlock. _

"Unless, of course, we happen to find a pair of loving siblings to fill in for the brothers until this conflict is resolved…"

"No way, Kyoya. Besides, it probably wouldn't give us the same results."

The ravenet frowned and punched in the next number a little harder, "Oh, Haruhi. I just want you to know that there's no reason for you to feel responsible or anything. Even though it  _ was _ your tactless comment that started this whole feud between the twins in the first place. Right?"

Haruhi sweatdropped and looked away.  _ Well, clearly he thinks I'm to blame for this whole mess. Maybe I am. _

Jin pushed herself up into a sitting position and pulled Haruhi close, stroking her short hair and glaring at Kyoya, "No… It's not your fault, Haru. Your comment wasn't mean or anything, the boys just blew it out of proportion.  _ Right, boys? _ "

Kyoya was the only person who didn't mumble a half-agreement, deciding to keep a level glare at the long haired brunette.

"It's weird for Hika-chan and Kao-chan to be fighting like this. It's never happened before."

The sisters looked over at Honey, who was sadly playing with his bunny, "They've never fought before? Ever?"

A small, bittersweet smile pulled at the small blond's lips, "I've known Hika-chan and Kao-chan since they were in Preschool. We weren't in the same year so I never got to talk to them, but I remember that the two of them always played together, but not with anyone else."

"Yeah, that's true. I mean, I've only known the twins for about a year but... it seemed like they kept everyone at a distance except each other. When you stop and think about it, maybe this fight is a good thing for them. Maybe it means that the twins are expanding their horizons a bit! We should just let them work it out themselves." Haruhi looked up at her sister, who didn't seem to agree.

She poked at Jin hands which were still wrapped around her, "Hey, who knows what will happen, right? Maybe it is a turn for the better."

Jin shakes her head and looks out the window again at the sunset, "Maybe… but maybe, since they've never fought before, it means they won't know how to make up. We've fought before, Haru, but we also know how to make up from a fight. The twins… they don't even know when to call it quits."

The room grew quiet once again, but it was a more frosty kind of quiet.

_ Boom! _

The doors slammed open and the twins of the hour walked in, shouting at each other so loudly that the others couldn't even tell what they were saying. The surprise of their entrance caused Tamaki to fall out of his chair, which was then used to start yet  _ another _ throwing match.

And in less than 10 minutes, the twins had thrown enough objects at each other to create a huge mountain of crap, both broken and magically undamaged, in the center of the music room. Honey had, once again, been a victim of the twin's fight and was now bouncing by himself at the very top of the pile.

Tamaki was the first one to speak as the twins ran out of steam, "Don't you guys think that it's time to stop with all of this fighting? It's driving me  _ insane. _ "

"What'd you say? It's driving  _ you- _ gah, you've got to be kidding me, how do you think  _ I _ feel? I can't even look in the mirror without seeing his face! I'm sick and tired of constantly being mistaken for you, Kaoru! The truth is I hate your guts!" Jin pressed her fingers to her mouth, more than a little shocked at all the anger in his words.  _ They are faking it… right? _

"You took the words right out of my mouth. In fact I hate you so much that I bought a Beelzenef curse doll!" Tamaki screeched and withdrew to the far corner of the room, watching in horror as Kaoru pulled out a black pen from his jacket pocket, "I'm going to complete the curse, Hikaru! I'm going to write your name on his back! From this day forward you're going to experience nothing but misfortune and sorrow!"

Haruhi and Jin whipped their heads to look at each other before rushing forward. Haruhi punched Hikaru in the head while Jin mirrored the move on Kaoru, simultaneously yanking the wooden cat out of his hand.

"Knock it off, already!" The two spoke in unison, making their angry voices seem  _ that _ much more powerful.

Jin held the curse doll in front of her, "Are you two being serious right now? You  _ never _ bring something like this into a fight, let alone over something as petty as this! There's never any reason to do something that will hurt another for the rest of their life!"

"Both of you are at fault here, but what's worse is that you've dragged everyone around you down into it too!"

And, one last time, they screamed together, "Now, apologize!"

The twins remained seated on the floor, gaping at the two girls. Haruhi took another step forward, "Do it! Or else we're never letting you two come over to our place, have I made myself clear?!"

As soon as Haruhi spoke, Jin felt all the puzzle pieces click into place. The twins started to smile.  _ Oh no… Haruhi… what have you done? _

"Hm…" the twins stood up, identical smiles back in place, "So, what you're saying, Haruhi, is that if we make up we can come over to your place?"

The twins slipped up next to each other and peered down at the small brunette girl between them. Jin looked down at the curse doll in her hands and rolled it over to read the back. She then lifted it up to show the rest of the boys.

'Blank'.

Haruhi let out a scream.

As the twins wrapped themselves around each other, wailing about how sorry they were and how difficult the day had been, even following their "script", Jin looked down at the doll in her hands. She regarded it for a few seconds before tossing it into a nearby trash can, despite the cat thing looking faintly familiar. But for the life of her she just couldn't place it...

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! YOU MEAN YOU GUYS WERE FAKING IT THIS WHOLE TIME?!"

"Duh. What else was there to do?"

"We were bored!"

Haruhi and Tamaki were on their hands and knees, but Jin simply crossed her arms and scowled at the twins, "You two are  _ b-loody ri-dic-u-lous _ . All that so you could come over to our home? You realize we're still not letting you come over, right? God, you're both  _ idiots _ if you think that solved anything."

They all look at her, "Why don't you sound surprised?"

"Are you kidding? The fighting was too random for it to be real. Kaoru, you should've been upset at  _ not _ being called the more mischievous twin. Isn't mischievousness kind of your thing? Sounded to me like Haru was saying Hikaru was better at being a Hitachiin twin then Kaoru was. It was nothing to laugh at. I didn't say anything because I wanted to know why you'd even do that. Only to find out it was because you were  _ bored _ . Dear lord, you're all lunatics!"

The twins stared at her in surprise, "You know… you never told us outright, Jin-senpai."

"How did you tell us apart yesterday?"

"Well, I can tell you apart the way Haruhi tells you apart," Jin smirks, looks at the others before saying, "But I'm not sure if any of the others want to hear the easier way."

Honey bounced over and grabbed onto her leg, "There's an easier way?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, tell us."

"Are you sure that you really want to know? It'll make all of you feel stupid."

"Come on, Nēchan. There's no use in drawing it out. Just tell them."

"Fine." Jin pointed at the twins, "It's your hair that gives it away."

The twins frown, "We're being serious here, Jin."

"When we're wearing the hats they cover up the way we part our hair-"

"But your  _ bangs _ still point in opposite directions."

All of the boys in the room thought it over for a few seconds before they started trailing out of the room to go home. Even Kyoya was staring at the floor in disbelief. It wasn't until it was only the Fujioka's left in the room that they started laughing.

"How is it that  _ everyone else _ in this school misses that?"

*The Next Day*

Jin leaned up against a pillar, watching the hosts go about their usual business. It seemed that after one day being closed, their clients were just  _ that much more _ desperate to talk to the boys. The room was full of girls, especially for the twins. It was them she was watching at the moment, and they were really working the whole making up thing. They even played the "Which one of us is Hikaru" game, which was, of course, stupidly easy with their hair still dyed.

Or, at least it  _ would _ be.

Haruhi walked over to Jin and nudged her side, "Hey, has anyone else figured it out?"

"What do you think? They don't have a clue." They watched as a girl was declared a winner of the game, "Want to go have some fun?"

Haruhi smirked, "Absolutely."

They started walking towards the twins, where a girl was asking, "So are you two going to keep your wild hair color even though you made up? It's much easier to tell the two of you apart now!"

"Ha, no it isn't."

"Hm?" The twins turned their heads to look at the sisters, who turned around with matching teasing smiles.

"Today the pink one is Kaoru, and the blue one is Hikaru."

"You guys switched colors for the day, huh?"

The girls hummed before linking arms and walking away.

The twins reached out and gripped each other's hands as they watched the two head to the other side of the room. Hikaru glanced to the side at Kaoru before turning his gaze back to the girls.

...

_ Do you realize what's happened, Hikaru? Until now, there were only two groups of people. Us, and everyone else. But for the first time… others have crossed into our world. _


	10. The Apology!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eh, I was just playing around with Jin and Hikaru's friendship dynamic, one older sibling to another. Hope you like it!

_Just because they can tell us apart, it doesn't mean we're changing. It means they're different. We don't change. There's no need._

...

"Wait. Wai-wai-wai-wai- _wait._ Are you telling me that we _cosplay?"_

"Yeah."

"That's awesome!"

Tamaki looked up from adjusting his toga, "You like cosplay?"

"Of course!" Jin pulled her own cosplay out of the box, "It's like Halloween, just on different days! So, who am I?"

Kyoya pulled his black journal out from a hidden pocket in his own costume, "Let's see… you are Demeter today." Jin quickly gathered up the rest of her cosplay into her arms and bounded off to the changing rooms, remaining on the balls of her feet until she was all but prancing.

Haruhi smirked and pulled her own cosplay out of its box, "Greek Gods and Goddesses? You've just made her year. And who am I?"

"Athena."

Instantly, the boys froze.

"Athena!? You're dressing Haruhi up like a girl? Are you _crazy?_ You'll blow her cover!"

Kyoya rolled his eyes and continued to scribble in his journal, "Haruhi won't be the only one. There is a pair of twins in Greek Mythology, and one of them is a girl, so Kaoru will be dressed up as Artemis while Hikaru is Apollo. Additionally, do you not recall how Tamaki asked Haruhi to wear a dress in front of the other clients? They will simply assume that we dressed _him_ up as a girl to play on that. And since Athena rarely appears in anything but battle armor, everything will be hidden easily from the guests."

Haruhi shrugged and walked to the changing rooms in the back, "Works for me."

Just as she pushed the curtain aside, her sister jumped out, "This is amazing! I absolutely love this! Can we do this all the time?" As she continued with the praise, Jin spun around in circles making her green toga fan out around her legs. Her brown hair was accented with golden strands that caught the light as it cascaded down to her shoulders. Tendrils of golden "wheat stalks" were wound around her wrists and above her hips, dotted with the occasional green rose. Her black heels had been switched out for golden color sandal heels that gave her another inch and she even had a pair of wheat earrings.

"Nēchan… you look great!"

"Awww… thanks Haru! Go on and get dressed! I can't wait to see what yours looks like!" Jin walked over to where Honey was tugging at his helmet while Haruhi pulled the curtain shut behind her.

"Honey-senpai? You look like you're having some trouble."

Honey looked up at the brunette with tears developing in his eyes, "Jin-chan… my helmet won't stay on right!"

"Oh no! Here, let me see if I can fix it." She knelt down to where the clasp was situated by his left ear and started fiddling with it. The chin strap was hanging way too loose around Honey's chin, but for some reason it wouldn't tighten.

"Wait a minute… _oh!_ I see what the problem is!" Jin nimbly pulled a tiny feather from where it had gotten stuck within the clasp, "It was this little thing! Must've come from one of the wings. Okay, try to tighten it now."

Honey pulled at the strap and it tighten easily, "Thank you, Jin-chan! You're the best!" He gave her one quick hug before running off towards Mori to compare his cadeaus to Mori's hammer.

Jin tilted her head, "How come the Hermes and the Hephaestus costumes come with props but the Demeter one doesn't?"

Kyoya answered from directly behind her, "Actually, it does, but I decided against ordering it. As you'll be carrying around a tray for today's activities, holding a basket of plastic fruits would most likely have not gone over well." The brunette stuck her bottom lip out, but in truth she did see the reasoning behind it. Probably good planning on Kyoya's part.

"Fine, that makes sense. And what about you? Where's your trident?"

"It's over by my table." Jin peered over her shoulder and saw it. Immediately, she sniffed in distaste.

" _That_ thing is supposed to be Poseidon's trident?" At the jab, Kyoya looked his prop over again. It was a very grand looking item, shining in the sunlight coming in through the windows. It wasn't crafted of _actual_ gold, obviously, but it sure looked the part. The prongs on the outside were shorter than the center prong, which was shaped more like an arrow than the other two, and looked wickedly sharp (though they would realistically have a problem with cutting paper). And the final pieces were the rings of sapphire implanted at both the base and below the prongs. There didn't _appear_ to be anything wrong with it...

"Yes, it is. Is there a problem?"

"Well… it's certainly pretty, but not very historically accurate. I mean, in the myths, the trident was described very plainly. Normal iron would've worked just as well." Jin adjusted the fake wheat around her wrists as she continued, "The trident isn't supposed to _sparkle_ , it should look like it radiates power. Something that reflects everything the ocean can be. Cold and unyielding, yet it can be used as a way to provide food or safe passage through dangerous waters."

All at once, Jin flushed a light pink and locked her fingers together, "Sorry. I'm just really into mythology."

Kyoya blinked, "I take it you're very passionate about it, too."

The brunette laughed lightly, "Yeah…"

She peered up at the ravenet with a sheepish smile for a moment before a blond tackled her in the side. The two ended up sprawled out on the ground, Tamaki's arms wrapped tightly around Jin's shoulders.

"Jin! This is perfect!"

"Uh, do you know what would be even more perfect? If you got off of me."

Tamaki jumped up and started pacing back and forth by her feet, "Don't you see? If we're going to channel our characters perfectly, we have to know them with historical accuracy! And Jin, if you have such extensive knowledge, then who else should we turn to for advice! Additionally, during your rounds you can share you mythology knowledge with the guests, your brilliant mind on display for everyone!"

Jin was now propped up on her elbows, "Just when I thought you couldn't be any more flamboyant."

"You have no idea." Kyoya watched as Tamaki continued with his tirade, something about more female friends for the Fujioka girls before looking down at the brunette on the floor, "Are you going to lay there all day?"

Jin flashed him a soft glare and pushed herself into a sitting position, planting her feet flat against the floor. With a huff and a small smirk, Kyoya offered her a hand. _No use being rude._

However, it seemed as though Jin had her own plans. She brushed his hand away before pushing herself off the floor, leading with her hips, and rolling her upper body up into a standing position. More than one notable _crack_ could be heard as she did so.

"Wow, haven't done that it a while." The brunette stretched her arms over her head as she rolled her neck, her joints crinkling in protest.

"That's… an abnormal amount of-"

"Joint popping? I know. Part hereditary, part overuse of my limbs." Jin shot a smile at the boy again, "Don't freak out, Ootori, I'm perfectly fine. No reason to rush me off to one of your family's hospitals just yet."

"Well, that's a relief. If that happened we'd have to add a rather large amount of yen to your debt. My family's hospitals aren't exactly cheap, you know."

Jin's smile disappeared, "Perhaps you should've cosplayed as Hades. You sure fit the profile. Black hair, is the reason people fear the dark, god of the underworld and wealth, and he kidnapped Persephone, Demeter's daughter, to be his bride. It would definitely explain why I can't stand you."

And with that final snap, Jin spun around and marched off towards Haruhi.

"Kyoya, you alright?"

The ravenet shrugged, "She said nothing of importance. There would be no reason for me to be upset."

Tamaki tilted his head, "You know what, Kyoya? I have a feeling that if you two would stop trying to find flaws in each other, you would get along just fine."

"Tamaki, finding a flaw in Jin Fujioka is incredibly easy, and no doubt it's just as simple for her to find _something_ that I'm not perfect at, so that's not the issue between us. Unfortunately, Jin and I simply do not work very well with people of equal intelligence."

" _And sarcasm._ "

"What was that, Tamaki?"

"Nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go gain some insight on my character." The blond walked after the brunette, who was now straightening out Haruhi's armor (she'd accidentally criss-crossed the straps on the sides), leaving his friend alone with his historically inaccurate trident.

* * *

"My my, what do we have here?" The three girls who had just sat down at their host's table looked up in anticipation. And, as usual, Tamaki didn't disappoint. He reached out to the girl on his right and gently tipped her head back, "A goddess in disguise? Perhaps… the lovely Aphrodite?"

The brunette flushed a very deep red and looked away, "Oh… you're too much!" Despite the denying, the girl looked very pleased. The other two giggled, but trailed off when they noticed a very pretty "goddess" approaching them.

"Hi, Jin! Oh! I mean… Demeter!" The three girls regressed into another fit of giggles. Calling the hosts by the name of their God/Goddess was all a part of the fun today, pretending that actual deities were flirting with them. The hosts just played along, and it worked out very well.

The girl in green smiled broadly at the tables occupants and scooped up the empty teapot, quickly replacing it with a full one, "What's this I'm hearing about Aphrodite? Is it you?" She rounded the table and observed the girl keen interest for a few moments.

"Zeus, I must say your hypothesis may be correct. She certainly is beautiful enough. But then again, all three of them are." She let out a playful sigh, "I suppose we'll just have to wait for her to reveal herself. She's always changing her appearance, that one."

Jin went to walk away, but paused for a moment to pinch Tamaki's cheek, "And _you_ … be on the lookout for Hera. If she saw you here with all these dazzling creatures," she paused to send a conspiring wink at the guests, "she would be quite displeased."

The guests were half curled-in on themselves, their hands trying halfheartedly to cover their blushes. Tamaki nodded approvingly at Jin before she actually left. He felt a swell of pride in his chest. _They grow up so fast._

"Ah, Ji-erm… Demeter?"

Jin spun around when a guest tapped on her shoulder, "Yes, Princess?"

The blonde scuffed her shoe on the ground, "I was wondering… are you taking clients today? I heard that you know a lot about mythology, and I was wondering if we could talk about that for a while."

The brunette grinned widely, "But of course. Please wait at the empty table in the corner between the twins and Athena. I have to deposit this in the kitchen and alert Poseidon of my shift." She pouted and leaned in close, " _Just because he's the ruler of all water he thinks he can rule all of Japan, too._ " Another sneaky wink, " _I had to remind him that land is my domain._ "

The guest giggled for a bit and walked away. A few other guests noticed the interaction and started to debate with themselves whether they'd sit with 'Demeter' as well. Despite the obvious fact that Haruhi's sister was… well… a girl, it was just as fun to sit and talk and be low-key flirted with by the pretty second year student.

By the time Jin sat down with her guest, ten other girls had scheduled appointments with her in the next half-hour.

"So, what would you like to talk about?"

"I just have one really big question. How did you all choose your God or Goddess? Was there any big thought that went into it?"

Jin sat back in her seat, "Well, to be honest with you, we didn't exactly sit down and discuss everything in detail. Poseidon over there is the real mastermind behind everyone's specific cosplay, but assuming that he didn't just select the costumes at random, I have to guess that he first pulled out every God that would be easily recognizable.

"Let's start with Tamaki. Clearly, Zeus. Without a question. King of the Gods, king of the Host Club. Besides, Zeus's domain is the sky, kind of the overseer of everything and doles out the punishments, which is what Tamaki does as well. And besides, Zeus's main plot point in all the great myths is that he repeatedly went down to Earth and fell in love with beautiful mortal women.

"Next is Kyoya, himself. Second in command, for both him and Poseidon. And, if you think about it, Kyoya shares a lot of personality similarities with the ocean. They're both mysterious, can look friendly and daunting at the same time, and they're both definitely _cool_.

"The twins's cosplay was a toss up between Apollo and his sister Artemis, and Hypnos and Thanatos. So... either the gods of the sun and the moon, or the gods of sleep and death. I think you can figure out how _that_ went down. Anyways, there is a bit more to it than that. See, if they had just been playing as any other brother and sister, twin or not, the lack of a homosexual relationship might've damaged the amount of clients they'd receive today. But since the Goddess Artemis swore off ever getting married... well, let's take a look."

The two girls looked around at the table nearest them, where the twins were talking to their guests. Hikaru, who was all decked out in bright golden robes and other accents, slowly reached over to touch Kaoru's thigh. But his "sister" smacked his hand away. The following smugness-vs-pouty lip contest left the guests in a serious conversation about "mixed signals" and how they could help poor "Apollo".

"It's an interesting take on it, for sure."

"Demeter, what about Honey-senpai? Shouldn't he be Cupid?"

Jin gestured to her guest with her palm up, "And that there is exactly why he isn't. See, the Greeks shared their mythology with the Romans. During that transaction, the gods were tweaked in such a way that they upheld more Roman-type views. Additionally, they changed names. Cupid is the Roman name for _Eros,_ the Greek God of Love. There would be too much confusion for the guests, so Kyoya picked Hermes. Besides, he probably wanted to stick with the Big Twelve."

"The Big Twelve?"

"Yes, the twelve Gods and Goddesses that have thrones on Olympus. Seven boys, five girls. There's Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Hephaestus, Dionysus, Hera, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, and Demeter. The most popular Gods and Goddesses of the myths. Except, of course, for Hades, but that's another story. Anyways, with Honey-senpai, it's actually very interesting how similar he is to Hermes, especially in the myth about Hermes birth. He was born, a son of Zeus by the way, and only a few short hours later he crawled out of his crib, left the cave where he had been born in, stole some cattle that were sacred to Apollo, and cooked them. He also created two musical instruments... all within 24 hours of his birth! If you think about it, Honey-senpai _does_ look very young to be so talented." The hostess and the guests simultaneously glanced at the blond boy on the other side of the room before looking back at each other and laughing.

"Okay, and what about Mori-senpai?"

"Big, strong, very direct moral sense, especially when it comes to faithfulness, how could he _not_ be Hephaestus? Just... not in the physical sense. Then again, both are very strong. Um... not in the physical appearance way? And with Haru, it's no contest. Incredibly intelligent, incredibly beautiful, and a very beloved Goddess who thinks instead of fighting her way out. Haru and Athena are an easy match."

"Well... what about you, _Demeter?_ "

Jin smirked, "Probably because we both have brown hair."

" _AAAHHH!_ "

The girls jumped in their seats and Jin scrambled over to where the twins were situated for the day. Kaoru was shouting in his chair, his head thrown back in obvious pain and his right leg stretched straight out.

"Kaoru! KAORU! WHAT'S WRONG?!" Hikaru was trying to hold onto his brother, in near hysterics as Jin finally reached them. The guests they had been attending to were standing a little ways off, crying in fear as more people arrived.

Jin grabbed Hikaru's arm to force him to look at her, "What happened!?"

"I don't know! He was just stretching and suddenly he's like this!" Jin blinked once before looking down to stare at Kaoru's right leg, which was still stretched out in front of him. She pursed her lip and took a step to her right, gently moving Hikaru away. Kaoru was huffing in an attempt to stop screaming, but when Jin pressed her toes against his right foot and bent it backwards he shouted again, clenching hard at his arm rests. Hikaru panicked.

"Jin! What are you doing!?" Hikaru rushed forward, pushing her away so their feet disconnected, "You're hurting him!"

"No! Wait..." Hikaru turned back to see his twin straightening up. A clear sign of relief on his face. "The pain... it's _gone!_ "

Gently, Hikaru knelt down by his twin's side, "Kaoru... what was that? You had me so scared..."

"It was a cramp." A few of the girls gasped as Jin sat up from the floor, rubbing at her left arm. Her green robe was very wrinkled and her hair was mused up as she slowly stood, "An involuntary contraction of the muscles. Probably in your calf, right? You were stretching it too much, making it strain and lock in place. I bent your foot back to stop the muscles from stretching."

"Wow. Thank you, Jin-senpai-"

But Jin was already walking away. Her face was downcast and she was still rubbing at her left arm.

"Uh... Jin?"

Tamaki tried to grab her shoulder, but she just brushed him off, continuing until she disappeared into the kitchen.

The guests were still whispering among themselves as Kyoya situated himself in the center of the commotion, "Ladies, I'm afraid that we'll have to cut our hosting hours short. Please come visit us tomorrow." The girls quickly filtered out of the room, whispering concerns to each other until the doors boomed shut behind them. Instantly, Haruhi was in Hikaru's face.

"What was that all about? Jin was just helping! Why'd you go and push her?"

Hikaru glared and turned away, "It's not my fault! She should've told me what she was doing to Kaoru so I wouldn't be worried! She bent his foot back, he screamed, and I pushed her away. I don't see what's wrong with it, I didn't mean for her to end up on the floor!"

"Hika-chan, just tell Jin you're sorry for hurting her."

"No! Not until she apologizes for trying to act like a hero! If it was just a stupid cramp then why act so secretive about how to fix it? Why not just say, 'Hey, Kaoru has a muscle cramp, so I'm going to fix it.'?"

Tamaki sighed and rubbed at his forehead, "Please, Hikaru, we don't need another fight between two hosts after last week... I'm still trying to heal from that fiasco."

" _HA~ hahahaha! Ahahahaha!_ " The remaining hosts in the room watched as Renge's generator powered up, pushing her pedestal into their music room.

Hikaru spoke first, "Well, Otaku? I assume you have some sort of _valuable input_ on this matter that the rest of us _can't wait_ to hear."

The French girl pouted, "You're still a meanie, Hikaru! I just came to say that this is going to be a completely different kind of fight than what Tamaki was talking about. While the fight between the twins was proved to be faked, _this_ one is going to be the real deal! No script, no excessive throwing of objects, no fangirl moments, just a good old fashioned brawl between two separate parties! Each of them feels wronged by the other and each wants an apology first! And what makes this story even _more_ interesting is that the fight is including our very own waitress! _Finally_ she gets some action around here! Her potential romantic interests are all over the map, with no clear indication of who likes who and how much, and there is just so _little_ of her actual personality that has been discovered! This might be our chance to really _dig deep_ into Jin's dark character!"

Haruhi was the only one who actively ignored Renge's ridiculous speech. _Potential romantic interests. Pfft, please._ As Renge continued to try and rally the other boys to her "cause", Haruhi had slipped away to the kitchen. Jin was still there, her hair back to normal and her cosplay replaced by her Ouran uniform. She was washing the pile of silverware that had accumulated during hosting hours, staring straight into the water, but Haruhi was 100% positive that Jin's mind was anywhere but here.

She clanked over to her sister, mentally cursing at her costume. _Stupid, stupid metal cosplay._ Once she made it over, Haruhi lay her head on Jin's shoulder. She could feel her onēchan stiffen beneath her cheek, but Jin didn't pull away. They stood like that for a moment, just breathing in sync as the bubbles popped beneath Jin's hands.

" _Nēchan?_ " Haruhi's voice came out in a whisper as she nuzzled her cheek against Jin's shoulder.

" _Mmm?_ "

" _I think we should go home._ "

" _Yeah. I think so, too._ "

Haruhi collected her sister's cosplay (that was folded neatly on one of the tables in the kitchen) before venturing back out into the main room. The others hosts had all dispersed, and the twins were already gone. The others were all out of their cosplay, so Haruhi had the changing room to herself again. In less than 10 minutes, she was all changed, the cosplays were put away, and she met up with Jin at the doors with their school bags.

"Let's go home, Nēchan."

"Yeah."

As they walked out into the hallway, Haruhi had a very unsettling thought. _If the host club keeps breaking out into fights like this, how long are they expecting it to last?_

*The Next Day*

"Hey, did you hear? Hikaru Hitachiin and Jin Fujioka are _fighting!_ "

"Woah, really? What happened?"

" _I_ heard that it was Kaoru's fault!"

"No, it happened during the host club! Jin hurt Kaoru. I saw it!"

"Something about a cramp, I thought."

"Do you think that the host club will be closed today?"

" _Ohh... I hope they make up fast!_ "

 _It seems like every single person in the school is talking about the fight!_ Haruhi couldn't take three steps without hearing another student's opinion about it. Some were even questioning whether it was because the twins had a crush on Jin! Still, despite how absurd some of the rumors were, Haruhi was doing her best to keep them out of Jin's ears. She was acting like everything was fine, but Haruhi could tell that she was still somewhat upset about yesterday's events. She could see it in her eyes. _It's hard work when you can see someone's soul._

Okay, sure, some people doubt that it's possible to know a person that well, but Haruhi and Jin could read each other like a book. It had been this way almost since the day Haruhi had been born. Sure, it cut the time down during arguments and other types of conversation, but it was a little heartbreaking knowing all the times your sister was sad. It was almost impossible for the two of them to hide anything from each other; even surprise birthday parties were a bust if the other knew about it!

"Hey, Haruhi!"

"Mm?" Haruhi looked up as a boy walked up to her. He was in her class but, for the life of her, she could not remember his name.

"I was wondering if you could set the record straight. What happened between Hitachiin and your sister? I heard it was messy."

Haruhi frowned and started walking again, "It really isn't any of your business. What's going on between Hikaru and-"

"So it _is_ Hikaru! Someone was talking about Kaoru!"

"Well, glad to clarify for you. Good day."

"Wait, Fujioka-"

"Good _day_."

The short haired brunette stalked away, seething internally. _It's none of their business! Why do they need to gossip anyways?_

She came to a stop outside of the classroom for Class 2-A and peeked inside. The room was empty save for three people. _Three guesses who._

"Jin, come on, let's head to the music room now. School is over for today."

"I'm well aware of that, Tamaki. But Haru and I walk to the host club together every day. On Wednesdays she and I meet here instead of at one of the libraries. You two _don't_ have to wait for me, you know." Jin was sitting tightly in her chair as Tamaki attempted to move her along. And Kyoya, surprisingly, was calmly waiting for the two of them.

Haruhi sighed internally before entering the room herself, "Nēchan?"

At her sister's voice, Jin stood up and started walking out of the room, causing Tamaki to fall over her chair and face-plant the floor, "Hey, Haru. About time you got here. I was worried that any longer and Tamaki would've carried me to the club himself."

"It's because of what happened yesterday! I thought you were going to try to avoid the club to stay away from Hikaru!"

Jin calmly pressed her hand onto the top of Tamaki's head, "Hey... slow down there, Assumption Man. I'm not avoiding Hikaru. He had a very valid point yesterday. I should've warned both him and Kaoru that what I was about to do was going to hurt a bit. If something like that had happened to Haru I probably would've done the same thing."

"You wouldn't have shoved anyone to the ground, Nēchan."

Jin switched her school bag from her right hand to her left so she could swing an arm around her sister's shoulders, "And you know that how? I can be very strong when I want to be, Haru. Especially when it involves you. Really, I don't blame Hikaru at all."

The two sisters stared at each other for about ten seconds before Haruhi looked away in a huff. Jin just hummed, "So, we're in agreement then."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, Haru just thought that, even though I've forgiven Hikaru he should still apologize. I agree with that wholeheartedly, but I'm also not going to try to force an apology out of him either. Haru, on the other hand, wanted to see if she could talk to him about giving an apology. I shot it down. She agreed, though not happily." Jin scratched at the back of her head, "Sorry, sometimes I forget that Haru and I do that."

Tamaki's jaw dropped as the group made it to the club room. Jin and Haruhi pushed through and separated, Haruhi taking both of their school bags over to the far corner while her sister dashed off to the kitchen to start preparing everyone's tables.

"Kyoya? Did we just witness mind-reading?"

"Don't be such an idiot."

* * *

Hikaru was going insane.

"So, Hikaru! I heard that you and Jin aren't fighting anymore, I'm so happy!"

"I'm glad that you guys are friends again! I love it when a guy apologizes, it's so manly!"

He did his best impression of a sheepish smile, "Thanks lad-"

"He didn't apologize." The girls jumped as Renge stuck her face in between their heads. And there in lies the reason for Hikaru's approaching headache. _Renge must've been expecting some month-long wrestling match with the way she's behaving._

See, as soon as Hikaru and Kaoru had entered the music room that day, Jin had been quick to apologize for how things went down yesterday. Hikaru had been impressed with how quickly he had received the apology and how fast she seemed to forget about his accidental over-surge of strength. She hadn't even asked for an apology in return.

And he thought that would've been the end of it. The girls would spread out the rumor that the fight was over and everyone would forget about it by the weekend. But _no..._ Renge was _not_ satisfied. She still thought that Hikaru should apologize as well, even though it was none of her business. And now, she was telling every client that came in how the fight actually ended, even though some would say it hadn't even begun in the first place.

"Jin apologized, but Hikaru did not. I don't understand why Jin is behaving so calmly! It's almost like she doesn't _want_ an apology!"

The girls were listening with rapt attention as Renge went on and on about Hikaru's lack of an apology while Kaoru stared his twin down. Hikaru didn't understand it. _The only person in the room who should be upset about not getting an apology is also the only one who isn't asking for one. Even Kaoru suggested doing it just to calm everyone down! What is going on?_

And the truth was that the guilt was eating him alive.

 _But why_ didn't _she ask for an apology? I mean, she didn't even want one despite being pushed to the floor? Does she understand I didn't mean for that to happen? Or does she think it was completely in my rights? I mean, it... kind of was, but still. And Haruhi hasn't talked to me much today. Does Jin have any bruises? Ah, what am I thinking about this for?_

" _Hikaru?_ Hikaru!"

"Ah, what?" The older twin jolted in his seat to see a certain Fujioka standing beside his table.

"I asked if you were done with your tea cup."

Hikaru looked down to see an empty cup in his grip. _When did I pick this up?_

"Oh, yes. Thanks, Jin."

The brunette smiled and nodded before taking the cup and going to walk away. He looked back towards the table he was sharing with his brother, trying his best to avoid how his guests were now whispering with each other. Renge was long gone, probably standing outside the club doors handing out flyers that read 'Hikaru Hitachiin is a horrible human being'.

"So, ladies. Would you like some more tea?"

"Okay."

The girls were very quiet as Kaoru filled their cups, but Hikaru was still grateful that they didn't just up and leave after Renge's interruption. No use making him feel any worse. _I'm not wrong though. I thought she was hurting Kaoru, so I pushed her away. She ended up on the floor, but I didn't mean for that to happen. So... I_ am _sorry that I pushed her onto the floor but-_ Hikaru squeezed his eyes shut, _Oh man... But I wasn't wrong! So... damn it. What now?_

"Hey, Hikaru?"

"Mm?"

Kaoru was watching him still, but his gaze had softened just a tad from earlier, "Maybe you should apologize. Jin just went into the kitchen. You can talk to her by yourself in there."

"But I wasn't wrong. I thought she was hurting you."

"And you don't have to apologize for that. Just for what you're sorry for. I'm sure that would make her feel a lot better." Kaoru smiled, "Don't you think she deserves at least that?"

It took him a few seconds, but Hikaru did stand up, "I'll be right back."

He was well aware that all eyes were on him as he snaked his way across the room. By the time he reached the kitchen, that was an odd vibe in the air. _They know what I'm going to do._ He screwed up his courage and pushed the door open. _At least the girls think that a guy apologizing is manly, or whatever._

"Hey, Jin?"

"Hm? Oh, hi, Hikaru! Is there something you need?"

"Um, no. Just... can I talk to you for a second?" Jin slowed in the middle of opening one of the cake cupboards. She gave him an extended glance to the side before carrying on.

"Sure."

The redhead nodded and slipped fully into the room. He had no idea how to start, so instead he started looking around. He'd never really been in the kitchen for extended periods of time. More often than not he'd run in, grab some more tea, and head back out. Now, however, he actually looked. The tea sets were far more organized than they'd ever been. The dishes weren't piled high for the night maids to take care of. And Jin was currently slicing up two cakes so they'd be ready by the time the next guests came through. She had truly systematized the room, which was pretty impressive.

Jin was plating the pieces of chocolate cake, calmly waiting for him to say something instead of pushing for an answer. For this, Hikaru was thankful, though he shouldn't be surprised. After all, he was an older sibling, too.

That's the thought that caused him to open his mouth, "So, I know you said that I don't need to apologize."

"Yeah. I know."

"And... I know that everyone else in the world would disagree with you."

Jin sighed and straightened up, "Hikaru, just because-"

"Wait, let me finish. I'm not doing this because of everyone else. Or, at least that not the main reason. I wanted to say... I'm sorry for pushing you onto the floor. From one older sibling to another. You helped Kaoru... and I should've been more grateful." Hikaru waited. _Was that enough of an apology? And why is my chest pounding so hard?_ This wasn't exactly a common occurrence for the twin.

Jin slowly smiled and walked over to him, "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you still apologized. I know that it can be hard to do that." She crossed her arms across her chest, "And just so you know, I did have a reason to not ask you for an apology. It's because I didn't want to make you feel forced to give me one. If you were going to apologize, I wanted you to mean it."

Hikaru thought about that for a moment, before he shook his head is disbelief, "So, in other words, you played me?" At that, the two started to laugh. Not super hard, but enough to release the serious tension that had been hovering over their heads.

"Eh... I wouldn't use the word _played._ More like... shaped." She patted the top of his head lightly, "You're a cool kid, Hikaru. I think we'll get along just fine. Now, get back to work."

The first year playfully batted her hand away with another laugh, "Fine. See you later." And Hikaru turned to leave, a very important thought struck him.

 _When was the last time I ever even considered apologizing to anyone?_ He gave Jin a glance over his shoulder. _What is it about Haruhi and Jin that makes us... act like everyone else? And if this is how we're acting now... what are they going to change us into in the future?_

 


	11. The Grade School Host is the Naughty Type!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello! A little more insight into Jin's character, pretty much. Hope you like!

 

_ The Ouran High School Host Club is now open for business… _

_...or, at least it _ will  _ be in 15 minutes. _

At the moment, the hosts were milling around the room, making last minute adjustments to their cosplays or just talking to each other. But then again, it's never exactly the host club unless  _ someone _ is pulling a rise out of another.

"Hey, Jin?"

"Why do you have a coloring book in your bag?"

Jin jolted a bit in her chair before scrambling to her feet. She rushed over to the twins who were carefully scrutinizing a children's coloring book. There was a cartoon lion on the front cover that looked partially colored in with scribbled lines, and about half of the drawings inside looked very similar. A few pages here and there looked to have been torn out.

The redheads got perhaps a full minute to really look it over before she pulled it out of their hands, "H-hey! What are you doing in my bag anyways?"

"We weren't in your bag! It fell over and the book fell out!"

"Uh huh, yeah, and how'd it fall over in the first place?"

"Fair point."

Jin rolled her eyes and stuck the coloring book back in, "I have this coloring book because I'm going to be babysitting from the moment I get off our train. One of our neighbors owns their own café, and on the rare occasion that they can't have either one of them leave to stay with their son after he gets home from school, they call me. Today I'm babysitting for about three to four hours."

The twins shared a glance, "Babysitting…"

"You mean… like a nanny?"

"Um… sort of. Babysitting is like being a temporary nanny."

Haruhi walked over, a confused look all over her face, "Do you guys really not know what a babysitter is?"

"Haru? Different lives, remember?"

The shorter brunette shrugged, "Alright. I just thought it was weird."

"You're weird."

"Hey!"

Jin laughed at the disgruntled look on her sister's face, "Oh, Haru, you're so cute!"

"Shut up, Nēchan."

"10 minutes, everyone!"

The four students began drifting back to the center of the room as Jin explained, "There are a lot of younger kids that live near us, and I've been the oldest kid around for about five or six years, so whenever one of our neighbors needs a babysitter, they call me and see if I can step in. They usually pay me for it or owe me a favor themselves, but it honestly doesn't feel like a job to me at all. I'm good with kids."

Haruhi smirked as she messed with her cosplay's headpiece, "And you have me to thank, you know."

"Yeah, I know, Haru. If I can take care of you for ten years I can handle  _ anything _ ."

"Nēchan?"

"Almost anything."

The girls giggled and lightly shoved each other. The twins just shared a glance and slipped into their beginning spot.  _ Commoners are the weird ones. _

Jin wrapped her right arm around Haruhi's shoulder and planted her free hand on her hip. Her fingers brushed at the tiny sliver of skin that showed above her slightly see-through pants and she squirmed.  _ At least my entire belly doesn't show.  _ That  _ would be embarrassing. _

No, she liked her cosplay today. It's title had frightened her just a tad, but it had proved to be more modest than it claimed.

She was, in the loosest term, a "belly dancer". The outfit was a dark kind of pink color, and it sparkled every time her body shifted even a centimeter. There were hints of golden accents around her hips and shoulders, meant to draw people's eyes to the bare skin of her waist and collar bone. And the piece de resistance: A pink fez that was pinned to her hair. She was very… pink. With the exception of the green rose corsage on her right wrist.

_ Chunk! _

The eight hosts snapped to attention at the sound of the doorknob being twisted.  _ Do we already have a guest? I didn't think we were open yet... _

Nevertheless, as soon as the door opened, the hosts were all smiles, "Welcome to the Ouran Host Club." But instead of greeting a crowd of giggling girls...

"Oh, it's just a kid."

"Not only that, it's just a boy."

Jin and Haruhi shared a glance.

_ What's a boy doing here at the host club? _

_ Is he lost? _

_ Could be. But… why is he sitting on the floor? _

_ No clue. _

"What's wrong, little boy? Did you come to my palace in search of something?"

The kids eyes locked in on Tamaki and he stood up, "Uh… are you… the king of this place?"

Jin pressed her free hand against her cheek, " _ Oh... no~ _ "

Tamaki didn't respond at first, so the kid asked again.

"Come closer, lost one.  _ What _ was it you just called me?" The elementary student came to a stop just a few steps away from where they were grouped. He was eyeing Tamaki a little oddly, but he still answered.

"The King?"

"Ahh! The King! Yes, I am the King of the Ouran Host Club! Long live the Host King!"

Jin rolled her eyes and looked at the kid, "Hello! Welcome to the Ouran Host Club. What's your name?"

"I'm an elementary 5th year. Shiro Takaoji!" The kid squared his shoulders and pointed dramatically at the blond, "I want the host club king to take me on as an apprentice!"

Seven heads tilted in confusion while Tamaki lightly touched his rosy cheeks. It took them all a moment to process exactly what had just been said.

"Oh yes! I will take you on as an apprentice, Shiro! I would love to have you around and teach you everything I know!"

"Tamaki? Would you mind terribly getting back into position? We open soon. And besides, we are not prepared to have another host included into today's activities. Perhaps Shiro can begin his apprenticeship tomorrow?" The girls snuck a glance at the vice president before looking back at each other.

_ Why is he always so calm about everything that goes on? _

_ He's probably used to it, hanging around Tamaki so much. _

It took a few more seconds of coaxing and bickering, but the hosts managed to convince Tamaki to dismiss Shiro for the day and be back in position by the time the first guests of the day walked in.

The next day, Shiro showed up right as school got out, apparently eager to begin his training. And it took all of twenty-nine minutes for the kid to become a complete menace.

Haruhi watched from a short distance as Shiro leaned even further forward towards Tamaki and the girl's face, whom were unnervingly close as well. It almost looked like how a third-wheel feels on a date. The other two are being all romantic, while the third person wants attention but feels like the romance is in his face. Don't ask why Haruhi knew what that felt like.

"Don't you think it's weird he's making Shiro observe him up close like that?"

"Tamaki seems to live his life by the theory that people are more beautiful the closer they are viewed. He appears to be focusing on that particular lesson with his new apprentice."

Haruhi frowned and turned around to look for her sister. Jin was flitting around the tables, chit chatting with the girls and giving the boys a short break to regroup their thoughts. Haruhi smiled. While she was still positive that if Jin had never met the hosts her life would've had a more definite feeling of control, it was nice knowing that her favorite person was only a word away.

_ Wow, that was cheesy even for me. _

"You look more like the carp that swim in my pond at home. I'd never give such false compliments like that!"

Jin and Haruhi whipped their heads around.  _ Oh… my... _

The poor girl was sobbing hysterically in her seat while Tamaki tried (in idiotic vain) to salvage the situation. Of course, that ended up with her fleeing the room calling him an idiot. Which, to be honest, was completely true.

"Wow, that was rough."

Jin slipped up to Haruhi's side and passed over her empty tray, "I know. But what was he supposed to say to her in that type of situation? Here, can you take this tray and clear off the tea sets from the empty table by Tamaki? I have a girl to calm down."

"No problem, Nēchan. I'll call for you if it gets any worse."

"I have no doubt that it will."

And with that, Jin ran after the crying girl. Haruhi watched her exit through the doors before sneaking closer to the gradually growing "battlefield". It was, to put it bluntly, a verbal train wreck.

Haruhi scooped up the cups as, one after the other, the other hosts accumulated around Tamaki's table, throwing Shiro through a loop. First, it was the twins and their usual twincest. Then Honey and his appearance not matching his age. And finally Mori coming to Honey's rescue.

_ They're all morons. _

Unfortunately, if Haruhi thought she was going to be able to get away without a few problems herself, she had another thing coming. Shiro backed into her as she attempted to carry the tea set away.

Once the glassware was steady again, she glanced down at the boy, "You okay? Don't worry if the guys are acting really strange right now, you'll get used to it. I'm new around here too, and so is my onēchan. It took us a while to grow used to the weirdos around here."

The kid was staring at her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Are you a crossdresser?"

Haruhi blinked; her mind a blank sheet of paper. She couldn't think of a single thing to say in response. Thankfully, Tamaki came to her rescue.

_ Wow, never thought I'd ever say that. _

The blond quickly covered Shiro's eyes, "Okay! That's enough! I think Shiro should take care of the tea set for you, Haruhi."

The twins were quick to pick up on their "king's" plan and started patting her head, commenting on how 'manly' she looked today. As the three boys continued to laugh nervously, Haruhi rolled her eyes and moved her head away from the twin's hands. The doors to the host club opened behind them and she turned around to see her sister walking back into the room. Jin nodded in Haruhi's direction. Damage control: Complete.

The brunette turned back around, "Actually, Shiro, if you don't mind I'd like to go talk to my onēchan for a moment, so could you take the tray?" The 5th year didn't say a word. He just frowned up at them all and held out his hands.  _ Geez, this kid is acting just downright unpleasant. How long are we going to have him hanging around, again? _

"Alright," she passed the tray over and waited for Shiro to get a good grip on the handles, "Be careful now, it's pretty heavy." She pulled her hands away and Shiro kept the tray perfectly steady.

Then he dropped it.

The high schoolers gasped as glass shards scattered across the floor, sugar and the last couple dregs of tea erupting into a big mess. Haruhi didn't dare move lest she stepped on some and made more pieces to pick up later.

"It's not my fault I dropped it. It's your fault because you're the one who made me take it in the first place."

"... _ Say what? _ "

"Haruhi, that's another 100,000 yen."

" _ HUH!? _ " It was only when Haruhi spun around that she saw Jin again. Her sister had clearly been on her way over to the group as soon as the tray fell, but now she was frozen in place about halfway across the room. Her jaw was clenched as were her fists, and her eyes sparkled with an icy tinge to them.

And then Shiro spotted her.

"Hey! You should make the girl do all your stupid chores, she's not doing anything else! I'm not here to carry tea sets I'm here to learn how to make women happEEEEEE!"

That last little bit came out in a high-pitched squeak as Jin had appeared behind the little brat and hoisted him up into the air. The other hosts watched in astonishment as the 2nd year marched to the wall with her right hand clenched around the back of the boy's uniform. She stopped in front of a pretty painting depicting the cherry blossoms on a windy day. It was very lovely and one of Jin's favorite things about the music room, but today she didn't bother to admire the colors. Instead she plucked the frame off of it's hook and replaced it with Shiro. The boy was screaming and kicking frantically at the wall, but he couldn't find enough purchase to push himself up and off of the hook.

Jin didn't seem even remotely bothered by the shouts and complaints coming from elementary student. She casually leaned the painting against the wall for the time being and made her way back to the others, who recalled that the only other time Jin had looked this angry was when Renge had arrived a couple weeks ago.

The long haired brunette stopped directly in front of Kyoya, "The broken tea set was not Haru's fault. Make Shiro pay for it. Or Tamaki. I don't care, but making Haru and I pay for something that wasn't our fault is not fair."

Now, usually Kyoya would've wanted to argue how billing a elementary student wouldn't be as easy as it sounded, but there was something dangerous about Jin's voice when she spoke. A sort of 'Do-not-fuck-with-me' kind of vibe, and Kyoya decided that an argument right now would not go over well, especially in front of their guests who were just starting to leave.

As a group, the hosts walked back over to Shiro, who's struggling had not toned down in the slightest.

"What are you doing? I didn't do anything! Let me down NOW!"

"Not until you learn some manners." Jin rested her fists on her hips and drilled her gaze into Shiro's eyes, "If you want to make girls happy, the first thing you need to do is get a handle on that mouth of yours. In case you weren't aware of it, most people don't appreciate being called names, being blamed for your faults, or being judged for who their friends are. So, rule number one for making girls happy: Be nice to others."

The brunet, who had been quiet for a moment while Jin spoke, flailed around again, "This is no way to let your loyal apprentice be treated, now let me down!"

"Not until you've learned your lesson," Tamaki took a seat at a nearby table and doled out tea for the other hosts, who all began enjoying a warm drink after the hectic activities, "I took you on as my apprentice because I thought you were serious about becoming a host, but I guess I was mistaken. The other alternative to Jin's actions would be to put you in isolation, so if you would prefer that instead…"

"But I  _ am _ serious!  _ Totally _ completely serious! I want you to teach me how to make a woman happy!" Shiro squirmed around his spot on the wall three more times before slumping down in defeat, head tucked into his chest. "I'm gonna run out of time…please won't you teach me?" The sisters straightened up in their chairs and looked at each other.

_ Did you hear that? _

_ Yup. That certainly brings a new perspective to the playing field... _

"Please! Give me a second chance! Teach me to be like you? You're a genius at hosting! You're the king!"

The others looked up from their own tea, unamused.  _ Aaaaand… he's got him. _

Tamaki stood up and folded his arms, smug smile in place, "Well, you may be a brat, but I admire your desire to become a host, so I'll teach you. You know, Shiro, you and I are so much alike!"

"You poor kid," Haruhi hummed. Jin snorted into her tea cup.

"Then you'll help me become the kind of host that can make any woman happy?"

"Of course. Making women happy is the sole purpose of being a host. If this is what you  _ really _ want, Shiro, then you'll have to figure out how to use the material you already have."

"What?"

"You see, Shiro, here at the Ouran Host Club we use our individual personality traits to meet the needs of our guests. For example, Tamaki is the princely type for women who wish to be doted upon as royalty, for example. We also have an additional selection of the Stoic type, the Boy Lolita, the Little-Devil type, and the Cool type." As Kyoya listed the other host's off, they gathered in a little group in front of where Shiro was hung up, holding their signature rose colors up in a little pose.

"And now our group is complete with the addition of Haruhi, the Natural type, and Jin… the Nurturing type."

Finally, all eight of the hosts were grouped in front of the dangling kid, and Jin hummed softly.  _ The Nurturing type? Not bad... I suppose that explains the Demeter cosplay... _

"It would seem that right now we have a perfect blend of characteristics, so it's going to be difficult to find where Shiro fits in." Said boy was pressing himself against the wall, as far away from the hosts as possible. He seemed almost frightened, and Haruhi couldn't blame him. Kyoya did give off that sort of vibe.

"Technically, with his age, he should be the Boy Lolita-"

"-but that's Honey-senpai area."

Jin felt something tug on her skirt and looked down to see a sniffling blond boy, "Is he going to replace me, Jin-chan?"

The brunette was quick to scoop the small boy into her arms and cradle the back of his head, "Oh, no, Sweetie. We could never replace you, I promise. Mori-senpai and I wouldn't let them."

" _ Oh, come on. Is that the best you can do? _ "

A certain powerful motor powered up and the music room floor rumbled as Renge spiraled up out of the ground. She hadn't even finished spinning around on her pedestal before she began complaining. Calling their characterizations 'boring' and 'lackluster'.

"Alright then,  _ Ms. Manager _ , where do  _ you _ think Shiro belongs in our collection of characters?" Tamaki gestured to the crying boy in Jin's arms, "He can't be the Boy Lolita because Honey-senpai-"

"You're just not getting it, are you?" The blonds gasped at Renge's harsh tone. She cleared her throat before launching into a long winded detailing of 'Shota' and 'Shota Fans'. Jin fuzzed out a little ways into it, only zoning back in when she began winding down.

"If I had to pick a character for him… yes! He's the Naughty Type! Jin-senpai? Could you please place Shiro back on the floor so we can begin his training?"

She shrugged, but did as Renge asked. Besides, Shiro had probably learned his lesson. For now, at least. And, even if he hadn't, Renge was sure to make him learn another one anyways. As the hosts watched their "Manager" slip slightly back into her characterization methods again, Jin heard a simultaneous throat clearing.

"Yes?"

"Those were some A+ babysitting skills there, Jin-senpai."

The girl scoffed, "I'm not babysitting Shiro at the moment, nor have I ever had a previous connection with him or his family. He was behaving rudely to his peers, speaking out of line, and damaging property. It is my belief that when children are behaving poorly, they deserve a time-out or some other form of punishment. Normally, I don't do something as drastic as hanging them up on a wall, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to sit quietly in the corner for fifteen minutes. Besides, weren't you going to put him in isolation?"

"True."

"But you hung him from the wall."

"That I did. Think he'll forget that anytime soon?"

The redheads looked at each other and smirked, "Probably not."

The three of them returned their attention to the elementary student just as he tripped and face-planted the tile floor.

Renge crouched down beside him, "Are you okay, little one?" The seemingly caring tone was dampened by a sharp whistle blast, "Your catchphrase!"

"No big deal. It was nothing."

And that seemed to do it for Renge. She pressed her palms against her face and let out a sound akin to that of a newborn kitten. The rest of the hosts exchanged glances, some of them a little bit impressed by the short amount of time it had taken to "train" their new little host. Tamaki even applauded.

"That was outstanding. I never knew you were such a great coach, Renge." The auburn-haired girl let out her signature shriek-laughter and the sisters exchanged another significant glance.  _ Impressive time crunch? Perhaps. Outstanding? Er… _

"AaaaaAAAAI'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU WEIRDOS!" Everyone turned at Shiro's outburst. The poor boy was still on his hands and knees, looking to be on the verge of tears.

" _ This is so stupid, _ none  _ of this is _ ever  _ going to help me make her happy. _ "

Haruhi and Jin deflated simultaneously.

" _ But who- _ "

" _ -is 'her'? _ "

Unfortunately, none of them could do anything as Shiro ran from the room, ignoring Tamaki's cries of 'Wait' and 'Come back, Shiro!'

As the doors boomed shut, Renge climbed back onto her pedestal, "I swear, younger boys are good for nothing. I went through all that trouble to coach him, and he quits." It took a lot of patience for Jin to not walk over and try to knock some sense into the other girl's head.  _ These damn rich people, I swear… _

"I can't believe he ditched us because he didn't like the lesson!" The Fujioka's shook their heads.

"Senpai, there are very few people in this world who would remotely enjoy that kind of lesson, but weren't you listening earlier?"

"He said he was going to run out of time, and just now he said that none of this was going to make 'her' happy."

The girls spoke in quiet unison, "Which means this has all been about a girl."

* * *

Half an hour later, the host club had migrated to another section of Ouran Academy; the elementary buildings. Except, there had been a quick sort of costume change before they left...

" _ How did we let them talk us into this? _ "

" _ It'll be okay, Haru-chan! It was so easy to sneak in, especially by wearing this uniform! I really look like I'm in elementary school! _ "

" _ Yeah, I totally understand why they had to wear that uniform, Senpai. It helps you blend it, at least, but why did they stuff me in a _ middle school  _ uniform? It doesn't make any sense!" _

*/Flashback to 30 min ago\\*

Tamaki spoke in a low voice, " _ Alright men, it's time to begin. _ " The twins and Mori were wearing creepy grins, which was mind blowing considering Mori was smiling at all, but those three, Kyoya, and Tamaki all looked a little too pleased with themselves for anything good to happen in the next couple minutes.

Haruhi tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"

Honey inched forward in his seat, "What mission?"

"Yeah," Jin crossed her arms from the sidelines, "And how come you haven't told the three of us anything?"

" _ Our mission: to infiltrate the elementary school… and the two of you are going in. _ "

Jin's eyes narrowed, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

*\End Flashback/*

Honey suddenly grabbed Haruhi's arm and started pulling her down the hallway, "This way, Haru-chan! If Shiro-chan is in the A-class, then his room isn't that far!"

Tamaki watched the two smaller members of the host club from an empty computer lab a short ways down the hallway, "Look at her in that miniskirt! Haruhi looks like a little doll!" Even the dark, the boy's dark blush was easy to see, as was the steady line of drool dripping down his chin.

Jin leaned up against the wall and leveled a solid gaze at Tamaki, "This was all just so you could see my little sister in a short skirt?" Tamaki's face somehow grew even redder.

"Of course not!"

"Uh huh. Well, you're lucky she looks so cute, not that she doesn't always, or else I'd be making her change back into her regular uniform right now." Tamaki held up his hands with a shaky laugh, but Jin just pushed past him and peered out into the hallway. "They're gone. Which way do you think they went? I have a feeling our 'leader' wasn't paying attention."

"Shiro is in Class-A. Take a right."

The six high school students slipped out into the hallway and hurried after their fellow club members. They were always a hallway behind, just barely seeing Haruhi's brown skirt before it slipped around a corner. The twins took the lead soon enough, happily dashing around and looking at all the things that had changed since they had left for the middle school. A full minute of this sneaking around passed before the twins went to round a corner only to quickly fall backwards. They ran back to the others with a look of panic.

" _ There's a teacher coming! _ "

" _ Hide! _ "

The six dashed to the sides of the hallway. Mori ducked behind a curtain, the twins tucked and rolled under a bench, Tamaki slid in between a potted plant and a pillar before ducking down to the floor, and Jin pulled open a door that read 'Janitor's closet' and slipped inside. Kyoya was right on her heels and shut the door behind him.

The first thing they noticed was that the room was small.

Like…  _ really, really _ small.

The two couldn't hear anything except the hum of the cooling unit rumbling alongside the walls, so they figured no one would hear them as long as they whispered. Which meant the first words out were:

" _ Find your own hiding spot! _ "

The two frowned at each other and tried to wiggle around in an attempt to put space between them, but they were pressed up tightly between the walls and each other.

" _ I can't believe you followed me in here! _ "

" _ Where did you expect me to do? Jump out a window? Hide behind a plant like Tamaki? _ "

" _ Better than in here! It's too small for two people! _ "

" _ Look, I like this no more that you, but there were no other places. We fit just fine, so be quiet and wait it out. _ "

" _ Kyoya, if 'we fit just fine' means 'I can't move an inch without touching the other person' to you, then _ yeah,  _ we fit just _ fine."

" _ Stop talking or we'll be caught! _ "

" _ They won't hear us over the fans, but you're right, I don't want to risk being found by some teacher with your hands on my hips. _ "

Kyoya quickly lifted his hands away, but frowned down at the girl pressed to his chest, " _ Well, if you're going to insist on talking so that we  _ are  _ caught, how about we give our captors a show? _ "

Jin's face felt warm, but she responded quickly, " _ I swear to god, Kyoya, one more word from you and I'll knee you where the sun doesn't shine. _ "

Now both parties were pink faced, but they only waited for two more seconds before the door opened. For a split second, they felt a jolt of fear and embarrassment from being caught in a janitor's closet by a teacher like they were a pair of horny teenagers; what could they possibly say to explain themselves? But at the sight of Mori's blank face they sighed and wriggled out of the cramped space, taking the extra energy needed to shove at each other more than necessary.

The twins snickered, "Nice hiding place, you two."

"I hope we didn't distract you from anything."

Jin glared at the boys, "Where do we go from here?"

"Around the corner."

The group scampered around to Shiro's classroom doors just as Haruhi's voice called out from inside.

"It's empty."

Well, the boys didn't need any further encouragement. They walked straight in, which gave Jin no choice but to follow. Sure, being caught by a teacher by herself was better than being caught with a boy, but still. She gave the hallway one more up and down before turning back to the interior of the room. The hosts were roaming around the classroom, making offhand comments about how it had changed since they were 5th years.

Haruhi was looking more irritated by the second, "Hey, if you're just going to barge in like that then why'd we wear these stupid disguises? And what took you so long anyways? One minute you were following us, then you disappeared!"

Jin slid up to her sister's side, "A teacher was walking down the hallway, so we had to hide." Her sister jolted.

"You mean there are still  _ teachers roaming around? _ "

"Relax, Haruhi, we haven't been caught yet. Were you expecting the teachers to just leave all these elementary kids alone by themselves after school hours?"

"And besides, even if another teacher  _ did _ come along, I'm sure we could find some  _ hiding places again… _ "

The twins grinned dangerously at Jin, who glared right back, but Haruhi's following question died in her throat at the sound of shoes hitting tile. They all looked around at the doors before dropping to the floor. Of course, Hikaru and Kaoru just had to sneak a joke in.

" _ Hey, Jin and Kyoya… _ "

" _ Want to find another closet to hide in? _ "

The older brunette looked ready to jump up and throttle the redheads, but a small restraining hand on her shoulder kept her steady.

" _ Shhh...Shut up, guys! _ "

The girls pretended to zip their lips shut, " _ Keep your lips zipped! _ " The twins and Tamaki went completely red faced, staring intently at Haruhi. It was enough to make Jin smirk. Sometimes the twins forgot how much teasing material they gave up before they tried to take the mickey out of her.

The footsteps were starting to retreat, so Jin silently stood up. She gracefully slid over a desk and scurried to the doorframe. Peeking out, she watched as the adult continued to walk away from the classroom they were hiding in, intently reading some papers in his hand.

"It's alright everyone, he's gone."

The boys stood up and dusted themselves off while Haruhi snuck her own glance out into the hallway, "Nēchan? Doesn't that teacher seem… familiar to you?"

Jin's eyebrows came together and she poked her head out the door once more. It took a few seconds, but eventually the girl gasped.

"Oh my goodness! I didn't even notice!"

"Well, I found something of interest as well."

The others looked over to see Honey and Kyoya staring at a large collection of photos on the wall. Jin looked at each one she passed. They seemed to be a collection of all the kids in the classroom. Smiling, playing, or just plain ol' cute ones. There was even an adorable picture of some kids chasing cherry blossoms through the air.

But the one Kyoya was pointing at was focused on… Shiro. Shiro smiling, in fact. Sitting at a magnificent grand piano with a cute little girl at his side. He looked happier than the hosts had ever seen him before.

"It looks like our Shiro is in the classical music club."

"He looks like he's having a good time. It's nice to see him smiling."

Jin met her sister's eyes.

_ So what happened to make him so upset? _

_ Think this might have to do with the girl in the picture? _

_ Well, he's upset because of something to do with a girl, and he's happy with that girl in the picture. Makes sense at least. _

_ Good thing he's in the classical music club then. _

The older Fujioka smirked and nodded.

Tamaki murmured a small 'yeah' before asking Kyoya how to get to the music room. It took less than ten minutes to find it.

Honey pointed through a window, "There he is! There's Shiro-chan!" The hosts followed the small blond's gaze until they saw a certain brunet boy sitting on the ledge of another window, one that looked outside. He looked so solemn, a complete and drastic change from the picture in his classroom. Speaking of that picture, the girl walked up to him. The two started talking, and the hosts were watching them so intently they didn't notice as their group of eight had dwindled to seven.

"Hey… where's Jin-chan?" The six boys looked around the hallway, but there was no sign of the older Fujioka sibling.

"Where did she go?"

"She was just here!"

Haruhi sighed before pointing back into the classroom, "She's in there, you guys."

"What?!" The hosts went back to peering into the elementary music room and watched as Jin approached the music teacher who was assisting a young girl with her viola.

"What is she doing?!"

Inside the music room, Jin was having a hard time containing her grin. Kagome-sensei was tightening the girl's viola string with so much concentration his neck was just a tinge red. The little girl was staring at her with confusion and interest, so Jin held up a finger to her lips and winked. The girl smiled and nodded happily before looking back at her teacher just as he plucked a perfectly tuned note.

"Aha! There we are, good as new!"

Jin clapped her hands, "Amazing work, Sensei! Your cheeks didn't even turn pink this time!"

The older man spun around in surprise before his face broke out into a grin, "Ms. Fujioka! I see you've returned from America safe and sound."

"That I did. And I see you're still cranking out the young protegees." She spared the group of little kids that had accumulated around them a grin before walking closer to her old piano teacher.

"Yes, it seems there's more of them every year, each of them more talented than the last! At this rate I'll never retire; I'm going to want to teach them all!"

The two laughed lightly before Jin cleared her throat, "Actually, Kagome-sensei, I'm not here just to visit."

"Oh? Shame. For a moment I felt special."

The brunette smiled kindly, "It's great to see you again, and I would've visited eventually, but I've actually been in recent touch with one of your current students." Her teacher noted the more serious tone.

"Really? Which one of them was it?"

"Shiro Takaoji. He came to the club I'm a member of and after a while he stormed out, saying he was going to run out of time and something about a girl. Would you happen to know what he was talking about? My friends and I would like to help."

Jin's old teacher sighed and placed a hand on her right shoulder, "I don't think this is a problem you can fix, Ms. Fujioka. Do you see the young lady over by the grand piano?" Jin looked over her shoulder and saw the same girl who had been talking with Shiro a moment ago. She was playing Mozart's Sonata in D major. It was supposed to be played by two pianos really, but she was performing well on her own. And Shiro was listening to her calmly, eyes closed and a small smile on his face.

"Yes."

"That is Hina Kamishiro. She's one of my star pupils, perhaps Shiro's closest friend, and she is moving away in a little less than two weeks from now. Her father was just offered a new job in Germany, and Hina is going with him."

Jin looks back at the boy, this time with sympathy in her eyes. No wonder he's been acting so upset. Having a close friend go from being nearby all the time to far away felt worse than being stabbed, at least in Jin's personal experience. And if Shiro also had a crush on Hina…

"Mr. Takaoji has been nearly inconsolable. He started skipping out on the club, and just yesterday he informed me that he was going to seek help. I assume he meant your club."

"Yeah, I think he did."

Just then Shiro opened his eyes and stared at Hina. The girl played a few more bars before glancing over at her friend as well. The boy blushed lightly and turned away.

And saw Jin.

His eyes went wide as Jin quickly turned back to her old teacher, "Well, it's been nice catching up, but I should probably go now."

Kagome-sensei nodded, "Very well. Do come see me some other time. I still think you'd do wonderfully as a professional pianist. World renown even!"

Jin couldn't help but laugh a bit, "I'm sure you do. Goodbye!"

The brunette hurried out of the room, only to come face-to-face with the other hosts.

"What was that?"

Jin held up her hands, "Guys, really, I know some of you are mad or confused but we have some more pressing matters to deal with right now. The girl Shiro is watching is named Hina Kamishiro. She's one of his closest friends but she's moving to Germany in about two weeks."

Tamaki quickly shut up and looked back through the window, "Really? That… hey, where did Shiro-"

"What do you think you're doing here?" The high schoolers looked over by the entrance of the music room, where Shiro was glaring at them. Tamaki's face darkened and he wordlessly grabbed the salty boy, throwing him over his shoulder.

Shiro immediately started thrashing in Tamaki's grip, "Hey! Put me down! What are you doing? Ah! Let me go! Just put me down!"

"It's time to go, gentlemen."

As one, the host club turned around and started walking down the hallway, Shiro screaming at them the whole way.

* * *

When the group reached their own music room, Shiro was dropped unceremoniously on one of the couches.

"What is your problem, you big idiot?!"

"I'm sorry, but  _ you're _ the idiot!" Shiro looked taken aback. It must've been a while since someone shouted back at him.

"You said that you wanted me to teach you how to make women happy, but that's not it, is it? You're not concerned with the happiness of just  _ any _ woman. You've got your sights set on one woman in particular. You only care about Ms. Hina Kamishiro!" Tamaki's shoulders sank a little, "But I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you with that. Listen, Shiro, I know that I told you it's the job of a host to make women happy, but when you care for someone you must find the courage to express what is in your heart! You have to tell her how you feel about her!"

The small boy stared up at his former mentor before letting his head fall into his chest, "It doesn't matter any more. I've run out of time. I just…" his voice was on the cusp of breaking, "...I wanted to hear her play. Before she left for good. That's all…"

"That piece she played. It's Mozart's Sonata in D major for two pianos, isn't it?" Shiro's head perked up, surprised that Tamaki knew the name of the piece. The tall blond walked over to a curtained off area. He grabbed a fistfull of the cloth and pulled.

Revealing an absolutely  _ beautiful _ grand piano.

"Wait a minute… since when was there a grand piano in here?"

"Well, this is a music room after all-"

"-so why wouldn't it have a grand piano?"

Haruhi felt her fingers twitch and looked over to see what Jin thought of it all, but her sister was staring intently at the piano instead. Her eyes had lit up and there was the faintest smile curving her lips.

Tamaki took a seat on the piano bench. He lifted his hands for a moment before bringing them down to pull forth an absolutely  _ wonderful _ piece of music. The melody was bouncy and reminded the sisters of springtime in the park. Later, once Tamaki finished his piece, he told Shiro to come to the music room every morning, lunch, recess, and during his free time after school for piano lessons for the next week. Because it was pretty clear that the one thing that would make Hina happy would be to play the piano with Shiro.

*One week later*

Hina Kamishiro looked between the name above the door and the note in her hand, making sure that she wasn't reading the elegant scrawl incorrectly. No, she was in the right place. Music Room #3.

The little one mustered up her courage before opening the large doors. They opened surprisingly easily and revealed a room that shone with white. Seven handsome boys and a pretty girl also dressed in white tuxes and, in the girl's case, a white blouse and skirt combo, were standing by the door to greet her.

"Welcome Princess!"

"We present to you: Shiro Takaoji's… piano recital."

Hina gasped as she saw her friend sitting at a magnificent grand piano. Tamaki walked over and pulled out a chair for the second piano beside Shiro's.

"If you please, Princess." Hina stared at the empty chair before a bubble of hope started forming in her stomach. She smiled as Shiro looked over at her.

"Let's play together, Hina."

It took her approximately a half second to respond.

Not even a minute later, the two were playing the Mozart piece. Their parts fit together like puzzle pieces. And the hosts had never seen two elementary students look so happy before.

"We did a good thing."

Jin smiled and laid a hand on her classmate's shoulder, "Yes… you did."

Haruhi leaned backwards against her sister's chest, "He loves with all his heart. So I guess that's one way Shiro takes after you, Senpai." Haruhi smiled and Jin hugged her sister from behind.

*5 days later*

Shiro was visiting the host club again. He had come to formally thank them for all their help last week, but the guests had asked him to stay for the rest of the afternoon. He was a big hit with the girls, but his favorite topic was telling them all about Hina and how the two of them were going to be staying in touch, even if he pretended it wasn't a big deal.

"So, you've been exchanging emails with Hina every day?" Haruhi couldn't help but find that impressive. Maybe there's some truth to the idea of soul mates? How else would two 5th year elementary students be so devoted to each other?

"Yeah, more or less. We're going to make it more daily once she actually moves, but for now it's mainly just making sure it works and that we're 'comfortable' with communicating that way, or whatever."

The large group of girls around him were fawning over his cuteness, which put a few of the others hosts on edge, especially when the girls started kissing his cheeks.

" _ You brat. Those are  _ my  _ guests! _ "

Shiro glanced over his shoulder playfully, "Heh, well I guess they found someone they like better. I think maybe there's a  _ new _ host king in town." That did it. Tamaki shouted and lunged for the boy, only being held down by the twins who had tightly wrapped themselves around his lower half.

Haruhi watched the scene with a blank face, "Shiro really does have a lot in common with Tamaki-senpai. I get the feeling Senpai was also a spoiled brat when he was a little kid." Jin shook her head good-naturedly, amused by Tamaki's overreaction.

"I was not a spoiled brat! I was nothing like him! I was a sweet, innocent, precious, adorable child!"

The others couldn't help but smile.

 


	12. Operation: Jin is Pretty!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter I hoped to reach a deeper meaning by the end, and I think I got it. Hope you like!

 

_ How does it feel to talk to a person who doesn't realize they're beautiful? Who doesn't realize that they are the highlight of someone's day? _

_ How does it feel to learn that the person you aspire to be doesn't believe they are worthy enough to be a proper role model? Or flat out refuses to understand how important and inspiring they are? _

_ How does it feel to love a person who doesn't love herself? _

_ How does it feel? _

_ It feels like failure. _

_... _

Haruhi had a feeling this was going to be a rough day from the moment she woke up. There was just this sort of… groggy feeling to the morning. She could tell that Jin could feel it too by the way her sister yawned throughout breakfast and when they decided to take the train instead of biking to school.

Yeah… this was going to be a long day.

Class was boring, even more so than usual. Haruhi could feel her brain struggling to make the connections between the new work and what she learned last week, which made her tired, which made it even more difficult to think. Even the twins seemed to notice something was off. They kept poking Haruhi in the side with their pencils to help keep her eyes open, and for once she didn't get mad at them for it.

What she couldn't figure out was  _ why _ she was so exhausted. She didn't do anything different with her sleep schedule, so it couldn't be that. Maybe it was just the day letting her know that she should've stayed home instead of coming to school.

Not like that would ever happen, but still.

And then there was Jin, who was clearly worried about her little sister. Throughout lunch Jin had been checking and double checking Haruhi's temperature and how she was feeling, debating whether or not she should send her home. Haruhi refused. She had a quiz today.

Her exhaustion didn't get any better when she arrived at the host club, but ten minutes into the activities of the day she finally understood. It was like her body  _ knew _ something like this was coming and decided to save up her energy. Perhaps that was it. Since the host club takes up so much mental and physical activity, normally for "outside reasons", her body was now saving up all its energy for after school fiascoes.

And this certainly qualified.

The twins were the ones who started the whole thing, which was actually not a big surprise if you think about it. The other hosts knew to prepare for something big when the two redheads stood up and proceeded to the center of the room.

"Can we have everyone's attention?"

Slowly the conversations around the room quieted down.

"We have an important announcement to make for the ladies of the host club."

"Our mother is currently designing a new line of outfits for high school girls and she's in need of some models for adjustments and photo-shoots."

"And she would like to invite all of the host club girls for try outs for these positions!"

There was a large, unanimous squeal that echoed around the music room, followed by a flurry of yellow dresses as each and every girl flocked to Hikaru and Kaoru for more information. The other hosts took this time to gather together and discuss the new turn of events.

"Wow, that was incredibly generous of her."

"Really?" Haruhi looked over at the twins being buried with questions, "Why is it generous? It sounds more like cheap labor to me."

"It is, but Mrs. Hitachiin also appears to have some ulterior motives. Using the daughters of wealthy business owners and prominent families will give her more ties into corporations that she didn't have before and will strengthen others. Also, it's good PR. Not using actual models makes her fashion line more inclusive to different body types. And, as a final note, receiving comments by her customers first hand might help with future design ideas."

Haruhi looked ready to pack up and leave by the time Kyoya finished with, "So, in short, an impressive business move."

_ These goddamn rich people. _

Jin tilted her head and smiled softly, "I think it's sweet. Mrs. Hitachiin's offer probably just gave these girls a big confidence boost. Sure, it'll help her business out a lot, but it'll give these girls something to smile about for years."

Honey bounded up to the brunette and tugged on her skirt, "Jin-chan, are you going to try out? I'm sure you'd get a position!"

Jin looked at the small boy strangely before smiling and patting his head, "Why would I do that? Nah, I'm far too busy to do any silly little try out. But thanks for the compliment, Honey-senpai." Before her hand even retracted from his blond head, two arms wrap around her torso and two familiar voices whispered in her ear.

" _ Of course it would be silly for you to try out, Jin-senpai. _ "

" _ Considering we've already put you on the roster. _ "

If they were expecting Jin to blush slightly and swat at their hands and call them idiots, they'd be wrong.

"WHAT?!" The brunette spun around and grabbed the twins by their jackets, "Why would you do that!? Are you joking!? Tell me you're joking!" The redheads stared at their senpai in confusion and nervously held up their hands.

"It was a joke! We didn't sign you up, promise!"

"But we do want you to try-out! You'd be perfect!"

Jin stopped moving and stared at the twins, like someone had pressed the 'pause' button on her remote.

"Why would I be perfect for it?"

The twins looked at each other, then at the other girls in the room before looking back at Jin, "Well, we're pretty sure everyone here would agree that you're one of the prettiest girl in this room." The girl in question blinked and glanced around the rest of the room. The other guests were nodding their heads, some rapidly while others a little slower, giving the statement quite a bit of thought.

She looked back at the twins and smiled a little. Then bigger. Until finally she started snickering. Like she was more amused by a funny comment than actually humored by it. She released the boys and straightened out their jackets.

"Okay, I get it now! You guys are pretty funny, you know?"

She seemed to be oblivious to the fact that everyone else in the room was looking around with either concern or confusion. One very confused girl in the back corner of the room let out a few weak laughs but stopped quickly.

However, Jin Fujioka is never out of the loop for long. She stopped her light laughter as her gaze swept around the room. She ended up with her gaze back on the twins.

"You're not kidding?"

The twins shook their heads.

"Then let me laugh harder. HAHAHAHA!" The tall brunette continued to laugh -actually laughing this time- as she walked off towards the kitchen, holding her stomach with her left arm. The entire congregation watched in silence until the doors boomed shut.

Then everyone began talking at once.

"What was she laughing at?"

"Does that mean she doesn't want to model?"

"Do you think it was an inside joke?"

"Haruhi?"

The short Fujioka was staring at the kitchen doors solemnly, "Yeah, Senpai?"

"What just happened?"

Haruhi look at the floor and scuffed it with her shoe, "Nēchan doesn't think she's pretty. At all. And I'm sorry you guys, but you're not going to get very far with her on this topic." She turned around and went back to her guests, "If you want my advice, I'd just let it go."

*The Next Day*

Of course they weren't just going to let it go. Haruhi should've suspected that the moment they sent Jin out on a shopping run for coffee. They never send their hosts (or waitress) out to shop in the middle of the week if they can help it. Usually, they do their shopping on Monday and send Haruhi  _ with _ her sister.

_ Figures the'd want to talk about it immediately. _

"Alright men, in order to properly begin our planning, we have to know all the variables. Haruhi!"

The brunette gave her Senpai her best 'you've got to be kidding me' look, "What?"

"Tell us everything you know about Jin's condition!"

"There is no  _ condition _ , Senpai. Nēchan just doesn't think she's pretty!"

"But that can't be all! What caused this? How long has it been going on? We have to know everything if we're going to help her! Or have you already forgotten the job of a high school host?"

Haruhi's shoulders slumped, "...To make every girl happy. I know, Senpai. I just…fine, then. Nēchan is very self conscious. It started around when she was 8, though she's had a shy side forever. But it's not just in her looks, she's never been very accepting of compliments of any kind.  _ That _ started earlier, when she was about 4 and started taking piano lessons." Haruhi's expression darkened, "She had a  _ horrible _ teacher."

There were a few seconds of silence before she continued, "Anyways, Nēchan's been like this for years. It's like everyone wants to be like her but herself. She doesn't think she's very talented with, well, anything."

Honey gasped, sounding like someone just insulted his grandmother, "But Jin-chan is  _ super _ talented! She's even great at-" Honey cut himself short, "Um, I mean, didn't she teach herself all those languages?"

The other hosts gave their shortest member a collection of odd looks.

"Honey-senpai?"

"What else were you about to say?"

"Nothing, I just started the sentence wrong. Didn't think it through."

Haruhi watched her senpai for another two seconds before continuing, "To answer your question, yes, she did teach herself most of the languages she knows. She only took classes for English and French and taught herself German, Spanish, Italian, and is now working on Swedish. She even taught herself higher maths so that she's a year beyond where her classmates are  _ and _ learned piano and guitar without much instruction. Kagome-sensei only became her teacher  _ after _ she learned the basics and a few songs by herself."

The boys took it all in, "And… she doesn't think she's talented?"

"Oh, did I say that? Sorry, I meant she doesn't think she's  _ very _ talented. Nēchan knows that not many people can do what she does, but she doesn't think very much of it. In fact…" her lips twitched in the slight semblance of a smile, "while most people think she's an amazing person, she likes to say that  _ I'm _ the most perfect person in the world. Actually, the last time someone tried to convince her that she was better than me, she laughed."

Tamaki sighed, "Well then, this just became far more complicated. We've dealt with girls who don't recognize their beauty but-"

"Hey guys! I've got the stuff!" The hosts part ways, Haruhi running off to help her sister unpack the coffee and distract her from the frowns the boys were sporting. The twins were discussing something with their heads bent down near each other's, Honey was fiddling with Usa-chan while Mori looked on, Tamaki had migrated to his hosting station, clearly thinking hard, and Kyoya found himself by the windows.

He didn't recall making the conscious decision to walk over here, but decided to admire the view for a while. As he did so, a memory resurfaced from last week, the day after Shido finished his after school lessons with Tamaki.

*/ Flashback \\*

_ Kyoya was walking down the hallway after the school day had ended. There was still a faint gleam of the sunset shining through the large windows, proof for everyone that summer was on it's way back. The black haired male continued down the corridor, running his after school 'To-Do' list through his head one last time. He had a feeling he was forgetting something. _

_ Although, there really wasn't much for him to do. The janitors still had to come through, and they'd clean up anything that was left behind. All the extra cake slices had been put away- _

_ Kyoya stopped and smacked his hand against his forehead. _ Of course that's what I forgot.  _ He spun on his heel and marched back to the music room. Of all the things to forget, why did it have to be locking the cake cabinets? Sure, it might not be a big deal for most people, but with Honey-senpai in the club if Kyoya didn't want any extra pieces of inventory "disappearing" he had to lock the storage. And he had the only key. _

Well, it isn't as if anyone else can be trusted with it. Or like any of them would remember to lock the door every night.

_ A sigh escaped him. This was cutting into his homework time. And no doubt his driver was waiting in the parking lot, wondering where he was. Hopefully his security guards wouldn't believe he'd been kidnapped or there would be a few pairs of ruined doors his family would have to repay the school for. _

_ A louder sigh passed his lips as Kyoya turned the final corner. The music room's doors were at the very end of the hallway, staring him in the face as he got closer. There were no other sounds besides his shoes tapping against the tile floor, his clothes shifting against each other, and… _

_ He stopped walking. _

_ A piano. Someone was playing a piano nearby, and there was only one that he knew of. _

_ Oddly enough, it didn't sound like Tamaki's usual song. There was one song he played almost every time he sat at a piano, but this one was different. And to top it all off, Kyoya instantly recognized it. It was an American Disney song. _

_ How'd he know that? Because Fuyumi had always enjoyed American culture when she lived at the Ootori mansion and liked to play Disney songs all the time. And while Kyoya would never admit it, now that she was living far away he had a few of her favorite songs on his iPod in case he ever missed her. _

_ Again, not like he'd ever admit that. _

_ But this song was very familiar. It was 'I can go the distance' from the extremely inaccurate Hercules movie. But Fuyumi had loved the musical numbers from it, so Kyoya instantly recognized it anyways. _

_ The piano version he was hearing at the moment was definitely a variation, but it was lovely all the same. The melody and harmony were perfect. Kyoya felt his feet move forward towards the doors again. There was a strange tugging in his chest, the same one he felt the very first time he had heard Tamaki play at his house. The notes held so much emotion, he couldn't help himself. _

_ He quietly pushed open the door and peeked in. _

_ The room was at half light, and Kyoya could see only the backs of two heads, both sitting at the piano. One was on the bench, the other was sitting on a chair that had been pulled over from a nearby table. _

_ It took Kyoya perhaps ten seconds to realize that it was Jin who was playing the piano like that, with Haruhi at her side and enjoying the song. _

_ He knew that he couldn't let the girls catch him. This sort of information would be useful in the future after he had some time to think it over, but at the same time he didn't want to leave while Jin was still playing. Sure, with a teacher like Kagome-sensei, Kyoya had a feeling that she'd be a remarkable player, but he hadn't realized how remarkable. _

_ The notes were flying all over the place, pulling the original song apart and pushing it back together at the same time. Kyoya felt in awe of the piece and of the talent that Jin must possess to play it correctly. But to say the boy felt a little conflicted was an understatement. _

_ Jin was far more talented and interesting and intelligent than she let on, and that was saying something. So why didn't she use it? Why not pursue music? Her father didn't seem to be one to hold his daughters back from where they wanted to go, so how come she didn't take music classes while at Ouran? Or join a music-based club? _

_ Kyoya continued to watch for a minute, his mind racing with the possibilities of this information. Could he have Jin play for the guests? That might cut into hosting times, but would it bring in more customers who want to hear her music? This sort of talent wasn't exactly blackmail material either. Perhaps she could play a piece for their next dance? That would work. _

_ He closed the door as soon as she hit the final notes. A missing slice or two wouldn't be that difficult to calculate. _

*\ End Flashback /*

Kyoya shook his head to escape the memory. He had yet to approach Jin about her talent, not being able to find the right time. And what exactly was he supposed to say about it? It was unlikely that knowing Jin's reasoning behind not pursuing music would be beneficial to him, but perhaps Tamaki would be interested in it to help discover Jin's inability to see talent within herself?

So... how to pursue it?

* The Next Day *

Haruhi wasn't exactly sure what she had expected. Sure, Tamaki wasn't like the kind of person to give up, but still, Haruhi had tried everything she could have to make Jin think she was pretty and talented and she had failed every time.

Still, Tamaki was determined to try, and it wasn't like Haruhi wasn't willing to take the chance.

"Alright men, Stage 1 is now in motion! Hand me your roses!" Each host held out a red rose to the blond, a slip of paper dangling from the stems. Haruhi got a glimpse of a few of the words written on them.  _ Your eyes sparkle in the sunlight. Your hair looks like melted chocolate. _ Mainly cheesy stuff that Haruhi knew wasn't going to have the effect they wanted.

"Right then!" Tamaki hastily bound the flowers with a white ribbon, "I will personally place this bouquet on Jin's chair after lunch. When she finds and reads all the wonderful things we've written she's no longer be able to doubt how beautiful she is!"

"Hold up, Boss."

"How come you get the deliver the flowers?"

The blond scoffed, "I sit right beside her in class. It's only obvious."

"Are you sure it's not because you like her?"

Tamaki began to grow red, "You both know very well that Jin and I are simply good friends! She's more like… like a sister to me! Yeah! I love Haruhi like my daughter and Jin like my sister! Your perverted minds simply can't understand that!"

"So now my Nēchan is also my aunt? Tamaki-senpai, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing."

This, of course, just caused Tamaki to shout about how it made more sense than they thought (it didn't) and why couldn't the twins just agree that he was the best candidate to deliver the flowers (they wouldn't) and eventually Kyoya just plucked the roses out of Tamaki's hands and walked into the classroom. He placed the flowers on the girl's chair as the bell rang.

Tamaki followed, pouting, and a few minutes later the rest of the class of 2-A filtered into the room. Quite a few people glanced at the flowers placed in Jin's seat, so by the time she actually walked in the first thing she heard was 'there's something for you on your chair'.

The brunette blinked and walked over to her desk. After staring at the roses for a few seconds, she picked them up and sat down, reading the notes tied to each flower. Tamaki tried not to stare, but he was so excited about seeing her reaction he couldn't sit still.

The girl was quiet as she read the notes, but she was smiling warmly. Once she finished reading each and every one, she pulled the notes off and stuck them into her bag before gently rearranging the flowers to stick out of the top flap.

The last student walked in just as Jin leaned over and whispered, "Thank you for the flowers, you guys."

Tamaki blinked, trying to play innocent, "Those flowers weren't from us! Clearly you have a secret admirer!"

"Tamaki, not a single other living soul in this school would write 'Your skin is as fair and delicate as a falling cherry blossom, drifting along in the breeze' and attach the note to a bouquet of roses." She smirked at the way Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose while Tamaki stuttered, "But it was really sweet of you all to write those nice things. What's the occasion?"

The blond looked to be on the verge of panicking, so Kyoya decided to come clean. It wasn't like she wouldn't figure it out on her own anyways. Like he thought before; Intelligent.

"Tamaki had this idea that we could-"

"Have a Compliment the Waitress day at the Host Club!" The rest of their classmates turned in their seats, wondering why Tamaki had suddenly shouted. Kyoya and Jin were wondering the same thing.

"Compliment… the Waitress day? Aren't I supposed to do the complimenting?"

Tamaki slowly started to nod, "Yes, exactly, but you are still a girl!"

"Last I checked."

"So, why should you be deprived of hearing nice things about you during club activities? Having a Compliment the Waitress day, everyone can tell you nice things and show how much we all appreciate your work!"

Jin glanced around at the other girls in the classroom while Kyoya attempted to pretend that this wasn't a new idea with him. Thank god it seemed like their clients agreed with Tamaki's idea.

"It's true, she might be a part-time host, but she should still have people say something nice to her every once in awhile."

"Telling her how much we appreciate her will probably make her day!"

"Oh, Tamaki is so nice to do something like this for her!"

Kyoya sighed, "I suppose that settles it then." _ I'll have to make a post on our site. Tamaki better not screw this up. _

* * *

"Guys… this is really unnecessary." Jin flipped the page of the magazine in her hands, warily eyeing the pages and fidgeting in her seat, "I mean, sure, it's a little flattering to have the girls compliment me during the host club activities, but do I really have to do this?"

The twins leaned over the girl's shoulders and looked at the hairstyles the page she was reading displayed, "Of course. It is your day, after all."

"How could we not get your hair done?"

Jin scrunched up her nose and pinched a lock of her hair between her fingers, "Well, maybe I have a few split ends I wouldn't mind getting snipped, but do we  _ have _ to have my makeup done too?"

"Yes."

The girl groaned and leaned back in her seat, "Why me?"

Haruhi patted her sister's head, "If I do recall, I tried to warn you away from the host club when you first arrived?"

Jin swatted at the hand, "Shut up."

Just then, a short 40-something year old stepped out from one of the changing areas, "I'm all set up back here. Is she ready?" The brunette groaned as the twins physically lifted her out of her chair.

"She's all set!" Jin grabbed Haruhi's wrist before walking into the curtained area.

As soon as the girls disappeared from sight, the redheads ran out into the main room. A few hired hands were still buzzing around the room, decking it out with green roses in artful designs. The other hosts were setting up their areas, as Jin was a little too preoccupied to bring out the tea and cakes.

"Wow, I forgot how long it takes to heat up the water. Jin seems to set us up in half the time!"

"Boss, Jin just started her appointment. She should be finished in less than ten minutes."

"Well, I sure hope the end result is worth it. A private hairdresser and makeup artist is not cheap. But… I suppose I can only add half of the charge to the Fujioka's debt."

Honey looked over from his couch, pausing in swinging his legs back and forth while Mori continued to set up their table himself, "I'm not sure if that's going to make Jin-chan like you any better, Kyo-chan."

The ravenet boy didn't even look up from his journal, "And why should I care if Jin likes me or not? It wouldn't matter one way or the other."

The twins smirked, "Say that you don't care about being her friend all you want, Kyoya-senpai."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're calling her Jin instead of Ms. Fujioka now."

Kyoya stopped writing in his journal, "A slip of the tongue."

"Many slips it seems like."

"And what about when you and Jin hid in the janitor's closet at the elementary school?" If Kyoya had ever felt like the need to throttle the blond boy who called himself Kyoya's best friend, now would be the best time.

"Exactly how long are the rest of you going to read too deeply into that? We happened to hide in the same spot that was smaller than I originally calculated. Nothing happened, and I have no romantic interest in Jin Fujioka. I  _ am _ coming to respect her, however."

"Whatever you say."

The ravenet had a feeling he hadn't fully gotten the stupid idea out of the other boy's heads, but decided to save that argument for another time, "Now, on to a more concrete subject. Has someone completed the survey questions?"

"I have them right here!" Tamaki quickly handed the paper over to his friend and let him read over them.

"... Tamaki?"

"Yes?"

"These are pointless questions."

"What!?" Tamaki grabbed the paper back, "But look at this one! 'What sort of flowers would you present to Jin Fujioka, given the chance?'"

"Exactly, pointless. We should be asking questions such as, 'In 250 words or less, give your best description on Jin Fujioka's beauty'."

"Or maybe you should ask 'Is a survey really worth anything to the person who will be reading it?'" The boys turned their heads and saw Haruhi standing with her arms crossed near the edge of the group.

"Why wouldn't it mean anything?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "I'm saying, none of you are doing anything different than what I've been doing for years. It doesn't matter from whom or how many times Nēchan hears a compliment. She never believes them."

Tamaki straightens his back, "That doesn't mean we can't try again! Is Jin almost done with her appointment?"

"Yeah. She made the hairstylist go for the minimalist look, but I think Nēchan looks very pretty with it."

"Minimalist? Minimalist  _ how _ ?"

A shrug, "A trim, some curling, bobby pins, a little hairspray, some foundation, eyeliner, and eye shadow."

The twins shared a surprised look, " _ Very _ minimalist, then."

"You know, I  _ can _ hear you." Jin smiled as she walked towards the boys, "I wear contacts. Not hearing aids." The boys didn't respond. They were too busy taking in the girl's new appearance. Like Haruhi said, she had gone with the minimalist approached. But, also like Haruhi said, Jin looked  _ very _ pretty.

Her hair had been left hanging straight down, like normal, save for a lock of hair on either side of her face that had been curled and pinned to neatly frame her face. The rest of her hair lightly brushed at the tops of her shoulders as she walked, the bottom two inches gone. As for the very slight addition of makeup, it seemed like the perfect amount. Her eyes seemed to pop and showed off a hint of blue eye shadow that matched her uniform every time she blinked.

"Jin-chan, you're so cute!"

"Wow, minimalist looks good on you."

" _ You look like a porcelain doll! _ "

Jin scoffed at Tamaki's compliment, "I am  _ way _ too tan to be porcelain, Tamaki. But thanks for the compliments. Now, shouldn't we be getting ready for the guests?"

As the tall brunette walked away to double check the boy's tables, Haruhi and the other's shared sad looks. She didn't sound very flattered by their compliments. Tamaki folded up his survey questions and tossed the paper into the recycling can.

"Let's not give up hope men. We still have the guests. In two hours, Jin will be unable to deny that she is beautiful and talented. One last charge!"

As Hikaru, Kaoru, and Honey cheered with new resolve, Kyoya thumbed the pages of his journal.  _ Not to mention that we have one last trick up our sleeves. Perhaps my information will become useful after all... _

* * *

Two hours.

Jin was complimented left and right for two hours, and she had no idea what to think of it. When Tamaki had first told her -and everyone else in their classroom for that matter- that today was going to be 'Compliment the Waitress' day she'd been… flattered wasn't the word. No, she was more wary.

Hearing the odd compliment on her abilities or perhaps even her appearance, she could handle. But constantly being told how nice and pretty and funny and smart she was... well, it was kinda starting to drive her up the wall. Sure, the girls seemed to mean it, but at the same time it was like they were being forced to compliment her. And that didn't sit too well with Jin.

Every so often Jin would disappear into the kitchen and calm herself down before going back out into the fray. She would nod and smile and giggle on occasion whenever someone said something nice to her, but inside the words were bouncing off like rubber balls. And in all honesty, waiting for the girls to come up with compliments -they wouldn't let her leave a table without one from each girl- was making her job that much more stressful. More than once she had to sprint across the room to refill an empty teapot because some compliments slowed her down.

By the time the last guests left for the day, Jin was exhausted. She flopped down onto the closest couch she could find and almost fell asleep.

"Nēchan? You okay?"

Jin waved her arm, "Tired." Though she couldn't see her sister with her eyes closed, Jin knew that Haruhi was smiling softly in understanding before she turned and walked away to gather their things. The eldest Fujioka groaned lightly as she stretched her legs. The bobby pins were digging uncomfortably into her scalp and the makeup around her eyes was starting to bug her.

_ The corners of my eyes are itchy, dammit! _

"Jin?"

At Tamaki's voice, Jin cracked her left eye open. The tall blond of the host club was staring down at her, looking almost hopeful.

"Yeah?"

"How was your day?"

"Tiring. Can we please only make 'Compliment the Waitress Day' a once a year thing?"

At her words, Tamaki deflated, "I thought you'd be flattered."

The girl shrugged, "Eh."

The two of them were silent for a few seconds and Jin closed her eyes again. Man, she couldn't wait to go home and turn on some music. Maybe play a game on her phone for a few minutes before starting on her homework…

The couch she was sitting on shifted. Jin lifted her head and saw that Tamaki had taken a seat beside her. The boy looked beaten down.

"You okay? I didn't say anything, right?"

He didn't answer at first. Then, he glanced up at her, "Jin… why are you so determined to not believe you're pretty?" For a moment, Jin was struck dumb. He knew about that? How could he tell? Especially considering how long it took for him to realize that her sister was actually a girl.

"Why do you say that?"

"Haruhi told us. She said that you don't believe you're pretty, or very talented, despite what everyone else in the world would say. Even Kyoya thinks you're talented!"

At that, Jin raised an eyebrow, "Are you messing with me?"

The blond hit his palm against his forehead, "You're the number one student in our class, ahead of Kyoya! How could you not think he'd be impressed by that? He might not be pleased, but he's impressed. And besides, he told me about last week. You and Haruhi stayed behind after the host club ended so you could play the piano."

Jin's mouth fell open, "How on Earth could he know-"

"He heard you and watched. In fact, I believe that his exact words were 'At the time, I was in awe of her talent, just as I was when I first heard you play, Tamaki.' Or, something along those lines."

Tamaki stared at the girl, having said his piece. She looked confused and a little… upset?

"You guys did all of this to make me think I'm pretty?"

"Well… and talented, too."

Jin nodded slowly, letting out a smile at the same speed, "Okay. You want to know why your compliments don't seem to stick with me? I kind of trained myself to do that. I had this piano teacher when I was young, before Kagome-sensei. She… well… she wanted me to learn at  _ her _ pace. Whenever I tried to do something new, she would smack the back of my hands and tell me off. And when I was 8, I started teaching myself upper maths. A few girls a grade above me thought that was weird and felt stupid knowing an 8-year-old could do the math they were struggling with… so they bullied me. I guess I was taught at a young age that being better isn't always a good thing."

Tamaki put a comforting hand on Jin's shoulder, and she continued, "But, it's not all bad. I mean, not always accepting compliments keeps me from getting a big head. I guess I am pretty good at a lot of things, but when I'm told I'm good I won't become arrogant about it. Also… I may not think I'm pretty. But, I do believe that other people think I am. That's enough for now."

The blond watched in silence as the girl stood up and patted the top of his head, "I'll see you tomorrow, Tamaki. Thank you. And tell the others I say 'thank you' to them as well. But tell Kyoya that the next time he creeps on me and my sister I  _ will _ report him." The two laughed at her joke before she walked away with a wave.

As the Fujioka's walked out of the music room, a certain ravenet walked over to his friend.

"So, did you convince her that she's pretty?"

"You know what, Kyoya? I don't think we need too."

_... _

_ How does it feel to love everyone else with all your heart? _

_ To hold someone's beauty and talents above your own and be proud of them no matter what, even if you have to get rid of the pride in your own achievements to make room? _

_ How does it feel to know that by being kind and loving you're making someone's life shine like a million suns? Knowing that you'll never purposefully bring someone down like others did to you? _

_ How does it feel? _

_ It feels like a life well lived. _

 


	13. Jungle Pool SOS!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite episodes with a Mori-Honey-Jin backstory thrown in! Whoot whoot! I hope you like this chapter!

 

Water gently lapped at sandy colored cement. The sun beat down warmly, palm trees thankfully providing a few dotted areas of shade. Tropical birds chirped in said trees while insects buzzed all around. Haruhi's eyes roamed the beautiful scenery, confusion flickering in them. She glanced up at her sister, but Jin looked just as awestruck as she was.

Tamaki slipped up behind the two and lay a hand on Haruhi's covered shoulder, "Behold, Haruhi! Bask in the beauty of the tropics!"

"Yeah, it's nice. Where's the exit?" Haruhi glanced around as best as she could while simultaneously holding onto Jin's arm to keep her from wandering away. Tamaki chuckled and sat down in a nearby lawn chair, hefting a tropical looking drink up and deftly sticking a straw between the ice cubes.

"Oh, Haruhi, always the downer. Try to enjoy this little vacation while we're on it! Maybe  _ relax. _ "

Haruhi rolled her eyes, securing her grip on her sister's arm, "Personally, I think this is a big waste of time. Nēchan and I should be studying right now, not to mention all the laundry waiting to be done at home!"

She snapped her fingers close to Jin's ear, making the taller girl shake her head as if coming out of a trance. She tried to remember all the events that had lead her up to this situation, wondering if someone had already told her where she was, but nothing turned up. She recalled walking with her sister near the south entrance around 3:30. They had just seen the sign on the Music Room doors that said the host club had been cancelled for the day…

*/ Flashback\ *

Just as the sisters exited the school grounds, the twins zipped up to Haruhi's side and looped their arms under her armpits. Jin rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. Let it never be said that being in the host club was boring. She attempted to move forward and free her sister, but quickly found herself in Mori-senpai's grip, her arms pinned to her side. Uh, okay? So... this wasn't just normal teasing then.

"Targets-"

"-captured."

"Mmm."

A limo rolled up in front of the five students and the back window lowered, revealing Tamaki with a… flower lei around his neck? The sisters exchanged a glance.

_ What's with the flower lei? _

_ More than that, what's with us being targets? _

Tamaki eyed the five members of his club, "Good work. Advance to stage two."

"Roger." The blond smirked and rolled his window up again.

The boys ignored the girl's cries as they were carried to two other awaiting limos. Haruhi disappeared into the one with the twins while Jin was carefully placed into the other, Honey smiling and giggling as his friend was sat down beside him.

"I bet we surprised you, huh, Jin-chan?"

"Yeah… yeah you could say that."

*\ End Flashback/ *

"Hey, this might sound like a stupid question, but where are we?"

"This place is a brand new theme park that my family, the Ootori group, runs. It's called the 'Tropical Aqua Garden'."

"I don't understand, I thought that the Ootori group ran hospitals?"

"And that they're focused mainly in the medical business?"

Kyoya smirked, "Yes, but my family likes to diversify and try different things. Besides, this place could be classified as a healing facility… to an extent." He drilled his gaze into the tall brunette who was still looking around the park, though the light glaze that had settled over her eyes earlier was now dispersed.

"I suppose…" she hummed, "that if someone were in need of a few 'mental health' days and couldn't afford or had the time to travel outside of the country… they could come here. The pools could also be great for physical therapy."

"Of course. The Ootori group's primary concern has always been for the good health and well-being of the general public. Though, I have to say no one has mentioned the pools being used for physical therapy before. Nice catch." Haruhi groaned, a little fed up with the boys and their 'higher-than-thou' attitudes. At least Kyoya sort of halfway complimented her sister instead of being at odds with her. It was a nice change from the past few weeks.  _ Maybe this place is truly therapeutic. Even if it sounds a little suspicious... _

"The park doesn't officially open until next month, but the host club was given a special advance invitation."

"I wonder why-"

"Haru-chan! Jin-chan!" The small blond hopped up onto Jin's back and playfully batted at Haruhi's shoulder, "Wanna share some coconut juice with me? Or do you want to try a piece of the mango cake!"

Haruhi shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

"I'm good for now, Honey-senpai." Jin lifted the small boy off and set him back down on his own two feet, "But I'll still hang out by you two."

Before they could follow the boy anywhere, though, the twins called out from behind them, "Hey Haruhi, Jin-senpai, wanna go check out the water slides in this place?"

"Hang on. Haruhi, what's the deal with that pullover you're wearing? Jin-senpai, are you making her wear that?"

Jin shook her head and held up her hands, "Don't look at me, you two. I had nothing to do with it."

*/ Flashback\ *

Haruhi and Jin didn't see each other again until they arrived in front of the changing room. Haruhi had to be dragged inside, while Jin eagerly followed Mori and Honey's directions. She'd been given a brochure of the place during the drive, which made her all the more excited. They were deposited in front of two twin maids, who were in turn told to, essentially, 'go nuts'.

Haruhi tried to back up away from the other girls, but was pulled into the changing rooms by her sister.  _ Damn you Nēchan for being stronger than me! _ The girls were quickly rid of their clothes and presented to a large amount of swimsuits. Every kind of design you could imagine!

The twins called to them from the outside, "We've brought all of our mother's latest designs for you two to try!"

"Just pick whichever ones you want!"

Haruhi sighed, not in the mood to go swimming or play dress up with these girls she didn't know. Jin however, was roaming the many miles of hangers, occasionally pausing to stare at one before moving on. The maids seemed content to let her be; at least she was interested in finding one.

One of the maids held up a bikini with white and purple flowers decorating it, "How about this one?"

Haruhi blushed red, "No, not that one! I don't want a  _ bikini. _ "

The girl pouted, "But you'd look so  _ good _ in this one…"

"No, wait. What about  _ this _ one?" The other maid smiled evilly and held up a bikini bottom. Or, at least it  _ looked _ vaguely in the shape of a bikini bottom. It was really just a couple of red strings. Haruhi felt herself growing faint.

"B-but… that's just nothing more than a couple of strings…"

Just as she thought she was going to have a heart attack, a comforting hand rested on her shoulder. Jin smiled down at her little sister, "Haru, I think I found a good swimsuit for you." Haruhi glanced at the pink one-piece in her sister's hand. It came with a cap and the bottom had a white skirt over it and it wasn't exactly her style, but it was a lot less revealing than anything else she'd been show.

Before she even touched the hanger, Haruhi took a look at the swimsuit her sister was wearing, "Wow, Nēchan. You look good."

Jin was wearing a green and blue swimsuit that had white swirling patterns all over it. It had a short skirt with a similar pattern covering the bottom and a bikini-like top that tied around the back of her neck. Thankfully it didn't show too much cleavage, though it  _ did _ clearly accent what her school uniform diluted on a daily basis. The top also had some extra fabric that dangled down to her waistline, leaving only a small strip of her stomach uncovered.

The tall brunette smiled kindly, "Thanks, Haru. Now, go get changed. I still have to take out my contacts, and pull my hair up."

"How do you have your-"

"The boys and I swung by our place and I picked up my glasses. I'm meet up with you outside the changing rooms, alright?"

"Alright."

Haruhi finished up before her sister and was quick to escape the nightmare that was the changing room… only to find Tamaki waiting for her. He walked over, looking away with his eyes closed until they were standing directly in front of each other. But as soon as he opened his eyes, Haruhi noted how a chill seemed to travel up his spine.

Before she could ask about it, the boy thrusted a yellow pullover into her face.

"Senpai?"

"Just… hurry up and put it on." Haruhi lifted an eyebrow, but did as Tamaki asked. Not like she planned on swimming today anyways, even if her sister  _ had _ picked the suit out for her.

Jin came out just as Haruhi finished with the pullover and gave her sister an odd look, but dismissed it. The older Fujioka was now sporting a pair of small golden colored glasses that reminded Haruhi oddly of the shape of Kyoya's glasses… except smaller and a little more roundish. Her sister had also pulled the two locks of hair by her face back into a 'crown', ensuring that most of it wouldn't fly into her face, but the bottom inch of her hair was already starting to curl due to the humidity of the building.

"Ready to go, Haru?"

"I guess so."

*\ End Flashback/ *

"So… you're not going to swim?"

"Hold on, you  _ do _ swim, don't you?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "I can swim just as well as the next guy, but it's not exactly my idea of fun. I'm not that big on water parks. Nēchan loves them, but I'd much rather be at home."

"She doesn't get out much, if you couldn't tell." Haruhi playfully pushed her sister's arm.

"You don't need a huge park to play in the water, Nēchan. A plastic pool works just as well, you know that."

The twins, however, looked incredibly confused, "A plastic pool? What's that?"

Haruhi tilted her head back, trying to think, "Let's see… it's about as wide as my arm span, so it's not that big and mostly for little kids to splash around in. They're normally round in shape and to use it you have to pump the plastic full of air."

"...That's an inflatable boat, dummy."

The sisters looked at each other and laughed lightly, "I keep forgetting. Different worlds."

"One of these days we'll get used to it." The girls looked over at the twins just as Tamaki grabbed them around their necks and pulled them away. He started whispering about not hurting the girl's feelings and that it wasn't their fault for being 'ignorant commoners'.

"I feel like we should be highly offended by that comment."

"I already am."

At their words, Tamaki scrambled back over, "I'm so sorry, Haruhi! I didn't mean to offend you or your sister! Jin, can you forgive me-" he stopped talking immediately, eyes fixed on Jin.

"Tamaki?"

Slowly, Tamaki pointed a shaking finger at Jin's left ear, "J-jin...W-what is th-that?"

"Hm?" The girl reached up and felt around her ear, "What are you talking about?" Just then, her fingers stopped at a spot just underneath her ear. A spot usually covered by her long hair.  _ Oh. _

"A tattoo." The boy looked like he'd just been shot in the heart, so Jin held her hands out in front of her, "Before you freak out, it's my mother's name. Dad agreed to let me get it on my 16th birthday, alright? It's nothing bad."

"Oh… oh…" Before the blond could say anything else, the twins spun him around and started grilling him about putting Haruhi in the pullover. He attempted to defend himself, but the twins weren't having it. To say the least, it didn't take long for Tamaki to start wigging out and flailing is arms around in the air.

"I was just trying to protect her innocence as any father would! It is not decent for a lady to be walking around half naked in front of boys!"

"But Jin-senpai-"

"I trust Jin to make her own decisions in regards to her body! If she can chose to have a tattoo then she can chose to show off a little skin!"

The girls were staring at the three arguing boys when Honey came back to them, "Haru-chan! Jin-chan! Is there where you two have been hiding?"

Jin smiled at the small boy now half dangling off of her sister's arm, "Sorry, we got a little distracted."

"That's okay! Let's play! Do you wanna go swim in the current pool with me?"

Haruhi shook her head, "Nah, I'm not gonna swim today. Not really feeling like it and my contacts are still in. You go enjoy yourself."

Jin suddenly snapped her fingers and pointed at Honey, "That's it! I knew something was off! Honey-senpai, you know how to swim, so what's with the floatie?"

The small blond suddenly smiled really big, "It just looks cuter this way, you know? I don't really need it! So, Jin-chan, are  _ you _ gonna come swim with me?"

The tall girl pretended to wave off the question, "Not today. I don't need to swim. I'll just hang around here with Haru, alright? You go have fun without me."

"Okay!" The small boy turned and headed towards the current pool. Jin smiled off after the boy.  _ He does look really adorable with that floatie. Still, it's a little sad that he still feels like his position is threatened. _ Her thoughts were cut short by a finger poking at her exposed belly.

"Haru? What are you doing?"

Haruhi was smiling as she continued to poke her, "Don't be stupid, Nēchan, I know how much you want to swim. You go have fun."

Jin's smile faltered, "Haru, I don't want to leave you alone and-"

Another poke, "Go."

She didn't need any more encouragement. Immediately the girl started running off along the current pool, "I saw something about a surfing modulator in the brochure! If you need me, find that!" And then she was gone. Haruhi laughed.

"Honey-senpai and Nēchan are too cute for their own good."

"Yeah, but Honey-senpai's got the innocent factor," the twins chimed in.

" _ No, you've got it all wrong! _ " Something started shaking the floor as a certain circular podium rose up from the ground. Renge stepped down onto level ground, oblivious to the gapes she was receiving and giving the hosts a good look at her pretty skimpy black bikini. She even had a long purple tattoo all the way down her stomach and an umbrella the same color in her grip.

"Well... even if your rig follows us like some creepy stalker, that outfit's really something."

"What's with the tattoo on your stomach? It doesn't look real, like the one Jin-senpai has."

"That's because it's not real, dummy! Don't you recognize it? I'm cosplaying!"

"As?"

Renge tilted her head to the left, "La-La~ Her petite and slender frame! Her blue eyes that light up young men's faces! Her singing voice! I am Quon Kisaragi! But enough about me, it's time for another lesson, boys! You obviously need help understanding Haninozuka's hidden motives! Look!" The group turned and watched as Honey took a huge running leap into the water, calling out for Mori-senpai's attention.

"What are you talking about?"

"When Honey-senpai said having the float on was cuter, he's not being as sweet and innocent as you think!"

"I agree," Kyoya finally stood up and joined the others, "Try putting the word 'I' in front of that sentence."

' _ I just look cuter this way, you know? _ '

Renge laughed, just as screechy as the first time they'd all heard it, "That's Haninozuka for you! He recently felt threatened by another Loli-boy type so he's taking steps to keep his rank!" Haruhi was having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of Honey-senpai actually thinking of something so… so…  _ underhanded. _

_ I wonder if Nēchan knows about Honey-senpai's thoughts... _

"Hey, look at this everybody!" The boys (and Haruhi) turned at the sound of Honey's voice and saw Mori-senpai swimming briskly against the current with Honey on his back. The two weren't even moving.

"Check it out, look! Even though we're swimming really fast we never go any further than where we are now!" Haruhi felt like the world was tipping beneath her feet.  _ Is he really that smart? _

* With Jin *

"Whoo!"

Jin felt water spraying all around her, splashing at her face and just drenching her from head to foot.  _ Man, I'm glad I left my glasses at the table. With all this water I wouldn't have been able to see out of them anyways! _ The tall girl twisted her lower body and moved to the left side of the surfing modulator. Another twist and she was on the right side.

Another loud laugh bubbled up from her throat. The board beneath her feet was tiny and shook with every gallon of water that hit it from underneath, but she felt in control of the situation. The rush never faded. But still… her mouth was going dry. And fast.

_Well, that's what happens when a bunch of chlorine water ends up in your mouth._ Jin straightened up on the board. _Now would be a good time to take a break. My legs are getting tired anyways._ _Yeah… a break now, and then later I'll go check out the water slides with Hikaru and Kaoru. Maybe I'll even teach them how to surf!_

With that in mind, the tall girl bent back down and fell sideways off the board. Immediately the rushing water pushed her back up to the top, her foam board following her. By the time she got her footing back and stood up, she was soaked and dripping with cold water. Her hair was now a dark brown color, almost black, and her swimsuit weighed an additional ten pounds from when she put it on earlier.

Still, she was laughing as she grabbed her glasses and started walking back. Maybe someone could point her to where the coconut juice was...

* With the others *

Haruhi happily sucked down the ice water, ignoring the raging water gun fight going on a few feet to her right. As soon as the twins had started talking about getting  _ married _ to her… she decided to find herself a lone table and sit there for a while. Of course, only a minute later someone came walking up to her chair. It was Mori-senpai, hitting the side of his head. Haruhi winced in sympathy.  _ Water in the ear. Ouch. _ Over in the current pool, Honey was swimming against the current by himself. Looked like he was working up a sweat doing it, too.

"Taking a break, huh? Want something to drink?" Haruhi handed over her water.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Oh, and it looks like Nēchan is coming in, too." Haruhi waved happily at Jin, who smiled and waved back. Of course, Haruhi couldn't see the smile from the distance, but she knew that's what her sister was doing. Mori-senpai hummed and waved at the far-away girl as well.

Haruhi glanced up at the tall boy, "You know… Nēchan told me about how you, Honey-senpai, and her all know each other."

"Hm?"

"I've been meaning to say this for a long time, but thank you. You really helped her through a lot, and I've meant to thank you two ever since I found out what you did for her."

The tall boy smiled and looked away to watch the progressing water gun fight.

* With Jin *

Jin smiled at the sight of Mori and Haru talking. It was nice to know that her little sis was making friends with these boys. They weren't half bad, and Mori was a really cool guy.

Just as the brunette was about to start jogging over, she felt something. It was kind of like… a tremor that shook the floor. Not really an 'earthquake' kind of shake, but it definitely wasn't 'Renge's pedestal' either. She stumbled to a stop and looked over her left shoulder. Her eyes widened in disbelief. There was a  _ huge _ wave heading down the current pool. How does something like that  _ happen _ in a water park?

Her eyes jerked to the right, following the path of the wave all the way to Honey-senpai, where he was paddling in the pool all by himself. It was purely instinct what she did next, in all honesty. Jin wasn't even thinking as she raced towards the edge of the pool.

"Honey! Get out of the water! Swim!"

The small boy looked at her, then looked at the huge wave heading towards him. With a scream of terror, Honey started paddling frantically towards his friend. His floatie was making it difficult to paddle with both his arms and legs, and it was clear that he wasn't going to make it to the edge of the pool in time. Still, Jin crouched down at the edge, reaching out as far as she could and beckoned him towards her.

"You can make it! Come on, Honey!"

"Jin-chan!"

Her eyes grow wide as the wave bears down on them, then they narrow as she stood up and jumped out into the water.

* Honey's P.O.V. *

I was scared.

No, more than scared. I was terrified. More than I've ever been before. This wasn't something I could walk away from. This wasn't something I could fight either. I was going to be washed away. And from the tension in Jin's voice as she shouted my name, she knew that too.

Just as the wave was about to reach me, I saw Jin stand up. Her legs tensed and she  _ jumped _ out towards me. I was still a good four or so meters away from the edge of the pool, but Jin had jumped similarly to a dive, with her hands outstretched for me. It was like everything was happening in slow motion.

I realized that she was jumping in to make sure I didn't disappear by myself.

Even though I wished she hadn't, I was glad that she wasn't going to leave me alone wherever the wave was going to take me.

Jin grabbed my right wrist with her right hand, her left hand coming up to hold the middle of my right forearm. A tight and strong grip, something we had learned together.

Then I felt her tug on me. My body dragged itself through the water as Jin's momentum and pulling forced us to switch positions.

I understood what she was really doing.

The word "No!" tears itself out of my throat as my body is launched out of the water.

I land on the pavement and roll a few times, my floatie coming off just as I hear my friend's body splash into the water.

Haruhi's scream of terror filled my ears as Jin was swept down the current pool.

* No one's P.O.V. *

" _ NĒCHAN! NO! _ " Haruhi ran towards the current pool, only to be caught around the waist. Mori-senpai lifted the screaming girl off the ground, her legs still working furiously as she attempted to reach her sister.

" _ WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET ME GO! NĒCHAN! _ "

"Haruhi, calm down! Gentlemen, we're going after Jin!" Haruhi relaxed a bit in Mori's arms, so he set her down on her own two feet again while Tamaki pointed towards another river-like pool, which was running quickly in the same direction Jin had been washed away, "That pool looks like the quickest way! Charge!"

Tamaki, Mori, Honey, Haruhi, and the twins booked it to the pool, Kyoya calling out from behind them, "Wait, I wouldn't go-"

Five terrified screams could be heard before the six ran the other way, a few gators nipping disinterestedly at their heels.

"-that way."

Once the hosts were a "safe" distance from the reptiles, Haruhi muscled out the words, "What's with the alligators?"

Kyoya leaned up against a palm tree and started scribbling in his notebook, "They belong to the park's tropical animals exhibit. I guess it  _ is _ kind of dangerous to let them run wild. Though, the cause of our present situation seems to be the location of the switch for the current pool. I'll have to have a little chat with our designers… Thanks a lot, you guys! You were perfect guinea pigs and I got some great data today!"

" _ AAAAHHHH! _ " Kyoya took a frantic step backwards as Haruhi leapt forward to apparently  _ tackle _ him, only to be held back by the twins, " _ Let me go! Lemme at him! Just one punch! _ "

"H-haruhi… relax please."

" _ No! _ I will  _ not _ relax! Nēchan is  _ gone _ and all he cares about is his  _ stupid family's business! _ " Kyoya blinked, a little hurt by the comment, but outwardly ignored it as well as the glares he was receiving from the others. He gestured for them to follow him and, surprisingly, they did. A few seconds later they were standing in front of a large map just outside of the changing rooms.

"Right. To put some perspective to our situation,  _ this _ ," he pointed to an 'X' at the top center, "is our current location. We need to get  _ here _ ," he pointed to a spot almost three-fourths down and all the way to the left of the map, "I have a feeling that's where Jin probably ended up. It might be tough because we'll have to make it through this jungle area  _ here _ . We're talking about 800 meters or so."

Honey reached up and pointed at the question marks on the map, "What are these areas, Kyo-chan?"

"Under-developed areas. I'm afraid even I don't know what might be out in the jungle."

Haruhi pulled her shoulders back with a serious expression plastered to her face and started marching to the jungle, "Let's get moving everyone. The sooner we start the sooner we find Nēchan."

* * *

The seven hosts walked through the jungle with complete silence between them, each member wrapped up in their own thoughts about Jin. Where she could be. If she was hurt. How long it would take to find her… or if something had already found her instead. But what was almost worse than being left alone with their worried thoughts, was how shaken up Haruhi seemed to be.

The short girl was stumbling through the foliage, her gaze unmoving from its forward position. She'd already almost run into a few trees, she was so out of it. Haruhi's character switch was way more than just unnerving, even worse than the seriousness she'd expressed at the beginning of this adventure. That phase had lasted maybe five minutes before she sunk into... this.

"Wow… this place is just like a real jungle, huh?" Tamaki's voice was a lot quieter than it normally was, but he just couldn't take the silence any more. It was like with Jin missing, their ability to make conversation disappeared. So, small talk it was.

"Yeah, and I keep hearing scary animal sounds." Honey was gripping onto his cousin's shoulders, his expression looking weighted down.

"You don't think those animal sounds-"

"-could belong to the real thing… do you?"

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure, but I do know that my family always strives for authenticity."

Haruhi let out a huff of air, but kept her straight face. She hadn't said a word since they started walking. The boys thought that over.

_ I've never seen Haru-chan look so straight-faced before. _

_ She's almost acting like Mori-senpai. _

_ Surely she knows Jin can handle herself out here, no matter what she might've run into? _

_ How did Haruhi handle being away from her sister for a full school year if this is how she's acting after only 15 minutes of separation? _

Suddenly, the sky above them darkened.

Kyoya looked down at his watch, "Uh oh. It's about time for the squall." No sooner had the words left his mouth that Mori felt a raindrop on his head. A few more dripped down until the hosts were in the middle of a full on rain-shower.

Thankfully, there was a gazebo not twenty steps away in a nearby clearing, so they managed to not get  _ too _ wet. Tamaki ruffled his short hair to get the couple drops of water off, but kept an eye on Haruhi. She was resting her forearms on the railing and staring out into the storm in the direction they were supposed to be traveling. The boys quickly huddled in the far corner.

"Wow, Haruhi is really taking Jin's disappearance hard."

"I bet Jin is out in the jungle somewhere acting just as out of it."

The boys heard a sniffle and looked down in surprise to see a few tears leaking down Honey-senpai's face.

"Honey-senpai, what-"

"I-It's a-all m-my f-f-fault! I-If I ha-hadn't needed to be r-rescued th-then J-Jin-chan wouldn't be all a-alone in this s-storm!"

"If Nēchan hadn't pulled you out of the water then we'd all be out here looking for you instead, Honey-senpai." The hosts whipped around at the sound of Haruhi's voice. Her gaze still hadn't left the jungle up ahead, but her posture was no longer as stiff. "It's not your fault, Honey-senpai. You didn't start the wave, and you didn't make Nēchan save you. That was her choice, and I bet that wherever she is, she's glad the wave got her and not you."

The girl sighed and rested her chin on her arms, "Actually, Nēchan's probably  _ thrilled _ that you're safe here with us instead of her. If she hadn't saved you… she'd still be marching forward during this storm instead of waiting it out like we are."

Tamaki inched closer, "So… Jin likes to be the hero, huh?"

"Yeah, it started when Mom died. Jin was holding her hand as she passed, and wouldn't come out of her room for days afterwards, upset that she couldn't do anything to save her. It wasn't until… until I was all alone and scared that she came out to protect me. She's been my guard ever since, like how Mori-senpai protects Honey-senpai. Dad even likes calling her my 'Guardian Angel'. And something happened a few years ago that…" Haruhi stops talking suddenly and pulled her jacket hood up, "Never mind. That's not really important."

Tamaki opened his mouth, but was cut short by Mori-senpai resting a hand on his shoulder. The tall 3rd year shook his head.  _ No. _ Not quite understanding why, but not willing to argue, the blond shut his mouth and let the brunette be.

Honey, however, walked over to his friend and touched her elbow gently, "Hey, Haru-chan, don't worry about Jin-chan too much, okay? She's smart and tough. She'll be just fine, and we all know it."

"Yeah."

Haruhi looked at the 3rd years, her face still blank and now darkened with the shadows from her yellow hood. The four other boys were watching with interest and slight apprehension. Just what were Mori and Honey doing?

Then Haruhi's face softened. Back to her normal calm look. Slowly, she rested her hand on the one Honey had on her elbow.

"Yeah, you two are right. I'm just being silly, I suppose. And I guess you two  _ would _ know."

Finally, the twins and Tamaki's curiosity was too much to take. The twins crept closer, the blond hiding behind them.

"Hey... so, not to intrude or anything-"

"But Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai would know… what, exactly?"

Haruhi turned her head and gave the three boys a curious stare, "Well, they are cousins. Of course they'd understand what it would be like to be separated from each other."

Tamaki peeked out from behind the redheads, "You know about that?"

"Nēchan told me."

"And how did she know?"

Mori leaned against the wall of the gazebo, "We told her a long time ago."

"Yeah, Takashi and I have known Jin for almost nine years now. We met when we were all still in elementary school." Tamaki's jaw dropped, followed by Hikaru and Kaoru's. Even Kyoya looked stunned.

For a moment, the two groups did nothing but stare at each other, one side stunned into silence, the other somewhat amused. It wasn't until Kyoya's phone rang sharply that everyone broke out of their trance. He quickly answered it while the twins and Tamaki started talking among themselves about all the signs and hints they missed, as well as theories about how the three had met. Honey started laughing and went over to hear their funny, made-up stories.

Haruhi looked back out to the forest and noticed the rain was starting to let up, "Hey, check it out!"

Mori smirked, "We'll find her soon. She's probably coming towards us, too. Less distance to cover."

Suddenly, Haruhi grips his arm in a panic, "Oh no… Nēchan probably  _ is _ trying to come back to us on her own! She'll follow the current pool! She's heading straight for the alligators!"

Without another word, the two bolted off into the woods. Knowing that time was of the essence, they left the others behind, though it was a bit of a surprise to them that the other five members of their club didn't notice them running out in a frenzy, but soon they both forgot about that. Haruhi because she was too focused on finding her sister, and Mori because he was soon preoccupied with keeping Haruhi from injuring herself.

He was put through a very time consuming task. Years of following his cousin around and keeping him out of trouble was a mountain of good credit, but Haruhi had tunnel-vision. She ran past a pair of snakes, narrowly avoiding stepping on them, and almost fell into a pool of swamp water before he managed to grab onto the back of her pullover.

And, there was also the fact that she was an incredibly slow runner. The boy couldn't help but wonder exactly  _ how _ were Haruhi and Jin related? Mori finally just scooped her up into his arms to not only move faster, but keep her from breaking a limb or two. Haruhi seemed to understand and kept her mouth shut about it, just keeping her eyes peeled for her sister.

Noticing her vigilance, Mori's mouth quirked at the left corner.  _ Or, maybe they're just more similar on the inside than the outside. _ The two made their way through the thick foliage.

* At the Gazebo *

"Yes, at once please." Kyoya hung up his phone and turned to look at the four boys who were arguing about the theory that Jin was secretly a princess who was there to arrange a marriage with Honey or Mori (which Honey denied with a vengeance) and cleared this throat for some attention.

"My family's police force is sending out a search and rescue party as we speak. They're better equipped to look for Jin and know the park's layout like the back of their hands. The head of force suggests that we go back to the main gate and wait for them to deliver Jin there. So, let's head back and... wait... where are Haruhi and Mori-senpai?" The four others looked around the gazebo.

"They… they're gone!"

* * *

* Tropical Aqua Garden General Administration Headquarters *

Sirens wailed down the hallways, red flashing lights illuminating every square inch of the place. Fifty men ran in an orderly fashion down the grey hallways, suiting up as their instructions repeated on the loudspeakers.

" _ Immediate emergency mobilization order! I repeat, immediate emergency mobilization order! Master Kyoya's friend has gone missing near the wave pool! Our search target is a tall brunette girl with golden glasses in a blue and green swimsuit! Orders are to eliminate any suspicious characters! Show them no mercy! Repeat! Eliminate any suspicious characters! Show them no mercy! _ "

* With Haruhi and Mori *

The forest was quiet, save for a few bird caws. The two had been walking for about five minutes and Haruhi was feeling restless. She wanted Mori to let her walk on her own to burn off some of that energy, but at the same time she didn't want to slow their search down. After all, they had to cut her sister off before she reached the alligators further along the wave pool.

_ Assuming she hasn't run into anything more dangerous already. _

The girl shook her head to get rid of the thought. No reason to think negatively. Besides, Jin was really smart and had survival skills that rivaled Robinson Crusoe.

Mori stopped in his tracks at the edge of a small clearing, causing Haruhi to feel a bit of a jolt. The space was hardly the size of the gazebo they'd left a little while ago, but the tall boy was looking around it like he was trying to find something.

"Mori-senpai? Is something wrong?"

The boy shook his head and set the girl down, "I heard something."

Haruhi blinked before turning around and shouting, "Nēchan! Nēchan, are you out there!?" Three seconds later, Haruhi heard the sound of leaves being pushed aside and the sound of running feet.

"Haru!"

"Nēchan!" Haruhi ran across the cleared space and tackled her sister in a hug. Immediately she felt warmth in her limbs and the tired feeling in her legs from walking so far was gone.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Nēchan!"

"I'm glad I'm safe, too, but Haru what are you doing out here? Who knows what's loose in that jungle! I was on my way back and-"

"But that was the problem, Nēchan! You're heading straight for some alligators! Besides, Mori-senpai was here to keep me safe, and so were the others until we split up." Jin looked up at the gentle giant who had walked over as soon as Jin emerged from the trees. She smiled widely and set her sister back down on the ground to give her childhood friend a tight hug, which he gladly returned. She pulled back and pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose with her middle finger.

"How did you not lose those?"

"I was lucky. And my hand never let go of them for a second."

"Ha, so you were  _ really _ lucky. Alright, so, we need to head back to the gazebo and-"

"FREEZE!" Out of nowhere, a group of nine men dressed head to toe in black armor dropped from the treetops, pointing machine guns at the three. Jin quickly grabbed Haruhi's wrist and pulled her between her and Mori, eyes going narrow.

"Target confirmed! The target and a small boy have been captured by a suspicious man. We will take the target and child into custody. You there! Take your hands off the boy! If you refuse, we will remove him forcefully!" Jin glanced behind her and saw that Mori had his right hand on Haruhi's shoulder, probably so he could scoop her up and run if the opening presented itself. She approved.

But while Jin's head was turned, one of the guards had inched forward until he could harshly grab onto Jin's upper arm. He yanked her away from the 'suspicious man', but Mori's free left hand swung upwards and knocked the guy clear off his feet. Jin hissed as his rough glove was ripped free of her bare skin, but other than that ignored the pain.

She was more concerned with the fact that the remaining eight guards had  _ guns _ aiming at Mori and Haruhi. Her sister turned and hugged Mori in terror, and Jin saw a flicker of fear in Mori's eyes.

_ Hell to the no. _

As the two men on either side of her reached to grab her arms, she charged at the one on her right. Before the man could react, she grabbed his gun with her left hand and knocked the guy's head to the side with her right elbow. His helmet went flying and he crumbled to the ground. Jin pulled his weapon out of his loose grip and turned to face the man coming up behind her, smacking him in the face with the butt of the rifle. Leaping over the downed man, she watched as the others turned towards her, screaming at each other what to do since their target was now attacking them. Jin rushed the next guy, punching him in the stomach to make him double over before spinning around and kicking the back of his head so he face-planted. The five remaining were taken care of just as quickly. Once the last guy was sent sprawling into the dirt with a roundhouse kick, she straightened up.

"Right, I think you all have learned your lesson. Don't point guns at the good guys."

The men simply groaned in response, or at least the ones that were conscious. Haruhi stared at her sister in awe. It had been a while since she'd seen her in action like that.

Jin looked over her shoulder, "You two okay?"

Haruhi and Mori nodded just as Tamaki's voice cut through the trees, "Haruhi! Haruhi! Are you alright?"

The twins and Kyoya stopped just short of the ring of downed guards.

"Oh… wow."

"What happened here?"

"HARUHI!" Tamaki sprinted past everyone else and enveloped the small girl in a hug, "I was so worried."

"Wow, Tamaki. Feeling the love over here," Jin comments drily. Haruhi rolled her eyes and pinched the back of Tamaki's hand, forcing him to release his hold on her. She inched her way towards one of the soldiers and poked his side with her toes, drawing out a groan.

"Still alive, but I guess that's to be expected." She smirked at Jin, "You grew soft in America, Nēchan. Normally a group this size would've been taken care of in half the time."

Jin wrinkled her nose at her little sister, "Oh, please. What were  _ you _ doing during that fight?"

"Wait a second. Are you saying-"

"-that  _ Jin-senpai _ was the one who did this?"

"Of course. Did you think Nēchan knew Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai from knitting club? She joined the Haninozuka dojo when she was seven."

Honey jumped onto Jin's back in a hug, "Yeah. Jin-chan is really good, too. She's even an honorary Haninozuka!"

The brunette waved at the boy's stunned faces, "I know, it's a little hard to take in at first, but it's true. In the Haninozuka owned dojos, I am recognized as Worthy Matron Fujioka."

"We humbly apologize!"

"Hm?" The group looked down to see six of the men on their knees in a deep bow, facing Jin. The teenagers could see the sweat shining along their necks, and their backs heaved with every breath.

"I am a second generation student of the Ishizuka Dojo!"

"I'm a student of the Todoroki Dojo!"

"I'm from the Otake Dojo! We are in your debt!"

Jin tilted her head, "Explain your actions."

"We're so sorry, Miss! We were unaware that we were searching for Worthy Matron Fujioka! I apologize for this confrontation! My dojo will be so excited to hear that I've come face to face with you and the great Haninozuka!"

The girl shrugged and leaned her weight onto her left leg, helping Honey slide down from her back, "Alright, alright, no need for all of that. It's really okay, I guess. You probably weren't told that there were others in the park… you were just doing your job. Well, men, return to your posts. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Worthy Matron Fujioka!" She nodded as they left, carrying their unconscious comrades away. Haruhi gave her sister another hug.

"Takashi! You did an amazing job of protecting Haru-chan!" Jin smirked as Honey patted his cousin's head.

"Yes, Honey-senpai. He did great, but we should probably head back now before it gets too late."

The eight nodded and started walking towards the entrance, exchanging their own versions of what had happened that day. Haruhi tried to walk by Jin's side, but Tamaki was adamant that the short brunette not leave his sight until they were out of the jungle. And, considering Jin was bringing up the back of the pack, she was walking by herself.

She didn't mind being the caboose. This way, everyone was in her line of sight, and she got to chose whether to listen to a conversation or just be alone with her thoughts. In her mind, the back of a group was the prime real estate.

However, she knew that there was still one conversation left to be had. But the person Jin was waiting for to start it didn't say a thing until they were almost back to the front of the building. The windows above them were a nice light orange color by the time Kyoya slowed his pace to walk beside Jin.

He eyed her with curiosity, "Nowhere in your file says that you are an honorary Haninozuka."

Jin smirked and readjusted her glasses, "That's because we kept it out of the official records. Also, it's not like I was adopted or married in or I signed a contract. The whole process was very informal. In the family and in their dojos, I am recognized as a member of the Haninozuka family, and I guess that makes me an honorary Morinozuka as well. But outside of those places? I'm just normal, everyday Jin Fujioka."

"Well, that certainly is interesting." Kyoya glanced down and his smirk vanished, "You have a bruise on your arm."

"Hm?" Jin looked down at the developing darkness that circled her upper arm like a thick band, "Oh, right. That. One of the guards tried to pull me away from Mori-senpai and Haru. He wasn't very gentle." She noticed Kyoya's eyebrow twitch so she gently bumped into his side, "Hey, relax. It's just a silly bruise. No need to fire anyone over it. Besides, Mori-senpai knocked him really good in the face after that. He probably learned his lesson."

Kyoya pulled out his journal, "Be that as it may, I can not have anyone under my family's employ be this casual with rough-handling civilians. I'll have to order extra policies regarding civilian and police interactions within the park be added to the men's training regiment…"

Jin rolled her eyes and let him disappear into his mind of calculations. If he wanted to be a workaholic, then let him be. At least he showed a bit of concern that she was hurt. That, she felt, was very good progress.

"You know, maybe we should go to the beach next." Jin looked around Mori's large frame. The twins were in the front of the pack, and were the first to emerge from the jungle area. They were back by the changing rooms.

"Yeah! The beach would be nice!"

Tamaki scoffed, strolling along casually behind the redheads, "You idiots. Haruhi's not interested in anything like that."

Jin speaks up, "Actually, Haru likes the beach."

The group stops and looks around, "She-"

"-does?"

Haruhi shifted her weight onto her left foot and looked over the darkening water park, "Well, yeah. I like the ocean. It'd be nice to go to the beach and just watch the sun set over the waves. It's really pretty..."  _ Ding! Ding! Ding! _ Tamaki was  _ sold _ .

As the boys went into the changing rooms, discussing plans to visit the beach next weekend, Haruhi grabs Jin's wrist, "Nēchan…"

"Hey, it's fine." The brunettes stared at each other for a few more seconds before Haruhi released her.

"Okay then, if you're sure."

The taller girl smiled and threw an arm around her sister, "Hey, we'll be with the host club the entire time. What could happen?" They glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes before bursting into loud laughter.

 


	14. Shelter Mayhem!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another little peek into Jin's everyday life with the Host Club thrown in to make a mess. Because why not? Hope you like it!

 

…

_ How do we always end up in these messes? _

...

*/ Flashback\ *

"Hey, guys? Haru and I won't be able to attend the host club this Friday."

You know... you'd think that by now Jin would know better than to announce something like that in front of the entire host club. I mean, when you consider that their usual response is to fly off the handle at even the tiniest change to their schedule, then you'd think that the people who hung out with them so much would start finding roundabout ways to share such news.

But, you'd be wrong. She was quickly tackled in a tight hug by none other than Tamaki Suoh who proceeded to bawl into her school jacket. "Why, Jin?! Why must you leave us?! Was it something I did? Or those devil twins? Whatever we did to offend you we didn't mean it!"

"Tamaki!" Jin pushed the blond away as best as she could, "You did nothing! Haru and I are just going to be very busy tomorrow and this weekend!"

The twins were the next to approach, "Doing what?"

"We-"

"We're not telling you," Haruhi quickly interrupted her sister. The two girls shared a long stare before Jin rolled her eyes and Haruhi smiled smugly.

"Awww…"

"Why not?"

Haruhi went back to organizing her table, still looking smug about winning the silent discussion, "Because if we tell you what we're doing, you'll just follow us anyways and that's something I would rather avoid."

The twins draped themselves over Haruhi's head, almost making her to fall over, "Oh… come on! Don't you trust us yet?"

"Not even remotely."

The group looked at the elder Fujioka who simply shrugged in response, "If Haru doesn't want you there, then I'm not going to argue. Sorry, looks like you're on your own."

*\ End Flashback/ *

* Saturday *

" _ Jin! Front desk! ASAP! _ "

"On my way." She hooked her walkie-talkie back onto her jeans before taking a left, deviating from her original route, and flipped over another paper that was clipped to her notepad. She read the document as she continued walking down the hallway. The page was solely dedicated to the design of a backyard of a house about a half hour drive from her current location, and she examined every detail.

_ Five foot tall fence, grassy, and a Weeping Pagoda tree. That'll provide plenty of shade… mmm, the Lily pond might be an issue… _

"Excuse me!"

The tall brunette stepped to the left and pressed her back to the wall as a boy hurried past, toting a red bucket filled to the brim with soapy water as fast as he could. Which, in order to keep the water  _ in _ the bucket, wasn't that impressive of a speed.

Jin spoke up as he passed her, without even looking away from the clipboard, "Don't forget that Kimi tries to eat the bubbles. We don't need her sick today."

"Right. And you'd better hurry, Jin. Hayashi-san seemed stressed."

"More than usual? However could  _ that _ happen?"

The boy and girl parted ways quickly and Jin began scribbling her thoughts on the last paper in the stack. It certainly  _ seemed _ like a good candidate, but at the same time they'd need to do something about their Lily pond before Akihiro could be placed in the home. She sighed.

_ The joys of working in an animal shelter. _

That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy volunteering, because she really did. Jin had always loved animals, and since she wasn't allowed to have pets of her own, spending her time helping out at the local shelter was the next best step.

But of all of her years here, this was always her least favorite day.

" _ Fujioka! _ " Her boss shouted through her walkie talkie again as she was about to enter the lobby.

"I'm  _ coming _ ! Geez! What do you-" Her mouth fell open at the sight.

The front lobby was completely crowded. There were roughly fifty or sixty people standing or sitting around the room. Now, considering that today was Hōmusuītohōmu Animal Shelter's Annual Adoption/Siblings day, this wasn't an unusual number. It was the one day of the year that the number of volunteers and employees was upped from 19 to 36 and prices were down. They even went as far as to advertise the day for a month ahead of time. Which is why the extra 17 people wasn't nearly enough to smoothly handle everything.

Most of the people around the room were small families, but a fair few were just by themselves or just with their significant other. However, there was one big group who was dominating the most attention.

" _ Guys? _ "

"Hi, Jin-chan! I bet you're surprised to see us!"

Jin's mouth remained slack as her "boss", Hayashi-san, rubbed his forehead, "Jin… these boys claim to be friends of you and your sister and were adamant about meeting with at least one of you." Jin looked at her boss and felt her annoyance at the hosts increase.

Aki Hayashi was a 34 years old man, nearly 35, and had been running Hōmusuītohōmu Animal Shelter for 13 years. It had been his and his father's dream, his passion, and the place where he met his wife. Jin held a huge amount of respect for the man despite the two treating each other like cousins. And he was actually another reason for her to hate this particular day. Every year on Adoption day, without fail, his normally bright green eyes dimmed to the color of seaweed and his russet color hair looked more grey as his already stressful job became nearly concerning for his mental health.

And now the host club was here, stirring up trouble.

For another couple seconds, Jin stared at the six boys in the lobby before slowly pulling her walkie-talkie up to her mouth, "Haru? Do you copy?"

" _ I'm here. What's the problem, Nēchan? _ "

"They're here."

" _ They? Who they? _ "

"You know damn well which 'they' I'm talking about."

There was a brief moment of silence before Haruhi growled lowly out the speaker, " _ I'll be right there. _ "

Jin placed the radio back on her belt loop, "I'm not speaking to  _ any _ of you until Haru gets here, or else she may never forgive me." She leveled a dark stare at each boy before spinning on her heels to face the front of the lobby, "Could Mr. Sousuke Ueno please come forward?" As soon as she spoke, a man walked away from his partner and two children and approached her.

Jin offered her right hand and the man shook it, "Jin Fujioka. I've just finished going over your submitted online files. From what I've seen so far, your house is a very good candidate for Akihiro, but I do have a few concerns."

The man pressed his lips together tightly before letting go of her hand, "Is there a problem?"

Jin flipped the papers to the very back, where the handwritten notes were scribbled down, "I'm afraid so. It says here that you have a lily pond in your backyard? Lily's are very poisonous for dogs, so if you do go through with the adoption, we'll need you to either fence or block off the pond, substitute another flower for the lilies, or get rid of the pond completely."

Mr. Ueno nodded, "I understand, and I'm sure we can put up a fence to keep Akihiro out."

Jin smiled and nodded back before flipping back to the very first page, marking a check in a box near the top, "Well, we've gotten that taken care of. Would you like to meet with Akihiro still?"

He nodded, "Of course."

"Very well. I'll alert Kisumi to prepare Akihiro for a meet-and-greet before coming to fetch you and your family. It shouldn't be more than a five to seven minute wait."

The tall man smiled and performed a short bow, "Thank you."

Jin smiled, "You're welcome." As the man went back to his husband and kids, Haruhi came out from the back. She wasted no time in marching up to the hosts.

"What are you doing here?"

Jin took a step back and let Haruhi force the boys to explain themselves while she radioed Kisumi.

"Hey, can you get Akihiro ready for a meet-and-greet?"

" _ Of course. Papers? _ "

"They'll be on the front desk with Hayashi. I think I have another… issue to take care of."

" _ Uh oh. I know that tone. Good luck. _ "

"I'll need it."

Jin put her walkie-talkie back on her belt loop just as Hikaru started to put out the fires Tamaki was lighting, "Look, what he means is that we were curious about what you two were doing today and yesterday."

"Yeah, we couldn't exactly follow you yesterday because Kyoya wouldn't let us skip out on the host club like you two."

Kyoya spoke from the far wall where he was reading a brochure about the building, "We closed the club not three days ago to go to the Aqua Garden, and next Friday we shall be leaving early to travel to the beach. If we continue to cancel the club regularly, eventually we'll have a full scale riot on our hands."

The twins waved him off, "Anyways, after he finished lecturing us Kyoya looked through Jin's school files."

"Since she told the School Board about her volunteer work everything was in her files."

Honey bounced forward, "We looked up what you two would be doing here, and decided that we wanted to help!" Haruhi opened her mouth, probably to point-blank tell them to leave, but Jin spoke first.

"Do you even know what you're getting into? Working in a shelter is a lot of hard work. There are many things that need to be done properly or you could risk injuring someone or ruining a potential adoption. It's serious work."

"We're ready!"

Jin turned her gaze to her "boss", "The final decision is yours…"

Aki brought his hand down his face, pulling at his chin while he stared at the boys sharply. Tamaki was starting to twitch before he finally spoke.

"They will be your responsibility, Jin. Find them all appropriate jobs and keep them on it."

"I will."

"Good. Now, off you go."

Jin gestured for the boys to step through a nearby doorway. As they did, Haruhi scowled darkly, " _ I hate you so much, Nēchan. _ "

"No you don't." The girls followed the boys into the hallway and gave them all a look.

"Well… the cat kennels need another pair of hands…"

"What about general maintenance?"

"Kyoya's probably better suited for a less physical job and more organization..."

"Wait a moment," the twins held up their hands, "We have a quick question. Do we have to wear uniforms like what Haruhi is wearing?" Haruhi looked down at her clothes. It wasn't anything bad. Just a pair of jeans and a green shirt with the words 'Hōmusuītohōmu Animal Shelter' on the front, and the word 'Volunteer' on the back.

Jin raised an eyebrow, "Yes. We'll get you your shirts after figuring out where you'll be working."

"But why aren't you wearing one of those shirts, Jin-chan?"

The girl smirked a bit, "I kind of out-rank everyone but Aki. I can wear what I please so long as I have my name tag." She propped up the green clip that read, 'Hello, My Name is Jin Fujioka'. It was pinned neatly to her green and white checkered shirt, which was unbuttoned a little at the top to show off the white tank-top underneath. For pants she had donned a pair of skinny jeans that had a few drawings on it. Some of them looked painted, while the rest looked like marker drawings. And her feet were fit snuggly inside her red and green plaid converse.

The girl propped her fists against her hips, and with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, the stance just made her forearms that much more pronounced. Clearly, training at the Haninozuka dojo for over ten years had its physical perks.

"Let's get to work, boys."

* * *

"Perhaps I could stand outside and encourage buyers-"

"No good. Buying an animal is different than buying a pair of shoes," Jin mumbled around her apple flavored jolly rancher, "You have to really commit to buying, caring, and loving the animal for a long time."

"Well then, I can help Haruhi-"

"No. I'm doing just fine by myself thank you."

Tamaki looked around frantically, "Well… there must be  _ something _ for me to do!" Jin sighed and stretched her back. It was no surprise that Tamaki was the hardest one to find a job for. The others were already settled into their various position, but Tamaki just wasn't a good fit for anything.

There were enough helpers in the cat section now, thanks to the twin's addition, and Honey was more than enough help for the small animal department. Tamaki had run screaming from the reptile cages after he witnessed a snake snap up a small mouse, and two birds had already attempted to nest in his hair.

Jin sighed and began leading them through the dog kennels again, double checking that they'd all been fed properly, "I'm sorry, Tamaki, but I'm not sure what you can help with that needs the help. There's just no-"

She was cut off as a dog jumped up against it's cage side, barking and wagging its tail at the three. The Spitz barked a few more times before running around its cage in a circle, scooping up a rope toy in its mouth and carrying it back to the cage gate. She stared up at the humans expectantly, bushy tail wagging something fierce.

Jin laughed and crouched down, reaching her fingers through the cage wires and gently tugged on the toy, making the dog start a tug-o-war with her, "I'm sorry, Kenta, but I'm too busy to play! Though, if you keep up this playfulness then I'm sure… someone… will…" The tall girl trailed off and let the dog pull the toy from her fingertips. As the white dog whipped the rope around in victory, she turned her head to face Tamaki.

"How do you feel about dogs?"

The blond brightened, "I love dogs! They're so much fun and so fluffy!" His classmate nodded slowly, a small smile beginning to grow on her face.

"I think I found a position for you."

* Timeskip *

A few minutes later, Tamaki found himself standing on a green, fenced in lawn. It was fairly big, perhaps not the size of his own backyard, but still a decent size. And, standing in front of him, were five dogs of different sizes and breeds. All of them staring intently at the bright green tennis ball in his right hand.

Tamaki looked over at the back of the Animal Shelter, where he could faintly see Jin and Haruhi watching from the window. Not wanting to disappoint his 'sister' and 'daughter', he turned back to the dogs and threw the ball as far away as he could. Instantly, the animals took off after it, barking madly.

The ball sailed across maybe half the yard and bounced once, twice, before being snagged out of the air by a big brown dog. He remembered Jin had called him… Dai. Which made sense, given his size.

As the dogs run back, Dai dropping the ball at Tamaki's feet for round 2, he noticed that a few people had joined the girls at the window. He remembered the second reason Jin had given him this position. So that not only would some of the more excited dogs get their energy out, but should a family be looking to adopt a more active dog they could watch them in action.

He smiled and threw the slightly slimy ball again.

Inside, Jin was mirroring Tamaki's smile, "Finally. Something we've all been needing."

Haruhi nodded her head, "Agreed. It's nice to see Senpai playing with the dogs. And it looks like they're all having fun."

"Be that as it may, you might want to keep an eye on the adoption papers." The girls looked to their left as Kyoya approached them, also watching his friend out the window. He smirked as Tamaki took off running in the opposite direction the next time he threw, so the five dogs chased after the ball, then started chasing the blond. "If you're not careful he's going to try to adopt every single animal in here."

Jin snorted, "You came here with him, so I think he should be your responsibility."

Her sister rolled her eyes, "Besides, I don't have the time to read over every adoption paper before I deliver it, and I doubt anyone else here is going to see the amusement of Tamaki adopting twenty dogs at once."

Kyoya looked out the window again just as Tamaki was tripped by the smallest dog, leading to a 'lick-fest', "I'll try to contain him as best as I can, but no promises." The girls nodded and the three watched the playfulness for another few moments.

As they watched Tamaki be nuzzled and stepped on by multiple dogs, Kyoya cast a wary look towards the shorter of the two girls. The briefest of memories flashed before his eyes: Haruhi lunging towards him with a snarl and eyes narrowed dangerously, threats of punching on her lips. The actions had surprised and shocked him then, and they still do now.

Sure, she had apologized for her actions the next time they'd seen each other, but he couldn't quite forget how willing she seemed to attack him. And, if Kyoya were to be completely honest with himself, he was still vaguely frightened of the sheer  _ ferocity _ that the two siblings loved each other. Sure, the twins were a little twisted and their bond occasionally caused one of them to lash out, but with the Fujioka girls it was just plain unexpected.

"We should probably get back to work."

Kyoya quickly pulled up the clipboard in his hands, "Indeed. There are a few adoptions that I need to finish recording."

He walked away as Jin kissed her sister's forehead, "And I should probably check on the other boys anyways. Can't let them mess up, or else I'll pay for it."

Haruhi nodded in agreement and hummed, "That does seem to be the common case, doesn't it," before heading back towards the front lobby. Jin stared out the window again as Tamaki tossed the ball again, sending it even further across the yard.

_ Well, he seems to be okay there for a while. And… I think Mori was supposed to be at the aviary last I heard. _ The brunette straightened out her checkered shirt as best as she could before turning around and walking past a few children who were watching the dogs playing with big grins on their faces.

The aviary Jin was heading towards was actually no different from any other room in the building. The only thing that set it apart from the others was the fact that you had to enter a small, empty room first and close the first door before entering the aviary itself. This was to ensure that if a bird ever escaped its confinements, it would be harder for the tiny animal to escape to the rest of the building.

"Ahh!"

At the sound of the loud shout, Jin took off running. She came to a stop just outside of the aviary and was quick to run through the first door. Once she had it shut firmly behind her, Jin looked in through the window. Sure enough, it looked like something was wreaking havoc in there.

The brunette slipped into the room and watched for a moment as the three young teenagers in green shirts ran around, once in awhile crashing into a counter but careful to steer clear of the cages filled with birds waiting to be adopted out. The air was filled with shrill chirps and the volunteers shouting at each other.

"Go to the left! No, the  _ left! _ "

"Do you think I should climb onto the counter?"

"You will do no such thing." The three young teens stumbled to a stop at the sound of Jin's voice and spun to face her.

"F-Fujioka-san! What are you doing in here?"

"I couldn't help but overhear what was going on, so I came to see what was up."

The three looked at each other almost embarrassed, "Well… one of the birds got out of their cage. We've been trying to catch it."

Jin looked around the room and saw a Long-Tailed Tit perched on top of one of the cabinets. She smiled and shook her head, snickering, "Um, I assume that you're all family of one of the year-round volunteers?"

The three kids nodded, so she laughed lightly and held out her right hand, palm facing upwards, and whistled three times. The little white bird quickly fluttered down into her palm and hopped around a bit before settling down comfortably into her hand, its head nestled in the crook of her thumb and palm.

The boys stared at the bird and girl in surprise, so she explained, "This little guy isn't here to be adopted. He's like… Hōmusuītohōmu's mascot. He's a wild bird who flew in here about two years ago, and he's never left. We named him Sora once we realized he wasn't going to leave."

She moved the bird onto her shoulder, "He doesn't have a cage."

The kids shuffled their feet, cheeks red in embarrassment, so she hummed gently, "Hey, no reason to be upset. It was just a misunderstanding. How about I help you all clean up?"

With the four of them, it only took about ten minutes to get everything straightened out once again. The volume of the chirps was halved by the time they finished. Jin sighed and rolled her shoulders back, careful not to dislodge the tiny animal still perched on her.

"There, that wasn't so hard! Now, have any of you boys seen a really tall, dark haired boy around? Last I heard he was helping out in here."

The tallest boy nodded from where he was topping off the feeders, "Yeah. He finished fixing the automatic feeders just a few minutes before you came in and left for the small animal department."

Jin nodded, "That seems likely. And it's almost feeding time there too… Thanks boys!" She spun around and cast a wave over her shoulder, "Sora's coming with me, by the way!" And she left.

As she walked down the hallway (thankfully it wasn't a long walk between the aviary and the small animal room) Sora chirped happily in her ear, occasionally pecking at her shirt or hair. Jin reached up and stroked the bird's head.

"You were just being a little stinker in there, weren't you? Letting those boys chase you around for no reason!" Sora chirped and hopped around on her shoulder.

Jin chuckled and pushed open the door that lead to the small animal room. The first thing she noticed was the number of people who were standing around. It surprised her. Sure, the rabbits, ferrets, and hamsters were always a big hit for young children when their parents didn't wish to purchase a dog or a cat, but this amount of people was almost too much for the room.

Thankfully, Jin spotted Mori a little ways into the crowd by a counter top and started sneaking her way towards him.

"Mori-senpai, I've been looking for you!"

The tall boy hummed at her, which probably meant,  _ Oh? What for? _

Jin merely rolled her eyes, "I'm kind of in charge of you boys. Aki will want a report on your actions every once in awhile, I would imagine. So, what are you doing in here?"

Mori lifted a small stainless steel bowl for her to see. Jin looked around her friend to see a bag of ferret food waiting to be emptied into the five or so bowls spread out on the counter and the one in his hand.

She smirked, "I guess not giving you a single job was a good idea, huh?"

Her friend let his lips twitch in a small smile before patting her head, "Yeah."

Jin playfully smacked his hand away, "Don't mess up my hair! And where is your cousin?" Mori pointed towards the approximate center of the large crowd. She cocked an eyebrow before gently pushing her way through the crowd.  _ Why is Honey the center of attention? I thought I told him to- Oh. _

Honey was dangling halfway in the rabbit cage, his arms and face being assaulted by little bunny noses as the small boy squeaked with laughter. Everyone else in the room seemed to have made a little ring around the cage, cooing at the young volunteer so overjoyed by the "bunny kisses". Jin noticed another volunteer watching from the other side of the cage and cocked an eyebrow. The other girl shrugged in response as if saying,  _ Hey, if it's not broken, don't fix it. _

Jin couldn't think of an argument, considering the small pile of filled out adoption papers the other volunteer was holding. She shot a glance at the large clock on the wall and noted the time. 12:29.

Clearing her throat, Jin announced, "If we could have every non-employee or volunteer please step out of the room for ten minutes so we can feed the animals? Thank you." There was a large amount of shuffling feet as the thirty or so adopters walked out of the room, on occasion dragging their small children out behind them.

Once the door finally boomed shut, Jin pushed her rolled up sleeves past her elbows and smiled at the volunteers, "Who's ready for feeding?"

Hanan, the volunteer who had been holding the adoption papers, looked at her curiously, "You're helping us out today, Jin-san?"

"Why not?"

Hanan smiled and passed a filled bowl over to her, "No reason. And thanks." Jin smiled back before taking the food to the ferret side of the room. Honey bounded up to Hanan for his own dish and regarded her curiously.

"Why did you sound so surprised when Jin-chan said she'd help? What does Jin-chan normally do around here?"

"Well… it's a little hard to explain. Jin-san sort of helps out wherever she can, but she doesn't usually do the small jobs, like feeding or cleaning. She's more our supervisor and damage control. Jin does the big stuff. Actual adoptions, supply ordering, she even helps Hayashi-san with the financing. But on occasion she does help us out with the every-day kind of issues, especially on adoption day." Honey nodded, feeling more than a little proud of how well his childhood friend was doing in her life. A stark difference from how her future had looked when they first met…

"Hanan?" The girl quickly handed the feeding bowl to the short boy before facing her supervisor.

"Yes, Jin-san?"

"Are these forms completely filled out?" Jin thumbed through the three stacks of papers, the same ones Hanan had been holding when the brunette first came in.

"Yeah. I was told to hold onto them until either Haruhi or someone named Kyoya Ootori came in to collect them."

Jin smiled slightly and tucked the papers into the crook of her arm, "No need. I can take them to Kyoya. Besides, I have to check on how he's doing anyways and you seem to have enough hands to finish with feeding."

Hanan's eyes widened, "Oh! He's another one of your charges?"

"Yes, he is. I just have to check on him and the twins before reporting back to Aki." She sighed, "Only five more hours of this!" The blonde and brunette snickered before they separated to do their jobs. But before she left, Jin snuck up behind the two cousins.

"Try to stay out of trouble until I come back around?"

Honey giggled as one of the more friendlier ferrets, Kuu, climbed onto his shoulder and started sniffing his neck, "Okay, Jin-chan! I'll be here!" His cousin grunted his response and lightly patted Sora's head from where he was still perched on Jin's shoulder. The brunette nodded, satisfied that the tall ravenet would keep the small boy out of any peril, and left the room to go hunt for the club's vice-president.

Whom she almost ran into the second she opened the door.

"Ah!"

"Oof!"

The 2nd years both quickly took a step back, Sora chirping shrilly after almost being knocked off his perch. Jin let out a breath to calm herself before reaching up to stroke the small bird.

"Sorry, Kyoya. I didn't know you were there."

The boy readjusted his glasses, "It's quite alright. Besides, it was partially my fault as well." He looked up and stilled, "What's with the bird?"

"Hm? Oh, this is Sora. He's like our mascot. Sora flew in about two years ago and hasn't left since. He likes to hang out on people's shoulders, mine especially."

Kyoya blinked before shrugging it off. The small white bird on Jin's shoulder wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen today. No, that award went to whenever he looked in a mirror and saw himself wearing the same green volunteer shirt as about half of the staff at the shelter. But the tame, yet wild bird was still odd in its own right. He adjusted his glasses once more, "That's interesting. But, if you'll excuse me, I..."

Jin held the stack of papers out in front of Kyoya's chest, making him trail off, "I was just in there and decided to give them to you the next time I ran into you. But if I'd known you were already on your way, I wouldn't have bothered."

Kyoya blinked once before taking the papers, "Thank you. You just saved me another tedious conversation where I have to prove that I'm allowed to take these papers."

Jin's eyes narrowed, "You have to prove to the others you're allowed to collect the adoption papers?" The girl glanced behind her at the room she'd just left, "That's... weird."

The boy let her think to herself for a moment before hooking the papers to his own clipboard, "It doesn't matter now. I've made my rounds often enough that the other volunteers are starting to remember me. All I have left for the rest of the lunch hour is one cat adoption…" Kyoya ran his finger down the list he'd hooked to his clipboard earlier.

Jin peered at the paper and let out a little gasp, "Chi was adopted? That's wonderful! She's been here longer than I have!"

Kyoya smirked, "If she had had any chance, it would be today."

"Well, since you're heading to collect Chi's papers, I might as well tag along. I need to check on the twins so I can give Aki a report of you boys."

"Very well. But might I suggest rotating the dogs that Tamaki plays with soon? I just passed by the back of the building and a few of them have grown tired."

Jin smacked her forehead, "Of course! What was I thinking? Thanks, Kyoya. Do you happen to have a pen?"

The boy handed over the pen he had in his hand just as the two started walking through the dog kennels. Kyoya didn't exactly understand why the room with the cats was by the front of the building while all the other separate rooms were in the back with the dog kennels in between. It didn't make much sense to him, but it didn't matter enough to actually ask about it.

"You're wondering why our rooms are arranged the way they are, right?"

The ravenet looked down at his walking partner who was scribbling a few names onto the palm of her left hand. He cocked an eyebrow, "I was, but now I'm more curious as to why you're writing on your skin instead of a piece of paper like a normal person."

"I don't exactly  _ have _ any scrap paper on me, in case you haven't noticed! Besides, you'd be surprised how often just writing on your hands helps with remembering short term things. And this way I can just wash the ink off later instead of wasting paper!"

Kyoya shook his head, deciding not to argue to point, "Back to the previous topic. Building arrangement."

"Oh, that? That's easy. Say a cat gets out of their kennel; If they snuck into the aviary or the reptile room or with the small animals, we'd have a bit of a problem on our hands. So, what better barrier between them all than the kennels?"

Jin wrote down the name of a puppy that was barking up a storm as Kyoya processed her reasoning, "I suppose that makes sense."

The girl chuckled, "Why do I have a feeling that you have another question?"

"I suppose… it's not really a question. More of a curiosity."

"Oh?"

"How were you able to tell that I was wondering about the building arrangement?"

Jin tapped the end of the pen against her lips, eyeing each dog they passed in turn, "I'm not sure. Probably something to do with how well I can read Haru. You had a crinkle between your eyebrows, similar to the one Haru gets when she's curious or confused about something. Considering we were passing through these kennels towards the cat room, I just took a guess."

Kyoya stared at his classmate, "Are you saying that the way you and Haruhi can always tell what's on each other's minds is pure guessing?"

The girl laughed, "Oh, hell no! I know my little sister better than  _ that _ I'll have you know."

"Then how-"

"Looks like something exciting is going on here…"

Kyoya, though a little miffed at being cut off, stopped next to Jin as they came up to the door. There appeared to be a loud commotion inside from what they could see through the window, but Jin calmly proceeded into the room after a few seconds, Kyoya right behind her. The two stood just inside the door as at least six volunteers jogged around the room, one by one disappearing into the back, the twins nowhere in sight.

Sora remained resolutely on Jin's shoulder, despite the many cats suddenly staring at him. Kyoya could almost respect the fearlessness of the bird, but he quickly caught himself. He may be wearing a green volunteer shirt and be spending his day in a commoners animal shelter, but he was  _ not _ about to start thinking that Long-Tailed Tits were brave.

Jin finally spoke up as the noise level spiraled downward, "What's going on?"

A lady who looked to be in her young 30's speed walked by them with a pile of warm towels in her arms, "Mai went into labor. She's giving birth to her kittens right now."

Jin's face changed in an instant and began walking after the other volunteer, tugging her rolled up sleeves a little more, "Do you need any help?"

The lady shot a smile over her shoulder, "No need! We have plenty of hands now that your two friends are helping us out!" Jin's walking slowed down until she was standing still again. When the lady disappeared around the corner, she and Kyoya exchanged a glance.

"Hikaru and Kaoru are helping to deliver kittens," Jin couldn't help but smile somewhat evilly, "What I wouldn't give for a video camera right now…"

Kyoya matched the look on her face as he pulled a small handheld camera from his jacket pocket, "It's a good thing I have this then, hm?"

"Why do you have a camera?"

"Photobooks. I figured having pictures of the hosts cuddling with helpless animals would make for a very good 'Special Edition', don't you think?"

Jin kept a blank face for perhaps a split second before she defaulted back into a smirk, "Workaholic."

At that, the two snuck towards the back, where another doorway was opened to let out the sounds of quiet but tense instructions being exchanged between volunteers and employees alike. Jin slipped through first, followed closely by the boy and his camera.

The twins were easy to spot with their bright red hair, but it was their faces that were the actual show. The two were holding the warm towels and staring wide eyed at the swollen cat on the bench in front of them.

They leaned back quickly as the Bobtail yowled loudly and one of the volunteers shouted out, "One!" Jin snickered at the looks of disgust on the boys faces as the slimy lump was placed tenderly into Hikaru's hands and looked to see if Kyoya was recording it as he said he would. He wasn't, but was instead snapping photo after photo of the scene. Perhaps their clients would like a laugh in the photobook? Or maybe just blackmail?

Jin toned down her faint laughter after the second kitten was delivered, " _ Okay, I think I've seen enough. We should probably get back to work. _ "

The ravenet whispered back, " _ I agree. _ "

They walked out of the room as 'Three!' was called out behind them. Jin split away from her classmate and approached another volunteer who was scooping out the cat's lunches, still snickering a bit. As she began asking for the girl's opinion on Hikaru and Kaoru's assistance, Kyoya looked around for the adoption papers he was supposed to be collecting. Thankfully, after handling the same pile of colored papers for the past hour or so, they were easy to find. They were hanging from the wall of an empty kennel, held together by a single metal ring in the upper left corner. He walked over and quickly compared the name on the front page to his own clipboard.

"Excuse me, but are you Mr. Ootori?"

Kyoya looked to his right and saw that the volunteer Jin had been speaking to was now at his elbow, "Yes, I am."

The blonde smiled broadly and quickly took the papers off the wall and handed them over, "Hayashi-san told me that you'd be here soon to get these, though I didn't quite believe him when he said you'd be here so soon after little Chi was taken home! He said you kept up with bookkeeping even faster than he could!" Kyoya was as uninterested as he could be with that useless information, but chuckled and pressed the palm of his right hand against his chest all the same.

"I'm quite honored that he feels that way. But I am only trying to do my part." The young lady stared up at him with obvious attraction, which both amused and bore him.

"Mm, yes, he does well with those kinds of things. But, in my opinion, I think he would be better served with the reptiles. I think he'd work well with them..." Kyoya's eyes snapped over to level a glare at the brunette, a scathing retort on the tip of his tongue. However, something stopped him. He noticed that Jin was smiling kindly, brown eyes dancing with jest and playfulness. He blinked a few times as a realization suddenly came to mind.

Jin was… teasing him. Similar to how she teased Haruhi and the others. There was no need to respond with fire because this was how she showed friendship. She was treating him like she treated the others.

His glare softened as a small smirk played across his face, "Well, at least I'm doing my job, Ms. Fujioka. Why aren't you assisting your charges with delivering the kittens?"

Jin's eyes sparkled as he played along, "Easy. I outrank them."

The other volunteer giggled and looked like she was about to say something as well, when she was knocked to the side by two teens rushing out of the back room with their hands held out in front of them.

"SOAP! SOAPSOAPSOAPWENEEDSOAP!"

The twins faces reflected pure and utter disgust, fingers splayed wide in clear need to keep any part of them from touching another part. From the room they just burst from, peals of laughter could be heard from the others volunteers.

As the redheads bolted past Jin in their search for a sink, or perhaps just some hand sanitizer, she spared them a glance, "Please don't run in here. I don't need either of you slipping and hurting yourselves."

The other girl pushed away from the wall she'd been shoved against and stared after the two identical boys, "Your friends are strange."

It took Kyoya a moment to realize she was talking to him.

"Oh? How so?"

The girl wrung her hands together, "We don't normally get people of your… status in here. Either volunteering or buying." She smiled again, "I bet this setting is very strange for you all."

"I don't believe the others have ever attempted labor like this before."

"Well, we're all glad you're here! I guess not all rich people are snobs after all!" The blonde continued to smile, as if she hadn't just insulted the boy she was trying to flirt with.

As if Jin could tell her fellow volunteer's last sentence had irritated her classmate to some degree, she zipped over to her side, "Hey, Agano-san? Maybe the cats should be fed sometime in the near future?"

The blonde, though clearly older than Jin, even if by only a handful of years, flushed at the realization that she was neglecting her duties in front of her work superior and rushed back to the counter. As soon as she grabbed the first two bowls she could, she was gone around the corner. The brunette sighed and leaned against the same wall the blonde had abandoned a moment ago.

"I'm sorry about that. Sometimes I don't think Agano-san thinks before she speaks."

Kyoya didn't get a chance to respond because the twins raced past them again, still searching for some cleaning material, and Jin shouted after them, "One of you is going to fall and die and I am not cleaning it up!"

Kyoya couldn't help but smirk in amusement as the twins disappeared around another corner, "That's one way to say it, I suppose."

"Yeah, it's a line from one of my favorite television shows. Shame they cancelled it after one season... Anyways, I should probably go rotate Tamaki's dogs and give Aki my first report of you boys." She took a few steps towards the door before Kyoya followed her.

"Try to not make the others sound like the absolute idiots they are. If they're kicked out, I'm the one who's going to have to listen to their complaining for the next few hours."

"I'll keep that in mind! Now get back to work!"

* Timeskip *

"Agano-san told me that Hikaru and Kaoru are handling the cats well. They seem to be getting along with the animals and even assisted with the birth of Mai's kittens."

The brown haired man chuckled in good-natured humor, "I suppose that was a sight to see."

Jin couldn't help but smile back at her friend and boss, "It was."

Her boss shook his head before scratching the back of it, "Well, Jin, I must say your boys have surprised me so far. Make sure they keep up the good work."

"Can do, Aki." She went to leave the small office, but her boss wasn't quite done yet.

"Actually... I have a question."

"Hm? Go ahead."

"Exactly where  _ did _ you find these guys?"

The brunette blinked, "Um… it's kind of a long story, but it's Haru's fault… sort of."

"Her fault?"

"Yeah, remember how she and I are now attending Ouran Academy?"

"Yeah, I remember. That rich pompous school, right?"

Jin chucked, "Yeah, the rich pompous school. Apparently, before I came home, Haru accidentally stumbled into their club room and knocked an expensive vase off it's pedestal. So now she's a member of their club to pay off the damage. I joined when I came home to help pay off the damages."

Aki sat up a little straighter, "So… you're in debt to these boys?"

"Yeah."

"How deep in the hole are you?"

Jin frowned and tapped the floor with her foot, "I think the last time we checked… about 4,835,700¥."

If her boss had been drinking some water, he would've spit it out.

"Almost 5 million!? You girls are almost 5  _ million _ yen in the hole with these rich boys?"

"Yeah. We should pay it off sometime before I graduate."

Aki shakes his head, "Oh my goodness...How are you so calm about this?"

"Oh, I was plenty freaked out at first, don't get me wrong. Especially because Haru didn't tell me about it outright. She was actually pushed into telling me. But now... I've just come to accept it. We'll pay it off soon enough."

Her boss sat back in her seat, "At least there's that, I suppose. And as long as you all get along I guess there's no real issue." He cast her a glance, "These boys seem like a handful… but eager to be with you two."

"Well," Jin rubbed at her left arm, "I've actually known Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai from when I was little. The twins are in Haru's grade, and they aren't really friends with anyone else. The other two boys are in my grade and it's a similar situation, but Tamaki is just friendly with everyone, and he kind of drags Kyoya along."

Her boss smirks, "Well, if you fall in love with any of them, please let me know. The other employees and I have started a betting pool on which one will snag you and your sister."

Jin's jaw dropped open, "You... you started a... c-come again?"

"Betting pool. For Haruhi I placed a bet on that tall blond. For you my money's on none of them, but now that I think about it…"

" _ What?! _ Wait. No. Stop. I don't want to hear another word." Jin felt her face heat up as she scrambled for the doorknob, "God... why would you even  _ think _ that-"

"Top money is between the two black haired boys."

" _ Aki! _ "

 


	15. The Sun, the Beach, and the Host Club!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of my longer chapters, and another personal favorite. Hope you like!

 

"Haruhi! Jin! Are you ready for the beach?"

The sisters looked up from their homework. Jin frowned a bit and scribbled one final answer down on her paper.  _ Damn. Just as I was making headway... _

"The beach? You guys were serious about that?

"Of course!" The twins smiled in mock innocence before parting to show off the plethora of swimsuits. How they'd managed to move all the mannequins into the room without the two girls noticing was beyond them. Jin gave the selection a once over before she smirked and looked back down at her opened book. All of the swimsuits, mostly bikinis if anyone cared to notice, were in Haruhi's size. Jin couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the fact that the twins were going to make sure they  _ actually _ saw her little sister in a swimsuit.

That wasn't to say she was going to let them shove Haruhi into two bunches of yarn strung together in the barest form of actual clothing. Nope. Drawing a line, as it were. However, as she ran her gaze over the many different choices again, she deemed that most of them weren't leaning too close to the pervy side. Perhaps she'd let the twins have their fun. Just this once.

"Pick whichever one you like!" Jin noted how Haruhi hadn't even attempted to leave her seat and let her smirk widen a bit.

"What about this one, Haru-chan? It looks like our uniform!"

"No way, Honey-senpai. That one would only emphasize how Haruhi is about as flat as a cutting board."

Haruhi glanced behind at her sister, but Jin was only watching with amusement and offered a shrug.

_ Well? Aren't you going to help? _

_ I'm not going to come to your rescue every time the boys do something... extravagant. _

_ You're having fun with this, aren't you? _

Her sister adopted a mock hurt face and shook her head side to side once, twice... then nodded with a smug smile,  _ Little bit. _

Haruhi stuck out her tongue before the redheads picked her up by the armpits and started steering her towards a pink… frilly… thing, "Nēchan…"

Jin sighed and stood up, "Alrighty boys, I think Haru has had enough. Why not let her chose-"

"But we selected this one already!"

"It's perfect!"

_ Whack! _

A baseball bat came out of nowhere, bearing down on the twins, forcing them to release their grip on the girl between them in order to dodge the oncoming concussions. Haruhi quickly stumbled over to her sister as Tamaki began telling the redheads off and shoved her sister's arm. It barely made the taller girl shift, let alone wipe the stupid teasing look off of her face.

"Some rescue."

"Well, it was a good show. Besides, I'm sure it'll be my turn soon enough."

A pair of arms slid over her shoulders, and Jin found herself sandwiched between the Hitachiins, "Oh, no, Jin-senpai."

"You see, we've also carefully selected your swimsuit."

Their unison voice sounded even creepier when they whispered in her ear, " _ And it's going to be a surprise. _ "

"...You know what? You're right, Nēchan. This  _ is _ a good show."

"Shut up, Haru."

* Timeskip *

"I'm going to murder them in their sleep."

"Oh come on, Nēchan, it looks good on you. A little  _ too _ good I guess, but still."

Despite her sister's words, Jin couldn't help but stare in disgust at the mirror, "You're only saying that because you don't have to wear it."

Haruhi rubbed some more sunscreen into her arms as she looked her sister over again, "No, I mean it. And that top would probably look silly on me, so there'd be no reason for me to wear it in the first place."

Jin ignored Haruhi's chance at a joke, "That's because you're an A-cup while I've been cursed with freaking double D's." Jin tugged her bikini's right cup up once more, "I'm going to fall out of this freaking thing!"

Haruhi sighed but felt bad for her sister, knowing her insecurities better than anyone else, and went up behind her, "Here, I'll tighten the straps to keep it held up."

Jin sighed in relief, "Thanks, Haru."

As the younger sister tightened the right strap, then the left for good measure, she looked her sister up and down again. The twins had surprised the girls with their pick of Jin's swimsuit. For one, it was an actual bikini that showed off plenty of cleavage and almost hung lower than her hips. Jet black, no special accents, but just dead sexy looking. Which both grossed Haruhi out (the twins wanted her sister to look sexy? Eew!) and mortified her sister.

The bruise was still on her upper left arm, now a sickly yellow color instead of the dark purple it had been a week ago. It wasn't enough to offset the swimsuit, but still noticeable.

"Are you sure I can't murder them?"

"I am very sure. 96% sure. 95. Or, at least not in public."

Jin frowned, "Do you think I could, like, grab a cover or something?"

The girls looked around the changing room for anything that Jin could use to cover up, but it was pretty bare. Haruhi bit her lip.

"Maybe we can loan one from the girls? They're bound to have something."

Jin sighed, but nodded, "Okay. Let's head on out." The brunettes scooped up their school uniforms, stuffed them into the bag Jin's swimsuit had come in, and stepped out of the little tent-like changing room.

The boys were waiting, overlooking the steps leading down to the beach, already changed into their own swimsuits.

"But why couldn't we have gone to Fiji?"

"Or the Caribbean?"

"Do you think it's likely that Haruhi has a passport? I'm surprised her family was able to afford one for Jin."

"You do realize we can hear you, right?"

The six boys turned around, and their eyes instantly went to Jin's swimsuit.

"Hey, looking go-Ack!"

"JUST WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS? DRESSING HER LIKE THAT, HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT? YOU PERVERTS!"

Honey bounced over to the girl, eyes wide, "Wow, Jin-chan! You look good!"

"Thanks, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I had a beach cover or something. Still…" Jin reached up and wiped at her forehead, casting her gaze down to the water, "it  _ is _ rather hot today, and I suppose this thing should keep me cooled down enough to stay comfortable. I'm not sure how Haru can stand the t-shirt she's in."

Haruhi was fanning her face, sweat already soaking her collar, "Trust me, I'm not exactly loving it. Can we head down now? It might be cooler by the water."

"Yeah!" The twins cheered and danced away from Tamaki's continuing lecture, "Let's go!"

The eight hosts headed down the stairs, the twins and Honey leading, Tamaki not far behind and dragging Haruhi with him, followed by Mori, Jin, and Kyoya. The girls called out and waved from the beach as they watched their hosts head down to join them.

Jin tossed her turquoise and green beach towel over her left shoulder to fish through the bag she was carrying. She pulled out a pair of sunglasses and slipped them over her head, not needing them quite yet, before reaching back into her bag. After searching for a bit, and not finding whatever she was looking for, Jin scowled and held the bag closer to her face. Of course, afterwards she nearly tripped down the stairs.

Mori grabbed her arm to keep her upright while Kyoya held out a hand for her bag, "What are you looking for?"

The brunette sighed and handed her bag over, "My hairbrush. It should have a black ponytail holder around the handle too." Kyoya stuck his hand into the small bag and quickly pulled out the item.

"This?"

Jin nodded and took the brush, "Yeah. Thanks." She put the ponytail around her wrist, replaced her sunglasses onto her face, and began running the brush through her hair. Kyoya peeked into the bag yet again once the owner was busy, because unless he was mistaken Jin had packed something similar to a textbook along with a small handful of mechanical pencils… which confused him. Jin, while ahead in her studies, did not seem like the type of person to do her homework while vacationing.

But, not wanting to seem nosy, he stayed silent as she tossed the brush back into the bag and started braiding her hair. By the time the hosts reached the base of the stairs, Jin had her hair up in a French braid, which, combined with her sunglasses, bikini, and beach bag, made her look like she was a famous model preparing for paparazzi photos at the beach.

"Vol-ley-ball! Vol-ley-ball!" The twins chanted as they scooped up a beach ball and high-tailed it to a net that had been set up. Tamaki was quickly surrounded by a large group of girls, so Kyoya peeled away to regulate the situation. Mori and Honey had… disappeared somewhere, so Jin tapped her sister on her shoulder.

"How about we set up underneath that umbrella?"

"Perfect."

The two girls spread out their towels, Haruhi's towel matching her sister's except it was orange with a red stripe down the center, and situated themselves in the shade. Haruhi gauged her sister's new look.

"You look rich."

Jin flinched in mock hurt, "You wound me, Haru!"

They stared at each other for a second before breaking out in light laughter. Jin pressed her hands behind her to lean back a little and dropped her head back.

"Look, all joking aside, I'm glad we came here. It's a good beach day."

Haruhi turned her attention towards the water, but was soon distracted by the twins chasing after their beach ball down the shoreline, "Are you sure, Nēchan? You're not going to be able to do much…"

"Hey, it's fine! You don't like water parks, which I love, and I don't like the beach, which you love. Fair is fair! And it looks like the boys and guests are having a good time so far."

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "They only look that way because we're hosting."

"The boys or the girls?"

"Both." Her face fell into more of a scowl, "I thought coming to the beach meant we could take another day off…"

Jin shrugged and laid back on her towel completely, shutting her eyes in clear relaxation, "Hey, anything that keeps their attention off of us, right? Besides, Kyoya must've thought another day off wouldn't have gone over well with the clients."

Her sister unwound her arms from her knees and stared down at her sister, "You know, you and Kyoya-senpai have been getting along better lately. What happened?"

The tall girl shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe he realized I wasn't interested in picking fights? Or he finally decided to not be a di-"

"Um, Haruhi? Jin?"

Jin's eyes opened and she peered, upside down, at the three girls who had approached their umbrella, "Hey ladies! I love the swimsuits."

"Thanks!"

"We just wanted to know if you were going to go swimming?"

"We'd love to swim with you!"

Haruhi picked up the thread, "No thanks, girls. We were just going to sit out for the day. The water looks a little chilly." Her sister nodded, but was staring up at the umbrella instead of the girls now, grateful Haruhi had come to the beach with an excuse prepared.

"Well, then… could we sit and talk with you then?"

Identical cute smirks pulled at the Fujioka's faces, "Why would you want to do that?"

"Yeah, you ladies should go enjoy yourselves! Don't let us stick-in-the-mud's stop you from having fun."

"Like Nēchan said, your swimsuits are super cute, so you should definitely show them off!"

The three girls sighed in obvious admiration, little hearts floating above their heads. That is, until one of them seemed to snap out of it.

"Oh, I almost forgot to say it. Jin, I really like your swimsuit, too!"

"Yeah, it fits you really well!"

"I wish I could pull off something like that!"

Jin blinked, "Um... thanks! I wasn't too sure about it before, so your compliments mean a lot to me." Bright, shiny smile. The girls looked ready to melt into little puddles. Haruhi chuckled. Her sister was getting good at this.

She stood up, "I'm going to take a walk, alright Nēchan?"

"Alright, Haru. I'll find something entertaining to do, I guess." They shot each other little teasing looks before the shorter brunette took off. The three girls were quick to wander away as well, still cooing to each other about cute sibling love.

Jin, now alone, sat up and began digging through her bag.  _ Now's probably the only time I'm going to have to myself… _

"Hey! Jin-senpai!"  _ Or not. _

The brunette looked up to see the twins crouched by her feet, "Yeah?"

"We meant to ask you at the water park last week."

"What's with the anklet?"

"Hm? Oh! This old thing?" Jin stuck her right leg out to show off the braided brown string tied around the ankle. There were a few colorful fake stones dotting the string and a single book-shaped charm hung from the approximate center. It looked old and clumsily made, like a child had put it all together.

"I've had this anklet since I was 7. Haru made it for me at school, and I've worn it since. I don't think I've ever taken it off…" The girl smiled fondly at the string so the twins decided they should leave, bored, but their curiosity not quite spent.

Jin sighed before curling her leg back in again.  _ Okay, maybe _ now _ I'll get some peace and quiet. _ She pulled out a purple mechanical pencil and her sketchpad and flipped to the first empty page she could find.

Most of her sketches were of people, Haru dominating a majority of the pages. Jin's style varied, but she mainly alternating between cartoons and completely realistic sketches. Some were shaded, very few actually colored, and occasionally she just dotted her pages with things like flowers or cute little animals. Jin tapped the eraser end against the blank page and looked around. A lot of the guests were playing in the water by themselves at the moment. Jin couldn't see her sister or the other hosts other than the twins. After some debate, she focused on them.

She liked to start with the face first, since that's usually a good place to start if you want to plan ahead on how big the head would be. As Jin sketched out Hikaru's nose, she smirked and contemplated playing around with her drawing to show off their 'big-heads', but in the end decided against it. This was her first time drawing a host. Best to keep to the basics.

About ten or fifteen minutes later, Jin had a pretty good outline of the Hitachiin twins on her page. There were no facial features besides their noses and eyebrows and the hair wasn't very detailed yet, but it was a very good start for the short amount of time she'd been working.

"It's a major haul!"

The brunette's head lifted at the sound of Haruhi's voice.  _ Major haul? _ She stood and dropped her pencil back in her bag before following the sound of her sister's voice. Jin didn't really trust the twin's curiosity to leave her sketchbook alone should they spot it, whether in the bag or not, so she simply took it with her.

Soon enough, Jin was standing a little ways away as Haruhi shouted about the various shellfish she and Honey-senpai had found. The tall girl scrunched her face up in confusion. _ This doesn't seem like the kind of beach you'd find sea urchins on… or crabs... or clams... or anything Haru has in her pail... what? _

"The shellfish were an apology from my family's police force." Jin jumped a bit as Kyoya spoke from behind her, but recovered quickly and turned around to face him.

"An apology?"

"For attacking you and your sister at the water park. They figured surprising your sister with a fun activity to take part in would be the best way to appeal to you."

"That was nice of them."

Kyoya glanced down at the pad of paper in her arms, recognizing the cover, "What is that? A textbook?"

"What? No, it's for my drawings. A sketchbook." Her face turned doubtful, "You  _ have _ seen a sketchbook before, right?"

"Of course I have," Kyoya held out a hand, "May I?"

The girl handed it over, "Sure. I'm not quite done with the last one though." As soon as she said that, Kyoya quickly flipped to the final drawing and stared at it for a few moments.

"This is a drawing of Hikaru and Kaoru?"

"Yeah."

The boy nodded before flipping backwards in the sketchbook, pausing every so often to look over the drawings in detail. It wasn't until he got more than halfway back to the front that he spoke at all.

"These are all... quite amazing! I'm impressed! Did you draw each of these freehanded? You have incredible skill!" Jin blinked and managed a quick nod, rendered speechless at the sudden onslaught of compliments. Sure, she'd received an award or two and her family found her sketches impressive, but having Kyoya compliment her so sincerely... it felt different. Something strange seemed to be fluttering in her chest as Kyoya flipped through the rest of the book.

"Would you allow me to sell your drawings of the hosts to our clients?"

The fluttering stopped.

Jin smiled and shook her head slightly, "I stand by what I said on Saturday. You are a workaholic." Before Kyoya could respond, she waved a hand in front of her face, "That's not a 'No', by the way. I'd be completely fine with you selling my drawings. However, I don't do copies and I don't work under a time frame."

The boy smirked, "Completely original drawings. For some reason, I believe that will work just fine."

"Cen-"

"-ti-"

"-pede!"

Before the two could react, all of the girls and even the twins were running as fast as they could from Tamaki and Haruhi. Jin was nearly knocked over in the process, barely managing to grab Kyoya's arm before she was sent down. Once everyone had fled and Haruhi was in the process of getting rid of the bug, Kyoya helped the girl stand back up, which is mildly difficult when you have a sketchbook in one hand and a girl dangling off your other arm.

Kyoya winced as she let go of his arm, quickly handing back her sketchbook so he could rub at it, "You know, next time that happens, would you mind  _ not _ grabbing my arm so hard you bruise me?"

The brunette huffed a light laugh, "Sorry. I didn't realize how fragile you were, Glasses." Her teasing smile was then replaced by one a little more sincere, "But seriously, I'm sorry about that."

Kyoya didn't respond.  _ Did she just call me… 'Glasses'? _

"Hey, Boss, listen up! We just thought up a new game to play while we're here!"

Jin's smile vanished and she looked at the twins from over her shoulder, "I don't think I like the sound of that…"

"It's called the 'Who Can Find Out Haruhi's Weakness' Game!"

"Yup, don't like it." Ignoring her, Kyoya walked closer to the three boys, as did Mori and Honey, all looking somewhat interested. Jin felt her jaw drop a little in disbelief. They were really going to play this game? Were they kidding?

"Eh? T-that game sounds terrible!"

Jin sighed. _ Finally, Tamaki proves he's not a- _

"Eh, I guess you're right."

"Besides, she'd probably only share her weakness with someone she was really close too. Jin is probably the only person who knows it or will ever know!"

Jin closed her eyes in a suffering kind of look.  _ I really hate them sometimes. _ She glared at the group as the redheads set the rules down. Sunset was the deadline. Winner was whoever found out first and got confirmation from either Haruhi or Jin. Not a single rule about being safe or not triggering any accidental heart attacks, Jin noted with a frown.

"And I have the perfect prize for the game's lucky winner." Kyoya smiled deviously as he revealed three photos of Haruhi in her younger years. There was even a volleyball shot. He'd had a feeling that these photos would come in handy at some point. And judging by how Tamaki was following the photographs with his face, his gut feeling had been right.

Except… the other boys are glancing behind him with worried expressions. And he recalled just who had been standing behind him this whole time, listening to the conversation.

Slowly, Kyoya turned around to face Jin. To say that she looked angry with him would be an understatement. She was glaring daggers, arms at her side and her free hand clenched in a fist. There was a green aura flaring up around her, threatening to consume everything in its path.

Kyoya nearly took a step back.

" _ Where did you get those photos and why did you have them in the first place? _ "

Let it never be said that Kyoya Ootori lost his nerve around pretty girls who looked ready to drop-kick him into next week, because his voice was completely steady as he replied, "That's of no consequence."

"We'll see about that."

And she stalked away towards her sister.

The twins groaned, "Aww! Now she's going to spoil our game!"

"No, she won't…" Kyoya's eyes narrowed as he regarded the siblings, "Jin isn't like her sister. She disapproves of the photos and of the game… but she won't interfere unless someone is going to get hurt, like how she didn't call the twin's bluff when they pretended to fight. In the meantime, however…"

The ravenet held up three photos of Jin, flashing them at the other boys over his shoulder. In the first one she looked to be a little younger than ten and was smiling up at the camera, some cookie batter on her cheek and her long hair up in pigtails. The second photo was from when she was a little older. She was curled up in a chair with a pillow and blanket, her nose buried in a book with a pair of black glasses perched on her nose. And the third one showed her older still, without glasses, and painting on a canvas. It looked like she was painting a field of flowers, but she was smiling at the camera again so they could see the blue paint splattered on her cheek and the green across her forehead like someone had painted on her.

"Whoever discovers  _ Jin's _ fear, will receive  _ these _ photos." Kyoya smirked and tucked Jin's photos into his shirt pocket, along with Haruhi's, and smiled, "If everyone is satisfied with the rules and the prizes… I suggest we get started."

* * *

"This is the place. The most haunted spot in Okinawa." Jin and Haruhi shared dubious looks before following the twins into the large cave. "They say that the only time you can even  _ find _ this cave is at low tide, and anyone who doesn't make it out before the tide comes back in drowns, doomed to haunt this dwelling for the rest of eternity."

The two guests who'd come with them were shaking in fright, so Jin gently touched their shoulders, "Hey, I doubt any ghosts would be interesting in hurting us. If there were any, they'd probably be just as scared as we are." She sighs and looks around the cave, "It's a little sad if you think about it. I'd want to help them… if I could."

Thankfully, that did the trick. The girls calmed down and looked around the cavern, "Do you… do you really think that's all ghosts are?"

"Frightened souls? Yeah. Just people who got lost along the way..."

The redheads frowned at each other. Guess Jin was out. Kaoru grabbed the fake skeleton hand he'd hidden a while ago and snuck up behind Haruhi. He inched forward… then grabbed the short girl's shoulder.

Haruhi didn't even flinch. She looked down behind her, "What the… are you guys trying to freak us out or something?"

Kaoru couldn't even speak.  _ What's with these girls? _

Jin chuckles and starts leading the clients out, "It's alright now, ladies. No one is haunting this cave except for a pair of teenage boys." The two girls giggled, now thoroughly amused. The twins groaned as Haruhi followed the others out.

_ Paranormal fear strategy… failed. _

"Haru-chan! Jin-chan! Come check this out!"

Jin looked up over the small rock pile where Honey-senpai was waving down at them, "I'll be there in a second!" She turned back to the guests, "Are you sure you two are okay?"

"Yeah."

"We're fine. Go see what Honey wants."

The brunette nodded with a smile, "Alright. You two go back to the beach now."

As the girls walked along the shoreline, Jin and Haruhi climbed up the rock pile. Or, more like Haruhi was the one climbing. Jin sort of bounded up, rock by rock. She and Honey had to wait a full minute at the top rock for Haruhi to reach them.

"I swear... you must have studied with mountain goats while at the Dojo."

"No. You're just slow."

"Shut up, Nēchan. What did you want to show us, Honey-senpai?"

The small boy smiled up at them before turning around and heading down the other side of hill, "This way!" Not really given much choice, the two girls followed the blond down the hill and a little further down the beach. In the end, they came across… Kyoya's police force?

"Uh… Honey-"

"Come on up, you guys!" Honey was now in the back of the big truck, gesturing for them to join him. Jin cast a glance at the group of officers watching.

"Is it really okay for us to use the truck?"

"Yes, Worthy Matron Fujioka!"

Jin shrugged, "Okay then, I'll bite." She climbed up into the bed of the truck and helped her sister inside. The second they were standing upright, Honey addressed the squad.

"Please lower the door, Private Police People!"

The group shouted in response, "Yes, sir!"

The back door shut with a snap, throwing the three into complete darkness. Jin frowned, her suspicions now confirmed. _ There are probably a million and one ways for this game to turn sour. Thank goodness Haru is hard to scare.  _ The tall brunette blinked a bit, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness as a shiver ran down her bare spine. _ Me… a little less so… but still, I doubt they're going to discover our _ phobias _ by tonight. Anyways, back to the problem at hand, exactly how long are we going to be in this truck- _

"IT'S DARK AND SCARY IN HERE I CAN'T BREATHE SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF HERE I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"

"H-Honey-senpai!"

"Calm down!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

_ Claustrophobia attack strategy…. Failed. _

Once the three were back in the light and Honey finally released his death-grip on Jin's leg, the sisters walked back up the beach…

Only to be stopped by a harpoon pointed at Haruhi's face. Her eyes got really big really fast, but then she noticed who was holding the weapon.

"Mori? Um… you're my senpai. Not a sentai."

Jin's lips twitched at the play on words before the harpoon was shifted to point at her. An action to which she responded by shooting the tall boy a look.  _ Really? You've known me for how long and you think I might be afraid of a sharp object? _ Mori let the harpoon tip point towards the ground, looking disappointed.

_ Fear of sharp objects strategy… Failed. _

Jin looped an arm around her sister's shoulder and steered her away, "So, Haru, what do you want to do now? The sun's starting to set… anything in mind?"

Haruhi saw a bucket and shovel still by their towels and umbrella, so she ran over to scoop them up, "I think I'll go hunting for more shellfish for dinner."

Her sister smiled a bit, "Alright. Any that have escaped your earlier hunt are probably hanging out in the shallows right about now."

The shorter girl frowned slightly, "Oh… right. Well, what are you going to do?" Jin shrugged and placed her hands on her hips, looking down the beach. Just a little ways away was a large pile of rocks, jutting out a little over the water.

"Maybe a little rock climbing. I'm sure the sunset would look even prettier from higher up."

Haruhi followed her sister's gaze before nodding in approval, "How about I hunt somewhere near there? Then we can keep an eye on each other?"

Jin smiled and tossed the sunglasses that were still perched atop her head onto her beach towel, "Sounds great. Make sure to get some more sea urchins for me, okay?" She ruffled Haruhi's hair before the two continued walking, Haruhi sometimes drifting towards the shallows to kick up a spray of water. Whenever she did so, Jin risked a glance up and down the beach.  _ It looks like the boys have given up. Maybe they're bored? No… wait. Tamaki hasn't tried anything yet. Neither has Kyoya. But… I can't see either of them around. Where are they? _

Jin's thoughts were put on hold when the two reached the rock pile. She shook away her thoughts and started climbing up the side, skipping the little worn down path just because she could. A few handholds later, and Jin found herself on a little outcropping. It wasn't all that big, and she was maybe another ten seconds from the very top, but she decided this was high enough for now.

Gently sitting down so her feet dangled over the side, Jin looked to the right and saw Haruhi picking up a clam from between her feet. She hummed contently before looking out to the horizon.

_ Well… I may not like the beach all that much, but this is still an awesome view. _ The sun was setting even lower now, painting the waves orange and white before they crashed onto the rock below her. That, plus the gentle breeze that sent the smell of salt over her created a calming scene… even if Jin still felt slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey, Jin! Up here!" Jin tilted her head back and saw three clients waving at her from the top, "We saw you climbing up, and thought it looked like a lot of fun!"

"Really? Glad you like it, but please be careful!"

"We will! Do you want to join us up here? The view's  _ amazing _ this high up!"

Jin nodded, "Sure! Give me a minute." She reached behind her and gripped the rock wall tightly before pulling her legs back over the edge. Carefully she stood back up and turned to face the wall, securing her first grip to start her upward climb.

"Hey, there are chicks up there, man!"

Jin froze, her eyes widening as a gruff voice fell from the top of the cliff.

"Aren't we lucky? You girls wanna hang with a couple of locals?" Quickly, Jin began climbing up the rock face. The guy's slurred speech could only mean one thing, which meant the girls were in danger.

In about seven seconds, Jin was hauling herself over the side of the cliff and planting herself between the girls and the "locals". Leveling her coldest glare at them, she snarls, "This is a private beach. Please leave immediately and we won't call the police."

The long haired boy tossed aside his empty beer can and eyed the top of her swimsuit, "Private beach you say? So does that mean we're all alone, Doll?"

"Come on…" the other boy moved forward and attempted to grab her wrist, "We just wanna show you girls a good-"

Jin grabbed the boy's wrist and squeezed, cutting him off with his own shout of pain, "No thank you. Like I said,  _ you should probably leave if you know what's good for you _ ." Watching the boy drop to his knees in pain made guilt swish around in her stomach, but if she had to use her scary face to get these drunks to leave, then so be it.

"Nēchan!" The six looked at the path just in time to watch Haruhi empty her newly filled bucket of sea creatures on the other boy. "How about you boys quite bothering them? You're not allowed to be here, weren't you listening?" Jin dropped the boy's wrist and ran to try and pull her sister to safety behind her.

"Haruhi, no! Why didn't you go get the others?!"

"Jin!"

The brunette spun around. The boy she'd just released had grabbed one of the girls by her waist. She growled, but couldn't even take a step before Haruhi was crying out for her as well. Jin twisted her head back around and saw Haruhi being held by her wrists. Only now did her sister seem to understand the danger she was in. Jin had to think fast. She grabbed one of the girls and pushed her towards the path leading down the other side of the hill.

"Go! Get the hosts!"

She took off running and Jin turned back towards the others. Haruhi was grappling with the boy who now had her shirt in his hands, but the other girls were just crying out, trying to hide their chests from the boy with grabby hands.

She focused on him first.

Jin pressed her palms to the girl's shoulders, the ones that were touching each other, and pushed them apart. The hoodie-boy looked confused for a split second before the brunette's head shot forward and knocked into his. He dropped to his knees in a daze while a few stars danced across Jin's vision. She pulled the two girls away from the boy and started pushing them towards the trail when one of them pointed over her shoulder.

"Jin! Help Haruhi!"

Her sister was now being held closer to the edge of the cliff, the water crashing below her. Jin's head was still aching from her little stunt, but she jogged across the rock, reaching out, "Haruhi!"

"I hope you can  _ swim! _ "

It was like she was watching it in slow motion. The boy released his grip on Haruhi's shirt and shoved her backwards. The girls locked eyes for a brief moment before Haru was was gone over the edge.

" _ Haruhi! _ " Jin grabbed the boy's shirt collar and ripped him away from the edge, simultaneously choking him a bit. She bent her knees, ready to dive in after her sister's shrinking form…

But didn't move. It was like some solid metal anchor was keeping her feet pinned down. It didn't matter that Haruhi was currently falling into the ocean, where she could be knocked out or even killed from this height… Jin couldn't force herself to move.

"Haruhi!"

A blond blur passed Jin's right side as Tamaki dove over the edge of the cliff.

But Jin could do nothing but stare as Haruhi screamed until she hit the water.

Her hands shook. Bitter disappointment and rage bubbled up inside her chest, tainting her vision red. A cruel, mocking voice echoed in her head,  _ Some Guardian Angel. You're supposed to protect her! If you can't even brave the ocean, then what use are you as a sister? _

"Jin!"

The brunette spun around and saw the two local boys slowly recovering from her headbutt and the accidental choking.

Her vision tunneled. Charging forward, Jin nails the long-haired boy in the nose with her elbow. As his head jerks back, she spins around to kick him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying.

The second boy seems to be smarter, because he tried to run. Jin catches up to him easily, as he was still slightly dazed after the beer and headbutt combination. She fists her left hand in his shirt and pulls him backwards. He spins around, probably to try and fight her off, but she sends her right fist straight into his face. He face plants the ground in a knockout.

The other boy groaned in pain from across the rock but didn't seem like he was getting up any time soon, so Jin faced the girls.

"You okay?" They nodded, staring at her in admiration. "Good… back to the beach, then. The police will get them."

Unknown to the three girls, there was another boy peeking out at them from behind the rocks. He clenched his hand around his empty beer bottle and eyed the really hot chick in the black bikini. Oh, the things he could do to her body… but he couldn't think about that. He'd just witnessed that little  _ bitch _ take down his two best buddies without so much of a fight! Pissed off didn't even come  _ close _ to how he felt.

As the girls slowly made their way down to the beach, he looked down at his bottle and formed an act of revenge. Sure, if he'd been sober, he might've stopped and thought about it a little more. Probably let everything go and focus on helping his friends recover from their wounded pride and facial injuries, but unfortunately he was drunk.

And so he put his "plan" in motion.

* * *

Jin was silent as the three made it to the bottom of the hill. The whole way down she'd heard nothing but praise and thank-you's and questions about Haruhi's health. She nodded and shrugged with her responses, but all she could think about was Haruhi. Why she'd gone up to face the boys. And Jin's utter failure in protecting her.

"Jin, look!"

The brunette looked up from the sand and saw three familiar looking forms running towards them. It looked to be Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya. She raised a hand to wave just as something hard cracked against her skull. A high-pitched scream ripped out of her throat as she heard the sound of shattering glass and felt something cut into her head. Pain exploded in her mind and she reacted without thinking.

Before the two girls were even finished screaming in surprise, Jin spun around and knocked her attacker down with a roundhouse kick. The remaining bottle tumbled out of his grasp as the boy hit the sand, unconscious.

She panted, the pain in her head growing into a substantial headache. Reaching up, she tenderly ran her fingers through her hair to pull out any large glass bits. There weren't any, probably because she'd braided it so tightly. But... she felt something wet and sticky in her hair.

_ Beer? _

She pulled her fingertips away red.

_ Nope. _

Jin stumbled as the girls screamed in terror. From behind her, two arms wrapped around her chest just before her legs crumbled beneath her. Slowly her body was eased downwards until her legs were stretched out in the sand, her upper body leaning backwards against someone's chest. Long fingers tenderly cupped the pain filled side of her head as a deep voice next to her ear barked out an order to… subdue? Some canoe? The glue? The ringing in her ear was too loud to really hear him correctly.

Her vision darkened and Jin was barely aware that it was because her eyelids were closing. The same voice spoke again, softer this time. It said her name. Something about… staying awake. Yeah... there it was again. Stay awake. Jin, stay awake.

_ That's right. I have to stay awake. Haru is scared… she doesn't like it when I fall asleep before her when she's scared. _

_ Haru… _

_ Haruhi! _

Jin forced her eyes open and grabbed one of the arms around her. Kyoya's face swum in front of her eyes, looking very concerned for once.

"Jin?"

She struggled to make her mouth form the right words, " _ Haruhi… safe? _ "

"Yes."

Jin nodded once before her head fell forward and the world dissolved.

* Kyoya's P.O.V. *

" _ Haruhi… safe? _ "

"Yes."

The girl nodded before her eyes shut and her head lolled forward. A foreign feeling filled my chest, making it tighten. Was this… panic? I re-secured my left arm's grip around her waist and looped my right arm under her knees, standing up with her in a bridal carry. The two clients, Asa Himura and Midori Kato if memory served correctly, were staring at Jin's limp body in horror.

I stare at them, "Run to my family's villa on the hill! Tell any staff you find to call for a doctor! You'll be escorted to your hotel afterwards!"

They nodded frantically and took off, leaving me behind to carry the girl. I adjusted my grip a little more and noticed a small trickle of blood starting to trickle down the right side of her face. Her hair was all but soaked with it, making her head stick to my shoulder, and my left hand was coated with it. I felt sick. And I'd felt even worse when I lied to her about her sister's condition. I didn't know anything about where Haruhi was, or why Jin didn't think she was safe, but I had to say  _ something _ .

"Assailant subdued, sir!"

The twins had finished tying the boy up with a piece of rope I don't recall them having a moment ago. They were staring hungrily at him still, like they wanted to pay back the favor for him making Jin bleed.

"Good, my police force will collect him later." That was all I said before the three of us hurried back towards the center of the private beach, where the stairs that lead to my family's villa were. My heart pounded, and I was sure the 1st years beside me felt the same. The girl in my arms could be bleeding out for all we knew, and the knowledge that her attacker would be charged with assault and battery on top of trespassing was very a poor substitute. It didn't help that I couldn't run very fast with the heavy girl in my arms. My muscles strained in ways I didn't know they could, but I refused to slow down.

That being said, it took us almost two minutes to reach Mori and Honey-senpai. They were standing by the water with a drenched Tamaki and Haruhi. Despite Jin's condition, I felt some relief knowing at least that I hadn't lied to her about her sister.

We drew closer and I heard Tamaki shouting at the small girl about something. Honey interrupted him once he saw us, seeing his old friend in my arms and shouting her name in cautious panic. The other three hosts turned in our direction soon after.

They saw Jin.

Haruhi's face changed from annoyance to fear in an instant, "Nēchan?  _ Nēchan?! _ "

"There should be a doctor either standing by at the house or on his way," I handed the hurt girl to Mori who quickly scooped her up securely in his arms. For a second he simply stared at his childhood friend, worry flooding his face. As strange as it was to see Mori-senpai showing any sort of emotion, we didn't have the time for him to absorb the situation. I grabbed his forearm to make him look at me.

"You're stronger and faster than I am! Go!" The tall boy clenched his jaw and nodded in abrupt understanding before racing up the sand, the six of us right behind them.

* Timeskip *

I sat very still in the plush chair, not feeling any of its comfort. In front of me was a hospital bed. White sheets, beeping monitors, the works. Jin Fujioka was laying on her back in the center of it, white bandages wrapped around her head and a few wires connected here and there along her body.

My mouth felt uncomfortably dry as I watched her. It was too quiet in the room, despite the irritating beeps from the machines. The others were somewhere else in the villa, each of them having left at one point or another. While I'd been explaining to the others what had happened, Haruhi had burst into tears and needed to be escorted down the hallway by the twins. That lead to Honey-senpai walking away without a word, which took Mori-senpai with him. Tamaki was obviously still troubled by his fight with Haruhi and left soon after them.

I had to stay behind, by myself. After all, someone needed to explain to Jin what had happened once she woke up. Dr. Nakahara had assured us that she probably wouldn't wake up for a few hours, but even so…if she woke up sooner I didn't want to leave her alone in this strange room where she might try to stand up and hurt herself further.

My eyes dipped to look at my left arm. I had changed out of my white t-shirt and washed my hands between explaining the accident and the doctor finishing up with Jin's bandages, but it was like I could still see the blood stains. My left hand looked darker in color than my right one. The sick feeling in my stomach returned with a vengeance. I've never seen someone I know that injured before, bleeding and passed out, let alone touched them. And she just looks so  _ pale _ .

" _ Hey, Glasses. _ " My head jerked up with a start.  Jin was watching me from the bed with a small smile, " _ You gonna tell me where I am? _ "

For a moment I couldn't speak. It felt like a wave of relief had just washed over my entire body, so I simply relished in the calming feeling. She was awake.

The moment passed and I remembered she'd asked a question, "You're in my family's Villa's emergency medical clinic. Dr. Nakahara just left, but he says you'll be fine. The cuts on your head didn't require any stitching and you should be fully healed in less than a week."

Jin hums in amusement, " _ Emergency medical clinic. You guys have an arcade in here too? _ "

She made a move as to sit up and I jumped from my seat, lightly grabbing her arms to keep her from moving more, "Don't over-exert yourself!" Jin stared at me, determination in her eyes.

"Will you help me sit up, then?"

I sighed and nodded, releasing her in order to pile her pillows up around her back and sides, "Really, what use is wrapping bandages around your head if you're just going to accidentally pull them off? Do you know how the rest of the club would react if you hurt yourself further?"

Jin sighed and dropped her head lightly onto my right shoulder. I paused before dismissing it. She was probably exhausted and I did just tell her not to move.

"Let me guess. Honey cries. Tamaki blames the twins. Haru freaks out. And you get a headache, right?"

I couldn't help but chuckle softly and continue adjusting the pillows around her, "Correct."

Quickly finishing with the pillows, I pulled away and helped her lean back against them. She was now sitting upright, but still relined backwards a bit.

"Thanks, Kyoya." She spared me a soft smile of gratitude before pointing at her head, "So, what's the damage?"

A quick decision made me sit down on her bed, near her knees, "In a word, you were lucky. Your assailant hit you hard enough to break the bottle, but despite knocking you out there wasn't much damage where the broken glass was concerned. Most likely due to how intoxicated he was at the time and your french braid. You simply have a few minor cuts. You will have to apply some anti-bacterial spray twice a day for the next week, you are not to stand for too long or participate in any strenuous activity or you risk blacking out again for that same time frame. And Dr. Nakahara had to completely shave the back of your head to tend to your wounds."

Jin's eyes widened so fast it was comical, nearly flying out of her bed, " _ WhAT?! _ "

I struggled to keep a blank face while she panicked, but not even a few seconds later the girl scowled at me, leaning back into her pillows, "I suppose you think you're some comedic genius?"

I smirked, "Quite. Your face was priceless."

My classmate grabbed the pillow that I'd stuffed by her left side and swatted me with it, "Since when did you stop acting like a stuck-up prick?"

"Unclear. Perhaps I'm just tired. Or relieved."

Jin hit me lightly a few more times before she grew tired and leaned back again, a smile playing on her lips, "You're a jerk, Kyoya Ootori."

I shake my head. Her words of endearment were something to get used too. I stood up again, ready to leave her and tell the others that she was awake, but stopped. A question revisited me. Actually, two did, but I was thinking of one that was far more important.

Jin noticed.

"Kyo-"

"Why did you confront them by yourself?"

The following silence stretched between the two of us for a long time. Jin held my gaze, and I wasn't about to back down either. A strange anger was now taking over. Jin didn't look like she was looking forward to answering my question, but I needed one. I needed to hear her reasoning for being so… so…  _ calm _ about this entire situation.

"I confronted them because there was no one else nearby who could have. I knew I could fight them off and I wasn't just going to stand by and watch and wait for reinforcements."

My anger grew and began spilling over the edge, "You might be an honorary Haninozuka, but clearly you were not prepared for  _ this _ , so  _ why?! _ " As I continued to glare at the girl, I noticed that the rage I felt at this moment wasn't at the inconvenience of the flower baskets or even at the knowledge that a handful of damn _ locals _ (I'd been informed recently that there had been more than one) could enter my family's  _ private beach _ while  _ drunk _ . I was furious at the idea that this girl, whom I was beginning to grow comfortable with enough for verbal banter, was  _ dumb enough _ to put herself in so much danger that she ended up on a  _ hospital bed _ ! It didn't even look like she cared!

But Jin looked like she was growing pissed herself, leaning forward and practically spitting out her words, "I handled the two boys I was facing just  _ fine _ , thank you very much! And in case you didn't notice, I  _ did _ send one of the girls down to you guys for help! If things had happened like I'd planned, I might not have even needed to lift a finger against those idiots!"

"But they  _ didn't! _ "

Jin snapped her jaw shut and looked down at her hands, suddenly subdued, "Haruhi… she came up. I tried to protect her, told her to turn the other way and get you boys for help, but she was too far away. And she wouldn't listen to me. I couldn't protect her and the girls at the same time and..."

I sat on her bed suddenly, surprise making my legs feel a little weak, "So...are you blaming…  _ Haruhi _ for your injury?" The mere thought of that accusation coming from Jin was mindblowing, let alone the fact that she'd just called her sister by her full name instead of 'Haru'.

"No!" Jin looked back up quickly, which probably made her head ache, "She didn't mean to get me or anyone else hurt and she just wanted to help! Besides," she tangled her fingers together in her lap, "I do take a lot of the blame for why she did it." Now I was beyond confused.

"Why? With the way you two behave I would've assumed that she'd go for help once she knew you were protecting the guests."

Jin sighed and tucked her feet up until she was sitting in the butterfly position under the covers, "I… I left her alone last year. It was hard, for the both of us, to go from having a constant companion to being all alone after all these years. I handled it better than her because it was me who did the leaving and I have a few more "life-experiences" than her. But Haru...she thinks she can handle everything on her own now, even when she can't. I won't always be around but I won't always be far away either… and I wish she knew that."

There was silence after her explanation. I didn't know exactly what to think of it. So, Haruhi was the one who was really at fault here, and Jin knew it. I was still upset at Jin for some reason, one I couldn't quite place yet, so I made to stand up. Perhaps some fresh air would clear up my thoughts.

"I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

"For making you all worry," Jin lifted her left hand, pulled back a little, before reaching forward to lightly rest her fingers on the back of my hand, "I didn't mean to do that, and I feel bad." Her fingers wrapped around mine and gave them a light squeeze. I looked down at where she was touching me. Normally, physical contact isn't exactly my favorite thing in the world, but this time it felt nice. Reassuring, even. Like she was proving that she was here, and awake, and well.  _ The Nurturing Type at her best... _

I spared her a small quirk of the lips, "You didn't do anything. It was the boy who hurt you that made us worry about anything at all… but apology accepted." I went to pull away again, but she tugged on my hand before I could.

"Kyoya?"

"Yes?"

"Is Haru really okay?" _ Aaaaaand, she's back to normal. _

I smiled and stood up, giving her hand an experimental squeeze in return, "You can see for yourself at dinner."

Jin smiled and leaned back in her bed, letting go of my hand and taking the warmth with her, "Okay."

* No One's P.O.V. *

_ Well, this looks like the place. _

Jin checked the small, impromptu map in her hand that Kyoya had left with her before leaving. If she'd followed all of his directions correctly, then this should be the dining room. A sharp pain stabbed above her right eye and she let out a quick breath, pressing her hand against the wood. She turned her head and stared out the window, the darkness doing wonders for the pain.

Only… it looked like a storm was rolling in. She hadn't done any weather checks before coming, so she hoped it wouldn't be a thunderstorm. Hopefully just a small rain shower.  _ That would be nice, especially after how this day went. _

Once the headache passed, she straightened back up and decided to just go for it. Pushing the doors open, Jin looked in and saw the rest of the host club. They seemed to be admiring her sister, who was in a pink dress. Jin smiled.

"Well, at least I wasn't the only one." The others turned at Jin's voice and their faces lit up.

"Jin-chan!"

"Wow, Jin! Nice dress!"

" _ Nēchan! _ "

Haruhi leaped forward and hugged her sister tightly, a few spare tears leaking out in relief, because there was a big difference between  _ hearing _ your sister was okay, and  _ seeing _ it.

Jin squeezed Haruhi's shoulders quickly before pulling away, "Sorry, Haru… but I get light headed easily with this thing." She gestured up to her bandaged head before bringing her hands back down to rest on her sister's shoulders. "We have a few things to talk about later, but for now, how about we eat some dinner?" Haruhi didn't really like the sound of this promised discussion, but she smiled anyways.

"Alright, Nēchan. And I like your dress, by the way." Jin cast another look down at her outfit. Her father must've snuck the dark blue evening dress into her suitcase without her knowing about it… which was sort of impressive on his part.

"Jin-chan, are you going to be okay?"

The tall girl smiled at her friend, "Yes, I will be. And I'm sorry you guys, for making you worry about me."

Honey hurried over and hugged Jin around her waist, "It's okay, Jin-chan! We forgive you!"

"Yeah, it was all that idiot boy's fault anyways!"

"We're just happy you're safe!"

"Mmm."

"Yeah. I'm glad you're safe, too."

Jin pulled away from the multiple hugs and spotted Tamaki sulking behind a column. She noted how Haruhi wasn't looking at the blond either, so she had a feeling they'd had an argument of some kind. Haru wouldn't meet her eyes, so she couldn't find out that way either. The boys were looking at her sister expectantly, but Haruhi didn't seem like she was about to speak again.

The dinner that followed was, if possible, even more awkward and uncomfortable. Jin's mouth was salivating at the thought of crab-legs and sea-urchin, one of her favorite meals, but the tension made it hard to enjoy it or strike up a conversation. And Haruhi stuffing her face with any shell she could get her hands on was not helping in the slightest.

Jin cast a nervous gaze at her sister.  _ Is she trying to make herself sick? _ It wasn't like she could ignore the strange behavior either. She was sitting directly across from her sister, probably because her seat was the closest to the bathroom should her head injury make her nauseous or something, and the person beside her was one of the few who could lead her to said bathroom.

Everyone else was uncomfortable as well. Before they'd all dug in, Kyoya had been scribbling nonsense sentences in his journal, just to look like he was doing something. Honey was fidgeting in his seat. The twins were silent for once. Tamaki was flinching every time Haruhi cast aside an empty shell. Jin rolled these actions in her mind for most of dinner before something clicked.

_ Does Haruhi… not realize she should've gone for help? _ A sick twist in her stomach made her set down her crab. Or perhaps that was from Haruhi finishing up her  _ twenty-seventh _ crab leg.

"Don't you think you've had enough? Give it a rest!" Tamaki weakly tried to point out.

"Excuse me?" Jin buried her head in her hands as Haruhi continued to stuff her face, "I thought that you weren't speaking to me."

One more snap of a leg and Tamaki had had enough. He roughly pushed his chair back and stood up, "Fine. Be a child. Kyoya, would you mind showing me to my room?"

The ravenet to Jin's left patted his lips with his cloth napkin, "Very well. Excuse me, everyone." The two boys walked silently out of the room. The doors banged shut and Haruhi's head dropped.

"Maybe he's right… I should learn how to protect myself."

The remaining five teenagers at the table relaxed into their chairs, "So he finally got to you, huh?"

"Yeah… I guess so." The shorter girl peeked up across the table, "Nēchan, maybe you could give me some lessons?"

Jin poked at the small pile of empty crabs on her plate, "I suppose I wouldn't mind… but that's not really the point, Haruhi." At that word, Haruhi felt something akin to being punched in the gut and swiftly looked back down at the tabletop, fiddling with the corner of her napkin.  _ Nēchan said my full name. Did I really mess up that badly? _

"To be honest, we were all worried about how recklessly you acted."

"The boss and your sister especially. Jin-senpai even refused to black out until Kyoya-senpai told her you were okay."

Haruhi gasped softly, "But… I didn't cause you any trouble."

"Haru-chan, you fell off a cliff. Jin-chan might have gotten hit in the head with a glass bottle, but that was a fluke and she's also trained in martial arts. We were all worried about you… because you went up even though you could've gotten really hurt. I think you should just apologize, kay?"

Haruhi blinked, "You guys… were worried about me?" She looked back over the table, "Nēchan?"

Jin sighed and looked her sister in the eyes, "Haruhi, you needlessly put yourself in danger. I'm sorry, but… I would've been able to fend the boys off long enough for the proper authorities to be called without getting violent if… What I mean to say is, I'd feel much better about going off to college or wherever in the world I may end up in if I knew you had figured out when to fight and when to go get help." She smiled gently, "You don't need to handle everything on your own, and I'm not the only person you can depend on either. We're all here to help each other."

The younger Fujioka stared at her sister for another few moments before reaching up to rub at her bare arms, "Guys… I'm really sorry."

Instantly everyone was hugging Haruhi, cooing over how cute she was and forgiving her immediately. Jin, of course, had to hang back a little, but was comfortable just watching from her chair.

Until Haruhi's stomach made a weird gurgling sound.

"Uh… is something wrong?"

"I'm not feeling too good…"

Jin's eyes widened, "You ate too much crab. Come on, let's get her to the nearest bathroom!" The brunette jumped to her feet and grabbed her sister's arm, pulling her and the other boys out of the dining room.

They got maybe twenty paces away before Jin slowed down and dropped to her knees, clutching at her head with a groan of pain. Thank goodness the boys acted as quickly as they did. The twins each grabbed one of Haruhi's arms and continued steering her to a restroom while Mori gently scooped up his friend, cradling her in a similar way to how he'd carried her off the beach earlier. It was just his imagination, but he felt like he could still see blood dripping down her face and making her hair sticky.

Honey raced ahead of the two, opening and closing doors until he located her suitcase and beach bag, "Here's Jin-chan's room, Takashi!"

Mori hummed and carried the whimpering girl inside, laying her down on her bed and offering her the glass of water and pair of pills waiting on the bedside table. Jin carefully clutched the water and took a sip of it first before swallowing the pills, one by one. Once she finished, Mori put the empty glass on the nightstand and tucked the girl in under the covers.

"Thank, Mori-senpai."

The boy hummed and gave her right hand a gentle squeeze before leaving. Jin closed her eyes, but the harsh pounding in her head wouldn't let her sleep, despite it dulling ever so slightly. She knew it wasn't the pills just yet, but they probably wouldn't hurt either.

Three minutes later Jin couldn't take it anymore. It was like she could  _ feel _ something wrong. It wasn't in her head. More like a gut reaction. And it was bugging her like mad.

_ Knock knock _

"Hey, Jin? Do you have some lotion? I got a pretty bad sunburn… what happened? Why are you already in bed?" Jin sat up slowly and Tamaki was quick to rush to her side and help her. For a moment Jin ponders whether Tamaki had subconsciously influenced Kyoya to do the same for her earlier.

"Haru got sick from all the crab she ate, and I stood up too fast to help her and got a really bad headache."

"Haruhi is sick?"

"Yeah. My headache is mostly gone now, but I don't know where Haru is. Could you help me find her? I know I'm probably just paranoid, but I'm getting worried." Tamaki hesitates for a moment before nodding and sitting beside Jin.

"I'm afraid the lotion is going to have to wait…"

"It's no big deal, I'm sure Kyoya has some. Put your right arm around my neck and shoulder. We don't want you hurting yourself again." Jin did as he instructed and soon the two were steadily walking towards the door. She tried to walk a little faster, but Tamaki's grip around her waist kept her at a moderate pace, "Hey, don't get too worked up, Jin. I'm sure Haruhi is safe and sound."

Jin nodded, keeping quiet. No need to tell Tamaki about the uneasy feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Something was... off. And she had a feeling Haruhi was smack-dab in the center of it.

* With Kyoya and Haruhi *

Haruhi stared up at the boy hovering over her body. Kyoya's eyes were narrowed, hair hanging down to give him a more wild expression... but at the same time she could see the discomfort flickering in his eyes. Suddenly she understood. He was doing this to prove a point. Exactly  _ how much _ danger she could've been in. If the boys had figured out she was a girl. And then... then there was the whole idea of  _ Kyoya _ doing something like this. Which gave her the advantage.

"You won't do it. It wouldn't do you any good, or give you a benefit..."

Kyoya regarded her for a moment before smiling, holding back his laughter and sitting up, "I suppose you're right, in your own way."

"-and you wouldn't want to upset my sister, either."

Of course, at that, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Now, why do you assume that I care about upsetting her?"

Haruhi sat up on his bed, smiling again, "Um, other than the fact that she could easily put you and the rest of your police force in the hospital?"

Her words sent a hint of fear to the base of Kyoya's spine. Forget actually going through with his fake threat, just  _ being _ in that previous position most likely would've angered Jin enough to break every bone in his body and leave him for dead. It was an odd feeling to know you could imagine the same person with a white picket fence and two children bouncing around  _ and _ as the bringer of the apocalypse.

The brunette tilted her head and leaned to her right, trying to look her senpai in the face, "Look, it's pretty obvious that you respect her a lot, especially now that you two are finally starting to get past your annoyance with each other. And since a friendship with Nēchan might help you in the future, you wouldn't do anything bad to me because it would make Nēchan lose all respect for you. But all business matters aside… I have a feeling that you  _ want _ to be friends with Nēchan anyways, no matter the benefits."

Kyoya doesn't say anything. He can't think of a response. Did he want to be friends with Jin Fujioka? Having friends wasn't exactly something he was known for, but before he can consider it further they hear a voice from the hallway.

"Haru? Haru, where are you?"

Haruhi quickly stands up and hurries over to the door, opening it, "I'm right here, Nēchan. Kyoya let me use his bathroom."

Tamaki, with Jin hooked over his shoulder, slowly walked into the room. The taller girl smiled at Kyoya, "Well, that was nice of him."

Everyone in the room quickly notes that Jin is leaning very heavily on Tamaki. Kyoya even felt a twinge of concern.  _ Does she really care so much about her sister that she'd work herself to blacking out to find her? _

He answers his own question quickly,  _ Duh. _

"Nēchan, are you feeling alright?"

"Um, not really," the taller brunette loops her other arm around the front of Tamaki's chest, gripping onto his left shoulder with both hands and making him hold her around the waist to keep her upright, "I-I kind of… I think I need to sit down. Tamaki, could you…"

The blond moves the girl across the room and into the chair Kyoya had been sitting in a little while ago.

"Well, it looks like you're in good hands now, Jin. Kyoya, I'm going to borrow your lotion. Have a good night everyone." And he left. Haruhi visibly deflated, so Jin waved her off.

"Go apologize. It's not like you don't know where I am."

Haruhi nodded and hurried out of the room, calling her senpai's name. The door shut softly behind her, which was a gift to Jin's softly pounding head. She closed her eyes and panted slightly, feeling slightly annoyed at how breathless she was. She had literally been walking for maybe two minutes. Tops.

Hearing the sounds of shifting fabric, Jin peeked through her eyelids and saw a shirtless Kyoya holding a bottle of water out for her. She smiled gratefully and took it, "Thanks. Do you think you could put a shirt on, now?"

"First, it's no problem. Second, no, I will not. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Jin goes for a smirk, but it looks pretty half-hearted, and took a sip before answering, "I got hit in the head with a glass bottle. I thought we covered that already?"

Kyoya doesn't look amused, so she takes another quick sip and follows up, "A hit on the head mixed with a small surge of adrenaline. Not the best combination, I must say." Another sip, "And by the way, about you lying to me earlier? I'll let it slide. For now."

Finally Kyoya's lips quirked up in a smile, "Noted. Well, since you're here, I must admit that I am curious about something and would like a few answers. If you can provide them."

Jin takes another drink and gestures for him to continue with her other hand.

"I couldn't help but notice that you didn't jump into the ocean after Haruhi when she fell. Why?" The bottle was slowly lowered from her lips. Jin nibbled on the inside of her bottom lip before answering.

"...Tamaki was-"

"I highly doubt you were even aware that Tamaki was behind you. Why didn't you jump?" When the girl didn't respond, Kyoya crouched down in front of her, looking at her face, "Are you afraid of the ocean, Jin? Is that why you don't like the beach?"

"No… not really. I just…  _ IhaveGaleophobiaalright? _ "

It takes a moment for Kyoya to register her words, since the last sentence had come out all at once, "Galeophobia?" She nodded slowly. "And that is the fear of…"

"Sharks. Look it up."

Kyoya regarded his classmate before standing back up, walking over to his own suitcase, pulling his laptop out of the front pouch, and quickly powering it up. Jin drained the last of her water and watched as he took a seat across from her and started typing.

Less than a minute into his search, Kyoya looked back up, "Well, that explains a lot, I suppose."

"Suppose it does. Just… don't tell the others. I don't need them trying to test if I'm really afraid of sharks just so you can win some stupid pictures."

Kyoya looks at her in surprise, "Pictures… I don't-"

"Oh please, you have photos of my sister. Of course you would have some of me too. By the way, I don't appreciate how you boys went about the contest. You tried to scare us. What if Haruhi really was afraid of enclosed spaces and had a panic attack? How would you have felt then?"

Kyoya had the decency to look a tad concerned, "It says on the website some people who suffer from Galeophobia have panic attacks. Do you-"

"Yes, I do, and it's not pretty. Last time it happened it went on for hours." She leaned forward, "How would you boys have liked to experience that in person?"

"I am...glad that we didn't. I apologize."

Jin stands up and smirks, eyes growing soft, "Apology accepted, Kyoya." She waved at him before walking out of the bedroom, "Good night."

Shutting the door softly behind her, Jin remained still for a while. _ I just shared my deepest, darkest fear with Kyoya Ootori. _ She let out a puff of air that almost resembled a laugh.  _ I must be losing my mind… _

The window at the end of the hallway lit up with a bright light just before a low rumble echoed through the house. Jin felt her chest tighten up as any trace of amusement vanished.  _ Shit. _

She wanted to run… but her legs simply refused to put one foot in front of the other faster than a light jog. Thank goodness Kyoya's room wasn't that far from Haru's. Jin opened the door and nearly fell into the bedroom.

"Haruhi!"

No one was there, but she heard a faint 'Nēchan' coming through the left wall. Her bedroom. Jin didn't even bother shutting the door before stumbling next door.

As soon as she opened the door a quivering lump underneath the comforter cried out, "Nēchan!" Tamaki was sitting beside the lump and seemed to be trying to pull the blanket off, so Jin stumbled forward and pushed his hands away.

"Haru? Haruhi, I'm here!" The blanket fell away and the small girl hiding beneath it quickly latched herself around her sister. Kind of like a koala. Tamaki would've found the action adorable if said girl wasn't also whimpering and shaking like a leaf.

Jin starting rubbing Haruhi's back and stroking her short hair, making shushing noises by her ear and rocking back and forth, " _ Shhh… shhh… it's okay, Haru. I've go you. _ " The small girl seemed to relax in her arms, but the tension returned as another roll of thunder shook the villa.

"Jin, what's wrong with her?"

She raised her voice slightly, "Haru is afraid of thunder and lightning. I need you to go into Haru's room, go through her bag, find her headphones and music player, and bring them back here. Quick!" Tamaki was out like a shot, leaving the door open as he went, so Jin returned her attention to her sister.

Scooting backwards so she could sit cross-legged on the bed with Haruhi seated in her lap, Jin continued to pet and rock her baby sister. Haruhi's shivering would ease up, but each boom of thunder would freak her out again.

Jin sucked in a deep breath and leaned her head down so her mouth was right beside Haruhi's ear, an English song rolling off her tongue.

" _ Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens… _ " Haruhi took in a shuddering breath, but her shakes stopped completely.

" _ Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens… _ " Jin smiled as the arms wrapped around her neck didn't tighten as the thunder rolled overhead again.

" _ Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things… _ " Haruhi sighed and moved her head so she was pressing her ear against Jin's chest, right above her heart.

"Nēchan? Where's Tamaki-senpai? Wasn't he here?"

Jin nodded and kept stroking her sister's hair, "He went to get your music. He'll be right back, and then we can get you to bed."

Haruhi nodded mutely and curled up in Jin's embrace, who continued to sing the next verse.

" _ Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels _

_ Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles _

_ Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings _

_ These are a few of my favorite things… _ "

Haruhi jumped a bit when the next thunder hit shook the house, but didn't go back to choking her sister out. Jin sighed and cradled her sister close, "I'm sorry, Haruhi."

"Hm? Nēchan? Sorry? What for?"

"I… I wasn't there for you. I left you all alone and because of that-"

"Hey!" Haruhi hugged her sister, nuzzling her shoulder gently, "You and I both know that's not true. Or did you already forget what really convinced you to go to America?" Jin fell silent, so Haruhi kept going, "I get it now. I do. I guess I'm just not used to being able to depend on anyone else besides you and Dad. And, I wanted to help you for a change. I thought I could help, but I just made a mess of things."

For another few moments, the two were silent. Then Jin smiled and kissed her sister's forehead, "Well, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a hero and help those in need. Just try not to throw me off my game next time, okay?"

Haruhi scoffed and lightly shoved her sister's chest, "Oh please, it was  _ you _ who threw off  _ my _ game."

Jin snorted in response, "Haru, the only thing you did was splash a guy with sea urchins and fall of a cliff."

"Yeah, but didn't you see the motive I had for falling off that cliff? I distracted the boys to let the girls get away!"

"Haruhi, their was a second boy who would've just held the girls while his friend pushed you over."

"He didn't."

"Because I headbutted him."

The small girl laughed lightly, "Okay, maybe I shouldn't laugh… but I saw that happen and it was  _ perfect _ payback." Jin smiled, but it was short lived as another peal of thunder rumbled across the sky and Haruhi stiffened.

She slowly fell backwards, taking her sister with her and laying her down by her side, "Hey, let's get some shut eye. Sound good?"

Haruhi nodded silently and shut her eyes as Jin resumed singing

" _ Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes _

_ Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes _

_ Silver white winters that melt into spring _

_ These are a few of my favorite things… _ "

* With Tamaki *

" _ Oh, come on! It's gotta be in here! _ " Tamaki frantically pushed aside pajamas, shirts, pants, and even a plastic bag that seemed to hold Haruhi's wet clothes. He frowned deeper and tossed it out of the case to keep looking.  _ Why can't I find it? _

He unzipped the front pocket of the suitcase and stuck his hand in all the way to his elbow, but he couldn't find anything that might resemble headphones or a music player. Groaning in frustration, he went back to her clothes. Trying not to unfold anything or touch something… delicate, made the whole process slow, which made Tamaki uptight.

_ She was miserable! And she's probably in tears right now, waiting on me and my incompetence! _ His mental movie theater looped through the scene he'd left back in Jin's bedroom. Haruhi sobbing in Jin's arms, calling out for her prince while Jin cried with her, cursing Tamaki's name for being late.

In desperation, he lifted a pile of what seemed to be white, frilly tank-tops, and nearly cheered. The headphones! And the music player was plugged into them already!

"Hey… boss?"

Tamaki's body froze in place, but his head whipped around to see the entire host club, save for Jin and Haruhi, watching him from the doorway.

His voice was weak and squeaky when he spoke, " _ What are you guys doing here? _ "

"Well, we wanted to check up on Haruhi. You know… since the last time we saw her she was about to redecorated the floor with crab meat."

"But, I guess she's not here."

"Tama-chan, why are you holding Haru-chan's singlets?"

Tamaki paled and dropped the offending fabric, "It's not what it looks like!"

"You nasty pervert!"

"A panty thief! In our club!"

"I said it's not what it looks like!"

"Haruhi!" The twins took off towards Jin's room, "The boss is going through your-" They cut themselves off and stared into the bedroom. Tamaki felt like all the blood in his body drained to his toes.  _ What if Haruhi doesn't want the others to know about her fear? What if they make fun of her? What if they use it against her? WHAT IF KYOYA GIVES THEM HER PICTURES?! _

Honey, Mori, and Kyoya all walked over to stand by the twins as well while Tamaki panicked internally.

"Awww… Jin-chan and Haru-chan are so cute!"

"What?" Tamaki peeked his head into the doorway. His heart skipped a beat.

The sisters were lying down side by side, fast asleep. Jin was on her back, her left arm wrapped around Haruhi's shoulders and pulling her close so she was tucked into her side, head on Jin's shoulder. The girls were breathing deeply, chests rising and falling in time with each other. Thunder boomed in the distance and Haruhi shifted a bit, her left eyelid twitching, and Jin responded by holding the small girl closer to her, pressing her face into the top of Haruhi's head. The girl instantly quieted.

"So… so precious." Tamaki could feel himself tearing up. This was sibling love at its finest.

"First digging through her laundry-"

"-now watching her sleep."

"Is there no line you won't cross?"

The following thunder covered up the blond's sudden scream. The girls only shifted again as the bedroom door was shut for the last time that night.

* * *

"You'd better watch your back, Haruhi."

"It looks like the boss' perverted mind is after you. I wouldn't put a panty raid past him."

Tamaki felt like he could shoot beams of heat out of his eyes, he was so mad, "HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU THAT IT WASN'T WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE?!"

Haruhi ducked her head to hide her smile as she slid into the car. Jin just laughed out loud, tossing their bags in her sister. Tamaki turned his glare towards her.

"What are you laughing at? You know that what I'm saying is true!"

The girl regarded him with her big brown eyes, "Of course I do, stupid. But I also know that whether the others take my word for it or not, they're not going to ease up on the name calling." She grins and slips into the car, "It's just too much fun to rile you up!"

Tamaki gaped at her, but quickly snapped out of it as the limo drove away, "Hey! What are you doing! You can't leave me here!"

Jin and Haruhi only laughed harder.

 


	16. Road Trip with the Fujioka's!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter so much! It's a lot of fun putting the hosts into 'normal' situations they've never dealt with before. Also, some of Jin's nerdiness is going to pop up. Hope you like!

**This story is so much fun! I'm glad I can finally start mixing up the story lines. Only one problem now… I have so many ideas for the in-between episodes I don't know how I'm going to fit everything in!**

 

"Alright men! Are we ready for our trip?" Tamaki's announcement was met with a few cheers, but a certain glare was the one that caught his attention, "Kyoya! Mon ami, lighten up!"

The boy in question did  _ not _ lighten up, "This is incredibly pointless and you're going to upset both girls at once if we go through with this."

Tamaki gasped and pressed his hand against his chest, "How could you call this pointless?"

"Easily. I'm positive that you all still have homework to complete or something to study. We have no reason to go on this… trip, and it is unlikely that either girl will want us coming along."

The twins laughed, "But that makes it more fun!"

Honey bounced in place, "Besides, we all finished our weekend homework and brought a few books so we can study in the car! We're okay, Kyo-chan!"

Tamaki looked a little too smug for Kyoya's taste, "See, Kyoya? It'll all work out."

"But you're forgetting that we weren't invited."

"That's not important! We need to go with them!"

At that, the ravenet cocked an eyebrow, "We  _ need _ to? Please, enlighten me as to why we are  _ needed _ on this trip."

The blond seemed to realize he had trapped himself and started stammering, "I… I didn't exactly mean 'need', it was more like… what I mean to say is… ah…" A glance at the smile on Kyoya's face was his breaking point, "WHAT IF THEY GET INTO A CRASH? OR WHAT IF THEY GET STOPPED BY THE POLICE? WE HAVE TO BE THERE TO HELP THEM!"

The five other boys sighed in unison and glanced away from their insane 'president'. Of course that would be the whole reason behind this adventure. In fact, they'd all had a sneaking suspicion ever since they'd overheard the girl's plan two days ago while cleaning up the club room for the weekend that Tamaki would have one of his freak-outs over it.

"Tama-chan, there's no need to be worried. Jin-chan knows what she's doing."

"She got her driver's license in America! She's never driven in Japan before, so how can we know if she'll drive right?"

"Boss, really-"

"-we know it would be out of character for you to not question Jin-senpai's abilities, even after all this time-"

"-but couldn't you at least  _ try _ to understand she can handle herself?"

"I'M NOT DOUBTING!" Tamaki frantically waved his hands around, somehow reigning in his voice as well, "I'm merely concerned about the fact that she'll be making an almost 8 hour round-trip on the weekend! I can not believe that her father is sending her to Koriyama by herself after she sustained such an injury only a week ago! I'm only acting as concern as a good brother should!" The twins exchanged a glance. Now he was just repeating things he's already said about Haruhi.

"That's not true, Tama-chan! She's not by herself because Haru-chan is with her!"

"But that makes it worse!"

Kyoya rolls his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose, "There's no way we can convince you otherwise, is there?"

"I'm glad you finally understand, Kyoya!"

The others fight back their groans.

"Well… it's not like we had anything better to do today, anyways."

"It might be fun to take a road trip with Jin-chan. I mean, it's not like we've really talked to her since she came home, right, Takashi?"

"Don't blame me if we can't last for 8 hours in a car together without killing someone off."

Tamaki smiled widely, "That's the spirit, men! Now, let's go!"

* Timeskip *

The six boys had been in the limo for perhaps fifteen or so minutes and they were bored already. The twins were staring out the window, eyes glazed slightly as they critiqued the clothes of the pedestrians passing their window. Kyoya was busy running through his list of study subjects for the day. Just because Jin was taking a break from their little race for top placement in class did not mean he was going to.

Tamaki noticed how the small amount of enthusiasm for the trip was waning already and tapped the floor with his foot, attempting to think of something to entertain the boys.

"So… does anyone know why Jin and Haruhi are going down to Koriyama?"

Kyoya, of course, was the one to answer, "They're driving some supplies down to a bar that works in close relation to the bar their father works at. It would seem as though there was a problem during shipping and the supplies for both establishments were delivered to the Bunkyo bar. But, as Sundays are one of the more busy days of the week for both businesses, neither one of them can spare the extra hands to drive one way or the other. So, it would seem that Mr. Fujioka mentioned the issue to his eldest daughter who took it upon herself to help out."

"Yep."

"That sure sounds like Jin-senpai."

Suddenly, the twins straightened up in their seats and pressed their faces to the window, "And that sure  _ looks _ like Jin-senpai!"

" _ What? _ " Tamaki unbuckled his seatbelt and launched himself to the window opposite him. He stared in shock as a rather large vehicle passed by the limo, two familiar brunettes in the front seats.

"I thought you said they were leaving at 11:30!?"

"They were!"

"Well, it would appear that they decided to head out a little earlier."

Tamaki jumped back into his seat, "Yamez! Follow that black car!"

"Yes, sir." After a probably somewhat illegal u-turn, the hosts found themselves a part of what would become a 4-hour car chase.

* With Jin and Haruhi *

"Okay, Haru, ready for this?"

The younger sibling looked over the center console, "Are you?"

Jin's smile shrunk into more of a quirk of her lips, "Will you stop worrying already? I told you that I'm fine. I've been fine for days."

"Yeah, I know, but I still worry."

"Hey! I thought I was the older sister? You're supposed to let  _ me _ worry!"

Haruhi only laughed in response and rooted around in the large bag at her feet, "I'm going check our stuff one more time to make sure we didn't forget anything."

"Better hurry, Haru. We're coming up on the exit for the Tohoku expressway. No turning back once we hit the toll booth."

"Okay, okay, I'm hurrying!" The short haired girl patted the very front pocket, feeling the shapes pressed against in, "First aid kit for small injuries. Car charger for our phones." She unzipped the main pocket, "For me, two textbooks and  _ The Lightning Thief  _ and for you, one beginners book on the Swedish language. An aux cord. Two water bottles. Cheez-it bags for me and Jolly Ranchers for you."

"Hey, can you hand me one of those while you're at it?" Haruhi smiled and pulled one of the candies out at random. It was red, but that wasn't surprising considering Jin had ordered a "red" bag, which meant that she could've handed her sister a cherry, watermelon, fruit punch or-

"Strawberry." Her older sister tucked the hard candy into the side of her mouth, "These new flavors are pretty awesome."

"If you say so." Haruhi wasn't sure what it was, maybe the strange combination of sweet and shiver-inducing sour, but she just hadn't been able to develope a taste for her sister's favorite candy. "Anyways, as I was saying, we have everything plus a camera so we can 'document' anything interesting that happens for Dad."

Jin shook her head, "I'm both a little upset that he can't come and a little glad."

"Why? Because all three of us wouldn't have been able to fit?" Haruhi glanced into the back of the car as she spoke. The large company vehicle the girls had borrowed for the day was supposed to seat 8 people comfortably, but at the moment the middle and back seats were piled high with boxes full of frozen fruits, meats, olives, and cleaning supplies.

"Well, kind of. But mostly because I really wanted to drive. If I don't keep doing it, eventually I'll forget how. And besides," they came up to another red light and Jin threw her left arm around her sister's shoulders, pulling her into a side hug, "I wanted to spend some one-on-one time with little Haru."

Haruhi smiled and rested her head on Jin's shoulder, "Yeah yeah, you just need someone to keep you awake while you drive."

"Ouch, Haru. Words can hurt, you know." The light turned green, so Jin pressed a quick kiss to her sister's forehead and moved the car forward. Haruhi looked at the clock on the dash. 11:22. They had originally planned on leaving a few minutes later in the day, but they'd gotten everything packed up sooner than expected and decided to take off.

If the trip went according to plan, the two would reach Koriyama by 3:30ish. Unloading would take perhaps half an hour, so they'd be back on the road by 4 and dropping the car off at their father's work at 8. That way Jin wouldn't have to drive for so long in the dark on the expressway, and they'd be able to get some sleep for school the next day.

Jin flicked on her turn signal and went up the ramp that lead to the expressway, "Haru, card?" The short-haired girl ducked back down to her bag and reached into an inside zipper pocket. She pulled out a blue credit card and handed it over to her sister's outstretched hand. They pulled up to the toll booth and Haru glanced around.

Since the car they were using didn't have an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection), the girls had to pay with their father's company's credit card. The ETC lanes were clear, as per usual, and any car that approached went under the arch without even slowing down. Thankfully the girls seemed to have hit a lull in the traffic at the moment, because there was only one car ahead of them for the credit card payment line. The monetary transaction line was empty as well, but that was because almost no one used it any more.

The girl's car moved forward and Jin reached out of her window. She slid the card in and out of the ATM-like machine, punched in the PIN number, and they were good to go. ( **AN: I don't really know how they do it. There's only so much research I'm willing to put into this thing. Sue me.** )

Jin handed the card back to her sister with a smile, then moved out from under the gates, quickly speeding up to match the traffic. Haruhi zipped the pocket back up before she leaned back in her seat and rolled her window down. As Jin picked up speed, the wind blew harder and harder in Haruhi's face, but she welcomed it. Today's weather was predicted to be an even 22° and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. The perfect day to roll down your window on the expressway.

"Hey! Out of curiosity, how much are we going to be charged for toll this trip?" She had to shout a little to be heard over the wind, but her sister seemed to hear just fine.

"12,170¥, and half is being reimbursed by the shipping company!"

"Good!" The girls lapsed into silence for another few moments, just letting the wind blast their hair back and enjoying the nice weather.

* With the hosts *

"There! I think I see them!"

"Tamaki, not every black car on this expressway is going to be their car! We've been on this road for an entire hour with no sign of them! Why won't you give up? We should go back home and forget this whole 'adventure'."

The blond huffed in his seat, but didn't make any move that might suggest he'd given up, "We already went through the toll. The ETC was scanned. If we've paid for this trip, then I suggest we take it. If you don't like it, then go ahead and  _ walk _ home." Kyoya willed up all his internal strength to not launch himself at the idiot and  _ make _ him turn this limousine around.

"Could you two just  _ shut up _ already? Kaoru is about a pothole away from giving into carsickness and your arguing is not helping!"

"Hika-chan, don't shout at Tama-chan and Kyo-chan! And Kyo-chan stop shouting at Tama-chan! Maybe it is their car, we don't know!"

" _ I didn't even want to come on this stupid drive! _ "

The other red head who was hunched over in his seat let out a humorless chuckle, "But you did~ Probably because no matter what you say you were excited to see your-"

"If you make another idiotic wisecrack about the completely  _ non existent _ and _ mythical _ idea that Jin Fujioka and I might  _ ever _ even come close to the  _ possibility _ of becoming a couple for even  _ a second _ , I will physically throw you out of this moving vehicle,  _ Hitachiin _ ."

The red-heads just laughed, sounding more malicious by the second.

" _ See, I told you he was in denial! _ "

" _ It's all over his face! How stupid can you get? _ "

Kyoya's hands were at his seat belt buckle by the time Tamaki started smacking at his right shoulder, "It is them! I can see Jin!"

Kyoya turned his head and looked out the window behind him. True to Tamaki's word, Jin was sitting at the steering wheel of the black car they were currently driving by. Her eyes were staring straight ahead, but she seemed to be speaking.

"I knew we'd find them!" The blond's friend was about a heartbeat away from responding with 'Because you're a moron', but just then the girl they were staring at happened to glance out at the passing lane. Her eye's went wide and her jaw dropped.

Kyoya couldn't help but smirk and flick a wave. Despite how he'd been ready to violently attack the twins seated across from him, he couldn't help but admit that things were starting to become a little more interesting.

* With Jin and Haruhi *

Their day had been going so well…

After finishing her math homework (with maybe a tiny bit of assistance from the mathematician in the driver's seat), and having Jin run through a few Swedish phrases, Haruhi had pulled  _ The Lightning Thief _ out of the bag. One requirement for her English lessons was to read at least three English books, cover to cover, by the end of the school year. She had asked her sister if she'd found any recommendations while overseas, and boy did she ever.

Haruhi was perhaps a little more than halfway done with the first Percy Jackson novel, and Haruhi knew, deep down, that she was hooked. Jin was already done with the first series, now waiting patiently for her school workload to shrink before running out to find  _ The Lost Hero _ .

And, as per her sister's request, Haruhi was reading the book out loud, the windows rolled back up so she wouldn't have to shout.

"The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. 'Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible...Echidna?'"

Haruhi paused, waiting for her sister to provide her with the proper pronunciation. Because, on top of absolutely  _ everything else _ that her sister was good at or did in her spare time, she was also a big mythology buff. Norse, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Hindu, you name it, Jin probably knew a fair few of the myths and gods (since it was almost impossible to remember them all).

But her sister remained silent.

Haruhi looked over and saw her sister staring out the window to her right, "Nēchan?"

Her sister looked back out to the road, "Haru… they've found us."

The short-haired girl was confused. Normally, as a joke, whenever the two saw a police car driving down the same road they were, one of them would say, 'They found me!' and pretend to hide from the cops. But Jin looked far too serious for her to be teasing about that. And besides, Haruhi couldn't see any police cars nearby.

"Nēchan, what are you talking about?"

"The host club." Jin started snickering, "They… they're in the limo next to our car…" she started laughing out loud, releasing the steering wheel with her left hand to cradle her forehead. "Oh my god! I can't believe them sometimes! Hahaha!"

"Are you kidding me?" Haruhi pulled at her seat belt until it loosened enough for her to tuck her legs onto her seat and kneel, giving her a better angle to look out her sister's window.

And there they were. Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Honey had their faces pressed against the windows of the limousine driving alongside their car, and if Haruhi squinted, she could make out Kyoya and Mori as well. The boys were all smiling, a few waving and trying to motion for Jin to roll down her window, probably so they could talk.

Haruhi wrapped her right arm around the headrest of her seat and laughed into it. Normally she'd be a bit angry that the hosts were butting in on a day that was  _ supposed _ to be just between her and Jin, but the idea that the boys had put so much effort into following them was simply too ridiculous to be upset about. At the moment.

Suddenly, an idea surfaced in Haruhi's mind.

"Nēchan… how fast are you going right now?"

The long-haired girl flicked her gaze down and back up, "Same as usual, Haru."

Haruhi smiled mischievously, "Care to step on it?" With the smile on her sister's face, she figured that Jin didn't mind at all.

She flicked the cruise control off and placed her foot back on the gas pedal, keeping them at 105 kph for another few seconds before picking up speed. Haruhi was still on her knees and she watched the boy's faces as the girl's speedometer inched its way up.

Tamaki was the first to notice that they were falling behind. He tapped at the glass of the window and stared at Haruhi questionably. She laughed harder and waved. Then all the boy's faces changed. Mostly they looked surprised or shocked, but Tamaki (of course) seemed to be falling into a full-blown panic. He pulled away from the window only to pop his torso out of the sunroof a second later, calling after them.

The girl's merely laughed harder.

Haruhi looked down at the speedometer as Jin started to level out. 115 kph. 15 over the limit. Not  _ really _ a big problem, as they were actually now going the same speed as a lot of cars that had passed them earlier in the hour, but it was still faster than their dad would've appreciated.

"Hey, Haru, keep an eye out for Toyota Crowns for me, will you?" The two laughed again and Haruhi sat back down in her seat properly.

"If you want, but I don't think there'll be a big problem, Nēchan."

"Yeah," Jin looked out her side mirror with a big smile, "I'd be more worried for the boys, because I think they're trying to catch up to us."

Haruhi whipped herself around in her seat and looked out the back window over all the boxes. Sure enough, a black limo was picking up speed behind them. Tamaki was no longer hanging out of the sunroof, but Haruhi had no doubt it was the same car.

She smack the center armrest rapidly, "We've gotta lose them, Nēchan!"

"We can try!" A thrill of excitement was pulsing through the girls. This little chase was actually a lot of fun, and it was only funnier when they tried to imagine how the boys were reacting in their car.

* With the hosts *

"Yamez, can't you go faster?"

"I'm already pushing 115, sir. Being stopped by police would only slow us down, sir."

Tamaki pouted and bounced his knees, "Why would they run?"

His friend beside him readjusted his glasses, doing a poor job at hiding his small smile, "Perhaps it could be that they don't want to see us today. But that's only a possibility, of course."

"But why? We're a pleasure to be with, right gentlemen?" His uplifting smile was short lived as he viewed the other boys.

"Kaoru! You kicked me!"

"I didn't mean to! Maybe you should stop sprawling over seats that  _ aren't yours! _ "

"Hika-chan! Kao-chan! You're being-"

"Shut up, Honey-senpai!"

"Hey!"

"Takashi, don't get mad!"

"My back is getting sore!"

The blond refused to look his friend in the eye, "We're probably just tired of being cramped in this car together. Outside of a moving vehicle, anyone would want to be around us."

Kyoya leaned back in his seat, a little too uncomfortable to be completely satisfied, "Except for the Fujioka girls, it would seem. And don't forget the original plan was for us to be in the same car as them, which would've been even more cramped. Face it, Tamaki, you didn't think this 'trip' all the way through."

"Kyoya, I'm going to politely tell you to shut up."

"Sir, I've lost them! We're trapped behind a pair of semi-trucks going 100!"

There was silence in the car after Yamez's announcement and Tamaki blatantly ignored Kyoya's smug smirk.

* * *

"Nēchan, we need to take the upcoming exit, okay?" The older girl nodded and swung safely into the left lane, her blinker flashing at a gentle pulse. She glanced at the time and smiled. 3:04. After their little run in with the hosts and speeding up, they'd managed to shave a couple minutes off of their driving time. And speaking of the hosts, the girls hadn't seen the limo in over two hours. Haruhi assumed they'd lost them for the rest of the day, which was a good thing for her mood.

"Alright, Haru, do you have the map ready?"

"All set, Nēchan." Haruhi held the hand-drawn map in her hand. It was scribbled on a napkin from the bar, so it was a little messy, but on the other side were written instructions that told them exactly what streets to take to get to their destination.

"Alright, once we get through the toll, you're going to take the fourth left we come across."

"Got it."

For the following ten minutes, the girls repeated this trend. Haruhi would read the instructions to her older sister, and once Jin completed it, she'd read the next one. And at 3:15, the two pulled into the back of the bar and waved at the two employees waiting for them.

Jin turned the car off and they hopped out of the vehicle, "Hello! We've got your things!"

The two trannies ran forward, smiling widely and hugging the girls, "Thank you both so much for doing this!"

"You have no idea how much this means to everyone here!"

"Oh, and you're both so cute! I just want to wrap you up and take you home myself!  _ And you're wearing matching shirts! That's adorable! _ "

Jin and Haruhi took it in stride. Their father and a good half of his co-workers behaved this way as well, so it was nothing new to them. And they'd both received the same treatment while packing up the car back in Bunkyo, shirt comment and everything. The two simply waited until the cross-dressers released them and got started on the job. It took them all four trips between the car and the bar to move everything inside. The other employees were just as equally grateful for the girl's help and asked often if they were _ sure _ they didn't want to be paid for the job.

"No thanks. It's kind of against our school's policies, especially as scholarship students."

"Besides, our dad is treating us to a dinner out this week to repay us, but thank you."

The girls were, obviously, a big hit, and they ended up not leaving the establishment until around 3:48. All the employees wanted to hug them both  _ just one last time _ .

The girls sighed in relief once they finally got to walk out of the doors, "Okay, Haru. Do you still want to grab a quick bite to eat or just head on home? We've got another four hours to drive and-"

"Haruhi! Jin!"

The girls stopped short as Tamaki came flying out at them out of nowhere. The girl's were quickly wrapped up in a pair of arms that didn't seem willing to let go. Over his shoulder Jin could see the five other host club boys climbing out of the limo and stretching their legs, and they appeared to be scowling at each other.

"T-Tamaki-senpai?"

"How'd you guys find us?"

The blond was still holding them tightly as he explained, "Kyoya knew which bar you were heading to, so you weren't hard to find! But why did you run? Do you not like us?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest-"

"Sir!" Finally, Tamaki released his hold on the girls and faced his driver, who looked nervous about something, "I performed a check on the car and, it would seem as though we have a flat tire."

Tamaki paled and staggered over to the limo. Sure enough, the back left tire was flat.

"When did that happen?"

"I believe we ran over something sharp during the last half hour on the expressway and it's been slowly leaking since then." The driver ducked his head slightly, "Sir."

The blond nodded, "Well, it's okay. I mean, we have a spare tire in the trunk, yes?"

His driver looked away nervously, "Yes, but I'm afraid I don't know how to change a tire..."

Honey finally spoke up, though his smile seemed a little lack-luster, "That's okay, Yamez. I'm sure Jin-chan can help you!"

The boys all turned to face the tall girl, expectant looks on their faces. Jin, however, bit at her lower lip and scratched the back on her head, "Um… well, there's a… about that. I-uh… I'm afraid I get a little lost around cars… and car maintenance."

She gave the group a sheepish smile, and they responded with complete disbelief.

"Jin-senpai-"

"-can't fix a car?"

The girl shook her head with a side smile, "Mm-mm." The boys continued to stare, and she couldn't help but laugh lightly, "Okay, I'm flattered by how shocked you all look, but come on, no one is great at everything."

Haruhi pressed her hands to her hips, "Now if you could stop making Nēchan feel bad about not being able to help, how about we figure out how you boys are going to get home?"

At that, Yamez, which was apparently the name of their driver, looked back down at the popped tire, "I believe I can call to have the car taken to a shop nearby, but I'm unsure how long it may take to replace the tire or how busy they may be at this time of day."

Honey suddenly started bouncing on his toes, "Does that mean we get to ride with Haru-chan and Jin-chan like we planned to?"

Haruhi blanched and took a step back, "Ride? With us? Wh-why?" She looked to her sister for some backup. However, Jin was nodding thoughtfully.

"It does look that way, Honey-senpai. We can fit all of you in the car, but it'll be a bit of a squeeze." The boys who had started to look excited suddenly looked at their shoes.

"Well, we don't  _ really _ need to head home just yet."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to step in on your sister-time."

"Koriyama might be an interesting little town."

Jin frowned and crossed her arms, "Do you boys just not want to ride with us? Is that it?"

Tamaki jumped forward, "No! No no no, that's not it at all, right gentlemen?" The other boys were quick to agree, so the long-haired brunette smiled and stuck her hands into her jean pockets.

"Well, that's good. And since you boys probably don't want to get home around midnight, especially since we have school tomorrow, piling into our car would probably be the best option, right?"

The hosts exchanged glances.

"Well… if you put it that way…"

*Timeskip*

Haruhi wasn't sure exactly how her sister had managed to convince the boys to squeeze into their car, but she was  _ very _ sure that this was the most awkward road trip she'd ever taken.

To make sure that everyone fit inside the 8-seat car without wanting to strangle anyone else too badly, Jin had been quick to arrange a seating chart, of sorts. The two sisters would keep their seats in the front, obviously. Tamaki was behind Jin, Mori-senpai was behind Haruhi, and Honey-senpai was on the 'hump' seat between them. And in the back was Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya. Kyoya was behind Tamaki, probably to make sure that the redheads didn't antagonize the blond too much.

The seating worked, but it had been a very quiet and tense half hour. The boys didn't speak and seemed to be trying their best not to touch each other (though it was hard when their sides were squeezed together) and neither Jin nor Haruhi could think of anything to say.

Until Jin's cell phone went off.

The gentle chimes make everyone jump in their seats, the tension putting everyone's nerves on edge. Haruhi grabbed the iPhone going off from the empty cup holder in the center console and answered it.

"Hello? Hi Dad."

Jin gave her sister a side glance before returning her attention back to the road.

"Uh huh. Yes, we just left." The short-haired girl was silent for a longer moment before looking at the back seat, "Um… nope. Nothing terribly interesting to report. We're still on time and what not." Jin snorted from her chair, but otherwise said nothing.

"Yeah. Okay, then. See you tonight. Love you."

Jin leaned over the center console and Haruhi held the phone up to her ear, "I love you, too, Dad." She paused before laughing a bit, "Fine, if I have too. Okay. Bye!"

Haruhi pulled the phone back onto her side and hung up, "So, what did Dad tell you?"

"To not kill us in a fiery explosion."

The short-haired girl laughed and leaned back in her seat, finally feeling a bit relaxed. In turn, the boys started subconsciously relaxing as well. She looked down at the iPhone in her hands and turned it over a few times.

"Hey, do you guys mind if we listen to some music?" Jin visibly perked up in her seat at Haruhi's suggestion, which the others noticed.

Tamaki leaned forward, wrapping an arm around Jin's headrest, "Of course not, Haruhi! We'd all love to hear your commoner's music! What are we going to listen to first?"

Jin laughed and reached back with her left hand to pat the blond on the head, "Tamaki, we're going to be listening to some music my friends from America sent me."

"Really?" Honey leaned forward this time, eyes wide with curiosity, "Do they still talk to you?"

"Oh, yeah! I get emails and messages from them all the time. About half of them are lists of songs they think I should listen to."

"Why? Do you send them Japanese songs in return?"

Haruhi started plugging the aux cord into the car, "Nēchan tends to favor English songs. It's pretty much all we listen to, so she asked her friends back in America to send her songs that she might like."

The boys watched as Haruhi scrolled through the music list. Or more like, shift down a bit before smirking at the screen.

"Haru? Have you found one?"

"Yeah… but I'm not sure if the boys are going to appreciate it."

Jin turned her head a bit, "Oh? How so?"

"I want to go through our mixed favorites... alphabetically."

The long-haired brunette smiled and chuckled, "Go ahead. It's not like I'm going to say no." With one last smirk towards the back of the car, Haruhi pressed her thumb to the screen. The speakers softly let out a few notes. Like how a music box in a horror movie might sound. A dog barked, and it sounded so realistic Tamaki jumped and looked out the window.

Then the lyrics began without so much as a warning: " _ She's an American beauty! I'm an American Psycho! She's an American beauty! I'm an American- I'm an American- American Psycho! Woah! Woah! Woah! _ "

The boy's felt their jaws drop as Haruhi and Jin started jamming out in the front seats. The song was fast paced and the English words came and went so fast the boys hardly had any time to translate them mentally. Haruhi was mouthing the words like a professional lip-syncer, but Jin was actually singing aloud, matching the words note for note. They didn't even skip over the sex references!

The hosts had a feeling this was going to be an… interesting ride.

* * *

'American Beauty/American Psycho' was the first song of many the group listened to, and there were a few different ways the guys were dealing with it. Tamaki recognized a few of the songs, as he used to visit the UK often when he lived in France, so he had been introduced to a lot of English artists. He sang along, sometimes stumbling over a word or two, but he had a good voice.

The twins bounced to the rhythms, as most of them were dance tunes. Occasionally they requested a song they'd already heard just so they could dance again. Honey joined in with them. 'American Beauty/American Psycho' was actually played twice again after it's debut. Mori would bob his head to the music and tap his foot, but he would only watch the others with their dances. Sometimes he'd find himself humming along to the tune.

Kyoya wasn't sure what to think. He actually liked the songs, which was surprising. He tried to keep his mind off of that fact by finding a general thread in all the songs. But it was hard. Sure, most of them were songs to dance to, but some of them were the exact opposite. And the genres bounced all over the place. There were even a few instrumental pieces and Acapella groups sprinkled into the selection.

But the fun ended right after they finished a duet with the car beside them. Their windows had been rolled down to let in some much needed breeze when Haruhi had selected 'All Star'. As they reached the second chorus, Tamaki noticed that the car on their right had started singing along. Soon, the passengers of each car were singing to each other, smiling and laughing and genuinely having a good time.

At the end of the song, Haruhi touched the phone and quickly withdrew her hand, "Woah, this thing is getting hot. Maybe we should let it cool down for a while."

Jin nodded, "Sounds like a good idea." The boys whined as Haruhi unplugged the phone.

"Now what are we going to do? We have almost another 3 hours!"

"How about we play a car game I learned in America?"

The twins leaned forward, their eyes gleaming at the idea of a 'game', "What's it called?"

"Easy, you two. It's not meant to embarrass anyone. It's called 'Don't get me Started'. Basically, you give someone a random topic and they have to go on a minute long rant about it."

"That sounds stupid."

"Hey! Don't knock it til you try it!"

The boys offered each other shrugs before consenting to the game. Oddly enough, the previous tension they'd been holding between each other had dispersed over the past hour. No one was complaining about how cramped the car was, or how the leather seats were uncomfortably warm with their body heat. A few of the hosts didn't even notice it.

"How about I start us off? Haru, give me a topic."

"Hm…" Haruhi stared out the window, eyes narrowing in concentration, "How about… trees?"

The driver immediately straightened up in her seat, "Oh, my, gosh, don't get me  _ started _ ! Where do I begin? I mean, look at them? Why do they all look different? How are we supposed to know what they're called? And their  _ leaves _ ! What, they show up for about half the year, change color, and then just  _ fall _ ! All over the place! Ugg! It's such a pain to rake them up! And yeah, they give us air to breathe but at what  _ cost? _ "

The boys couldn't help but stare. As Jin continued with her complaints, they could almost imagine that, yes, this girl absolutely hated trees with a burning passion.

"Time!" Jin shut up and smiled as Haruhi spun around in her seat, "Who wants to go next?"

"Me! I want to go!"

Jin laughed, "Okay, Honey! Your topic... is ants."

Honey's excited face vanished quickly, "Oh. Okay. Um... Ants. They're... there's always a lot of them. And they, uh, eat your picnic! Yeah! And some of them bite! They can hurt! Um... uh, and, uh, they..." the blond boy's face scrunched up as he tried to think of something else to say on the fly. It didn't help that the twins were cracking up behind him. "They-"

"Time!"

The redheads kept laughing, "You couldn't think of anything for ants? Really?"

"Why don't you try it? It's harder than it looks!"

Kaoru shrugged, "Alright. Give me a topic."

Haruhi waved a hand, "I've got one! Kaoru, your topic is women's bathrooms."

The redhead leaned back, confused, "Women's... bathrooms?" The others laughed at the subtle hint of horror in the boy's question.

"Yup! Go!"

"Uh... well.. I'm not, I don't really... I-I can't believe how much time women spend in the bathroom!" The other boys couldn't hold their laughter in as the younger twin blushed at the words that came out of his mouth, "I mean... um, they do everything in there it seems. Makeup, hair, socialize, it's a bathroom for goodness sake! Even in movies the girl's bathroom is used for meeting places or they're shown to have a long line-"

"Time. Nice job, Kaoru."

Hikaru snickered, "Yeah... nice job. You sure know a bit about women's bathrooms, then, huh?"

His brother narrowed his eyes, "Then how about I give  _ you _ a topic?"

"Aww! But I wanted to go next!" The redhead shrugged and turned to Tamaki.

"You sure?"

"Yeah!"

"Your topic is... chimneys."

Tamaki's smile fell flat, "Oh. Right. Chimneys... let's see. Um, how dare they get so dirty?" At the blank looks the others are giving him, Tamaki finds himself oddly grasping for words, "I mean, uh, who even has a chimney any more? All they do is get dirty and sooty and are a fire hazard! Good riddance is all I can say!" He smiled, obviously pleased at his argument. The others were snickering.

"30 more seconds, Tamaki."

The blond blinked, "30 more? Oh... um, what else is there to say? They're, ah, a waste of brick? And they might make a house look... rustic, but they're too much hassle to actually use and... and... who wants an actual fire in their house? So... what would be the point of a chimney?"

"Time!"

"Wow, Tama-chan! That was actually pretty good!"

The taller blond rubbed at his forehead, "The timing was the only problem!"

"Okay, now it's my turn-"

_ Screech! _

"AHH!" The car braked really hard and the eight occupants were sent forward, being caught by their seat belts. They screamed and clutched at each other or various parts of the car interior. Kyoya's glasses slipped off the end of his nose and fell onto the floor before he could snag them.

" _ Merde! _ "

The car stopped braking and everyone was sent back into their seats with racing heartbeats. Kyoya reached down and felt around for his glasses. Thankfully they hadn't fallen beneath the seat in front of him, and he quickly jammed them onto his face. He looked towards the front of the car. Jin had her left arm swung out in front of Haruhi, but retracted it as soon as Kyoya saw and placed both hands back on the steering wheel.

She snarled at the car in front of them and slammed her hand on the horn for two seconds, " _ Salaud! Enule! Va te faire voir! _ "

Tamaki lets out a strangled gasp and stares at the girl, horrified, "JIN FUJIOKA!"

Everyone but the two girls look at Tamaki in surprise. Haruhi is now trying to muffle her laughs while Jin's shoulders tense up.

"Oops… sorry, Tamaki."

"MY MOTHER WOULD'VE THROWN ME INTO MY ROOM WITHOUT FOOD FOR A DAY IF I'D SAID THOSE WORDS!"

"He cut us off! We could've been in a crash-"

"MY PRECIOUS SISTER, HOW COULD YOU?

"Wait, what did Jin-chan say?"

"WHERE DID YOU EVEN LEARN THOSE WORDS?"

"Um… I took a French class… and excelled at it… so I'd take extra lessons and, um, check out books? And there was this tiny little book I'd picked up while doing so that read… um… swears around the world?"

Tamaki looked like he was about to have a stroke and Haruhi couldn't hold her laughter in anymore. She was joined by the twins who were cracking up in the backseat.

"Oh man! You should see your face, boss!"

"I can't take it! Who would've thought Jin-senpai would know how to swear in French?"

Haruhi turned around to face the boys, "It's a bad habit of hers. She swears in a lot of different languages, actually."

"Haru…"

"What? All I'm saying is you probably should've stuck to Swedish or Italian while Tamaki-senpai was in the car, Nēchan."

Jin cleared her throat, "Okay! How about we continue with the game? Mori, your turn!"

* Timeskip *

If you had asked Kyoya yesterday what he normally likes to do during a car trip, he probably would've said studying or catching up on all the sleep he misses during the week. And if you'd asked him to come up with minute long 'rants' about pens, straws, curtains, or vending machines, he'd think you were insane or a child. And yet, he'd done just that in the past hour and a half. Though, he had to admit it was much more fun and amusing than a game of I Spy or trivia pursuit. He even found himself laughing along as Mori-senpai came up with a very serious list of complaints about kittens.

Still, he kept an eye on the clock. The leather seat he was using was now almost uncomfortably warm. The open windows were nice and all, but it wasn't much help for the lower half of his body. And they still had another hour and a half. It was only 6:29. He sighed and tuned back into the game as Haruhi threw her hands around.

"How can they even call it art? It's literally a lump of metal twisted in a spiral shape! Modern art is  _ not art _ !"

The twins were cracking up beside Kyoya, leaning up against each other as per usual. Kyoya could almost imagine that they'd never had a single moment today where they'd been at each other's throats. He looked back towards the front of the car and found his eyes drawn to the back of Jin's head. She was certainly a very interesting woman. Skilled, intelligent... a real renaissance woman. There weren't many girls like her at their school, in fact there  _ definitely _ weren't, so it was almost no wonder that she fit in well with the host club. The other seven were all strange in their own ways, enough so that they always stood out in a crowd, and not just for their looks.

Jin turned her head all of the sudden and Kyoya pretended he was still paying attention to Haruhi's turn.

"Hey, guys, Sky appreciation moment." The six boys blinked and looked at each other. Was this another game? What did she mean?

Haruhi, however, was quick to turn and look out the window. She gasped as her eyes grew wide. One glance at her big smile and five of the hosts pressed close to the windows to the left of the car. Tamaki, being on the right, partially climbed over Honey and stared out over Mori's shoulders. Kyoya didn't move at first. He was stuck in the back seat, far right corner. Everyone was looking out of the left side of the car (except Jin, of course, she had to watch the road) and he didn't feel like fighting with the twins over a spot to look outside.

But then he turned his head anyway to see his friend's reactions, and the view from the back window caught his attention. Turning his body, Kyoya felt the air in his lungs rush out.

It was the sunset.

The sky was lit up with beautiful pinks, oranges, yellows, blues, and purples. A few clouds dotted the sky, making it look like a watercolor painting. Kyoya knew he shouldn't be staring like this, but it was hard. He couldn't remember ever seeing something as beautiful. Watching the sunset wasn't exactly something he did regularly. Sure, the photos and paintings were lovely, but now he knew that those recreations would never be able to hold a candle to the real thing.

The others seemed to agree.

For about two whole minutes, the boys do nothing but stare in silence. Eventually Haruhi went back to facing the front, but the rest of the host club was content to watch the changing colors of the sky. Eventually Jin's voice hummed softly from the driver's seat.

" _ A little different than the ones you see in the city, huh? _ "

Tamaki whispered in return, " _ We don't really look at those either… _ "

Kyoya can't see her face, but he assumes that Jin is smiling.

* Timeskip *

" _ Haruhi, get the camera out! _ "

"Hm?" The short-haired girl pulls her eyes away from the dark passing landscape to face her sister, "Why?"

" _ Take a look behind us. _ " Haruhi blinked, but turned around in her seat and looked at the boys. They were all fast asleep. Most of them leaning on each other and letting out soft sleep noises. Despite the underlying feeling of her day out with her sister being intruded on, Haruhi had to admit that she'd still had a lot of fun during the ride. After the sing-along and game playing portion of the ride, the last hour of their drive had been surprisingly mellow.

The boys had watched the sun set until the stars started coming out. Then they stared at those for a while. Honey had spotted a couple deer hanging out in a field with the help of the moon light, and it was easy to tell that most of the hosts had been more excited about that than they'd care to admit. It was kind of funny.

And speaking of funny, at some point during the last half hour Jin had shared some stories from her time in America. All of them funny occurrences when she was a part of the school's marching band. Haruhi had already heard most of them, but even she was laughing to the point of tears at Jin's stories. The boys seemed to have had a fun time and while she didn't really want to admit it out loud... Haruhi had enjoyed the boy's company. Yes, even Tamaki and Kyoya's.

" _ Okay, so they're sleeping. Why a camera? _ "

" _ Can you take a picture for me? I think this is adorable of them. _ "

Haruhi rolled her eyes, but did it anyways. Even with the flash on, the six hosts remained dead to the world. Tamaki's head fell sideways off of his headrest and smacked onto the window, but his eyes stayed closed. Haru couldn't help but snort with laughter.  _ I guess there's no denying his thick skull now. _

" _ This trip turned out better than I expected. _ "

" _ Even with the boys hitching a ride? _ "

Jin smiled, " _ No.  _ Because _ the boys hitched a ride. _ "

Her sister's comment caught Haruhi off guard, " _ So... you're glad they came with us in the end? _ "

" _ Yeah... a little bit. You do notice how they don't hang out together outside of the host club, right? Well, I looked into it a little more and, they don't really hang out with anyone but each other, but only at the club or for club activities. And I think they're too important to each other to only see those sides. With this trip, they were actually allowed to relax and be themselves for each other. So, yeah, I'm happy they came with us. _ "

Haruhi gave the backseats another look, " _ Maybe... but they're still annoying, possessive idiots. _ "

Jin laughed and ruffled her sister's hair, " _ Yeah, but they're  _ our _ annoying, possessive idiots. _ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few measurements for your convenience:  
> 22℃ = 71.6℉  
> 100 kph = 62 mph  
> 105 kph = 65 mph  
> 115 kph = 71 mph  
> Also, unmarked police cars in Japan tend to be Toyota Crowns.


	17. A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I need to put in a little note here because I want to be clear: I did not bring religion into this fic to bash anyone. I apologize if I accidentally wrote in something that offends anyone, that was not the intent.  
> Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

 

Jin sighed and leaned back in her chair, stretching out her back as the other students starting packing away their things.  _ Finally! Lunch time! _ She leaned forward over her desk and stretched again. A few joints popped here and there and she let out another sigh, her eyelids flickering shut.

Until the past week or so, Jin would normally be already packed up and out the door, on her way to Haruhi's classroom to eat with her sister. But now she was content to hang around with Tamaki and Kyoya until most of the other students were out of the way. The boys were actually pretty cool to hang around nowadays. She enjoyed their company.

Something that Haruhi couldn't understand for the life of her.

"Jin, are you ready to head to the club room?"

The brunette cracked one eye open, "Hm? What are you talking about? Do we have another lunch meeting today?"

"I suppose you could say that.” Kyoya flipped his bag closed, “All afternoon classes have been cancelled for the day, so we're taking this extra time to extend our hosting hours."

"Wait, the afternoon classes were cancelled? Why?"

Tamaki bounced up from his chair, "No one told you? It's been on the bulletin board for weeks!"

"I kind of skim it when I pass by in the hallways… but no, no one's told me anything." Kyoya let out a little hum before he pulled out a flyer from his bag and handed it over to her.

"Ouran hosts an exposition for the cultural clubs annually. It will take place over the next two days, during which classes will be cancelled to allow students to partake in the activities and free up the classrooms as temporary prep rooms for all the performers. Considering the drama and choir clubs from other prestigious schools from around the country have been invited, Ouran needs all the practice rooms it can possibly have."

"Wow…" Jin read the flyer. It seemed like 40 or so schools were sending over their finest performers. For the entirety of Thursday and Friday there would be concerts and plays and skits going on around the school. In hallways, some of the larger classrooms, the gym, the refractory, and there would even be a musical in the auditorium. It looked like that one was being put on by some really popular group or something.

"Since the host club will be cancelled for the next two days, we've decided to extend our hours during the cancelled class time. Hopefully this will tide over our guests for the following two days  _ and _ the weekend."

Jin cocked an eyebrow and handed the flyer back to the ravenet, standing up with the other two, "So… we're hosting right after lunch?"

"Of course not, silly! Lunch first, then we go get set up for the next hour or two, and then we host! We're only adding in about two hours to our usual time frame."

"Alright."

The three 2nd years walked along down the hallway, discussing what expositions might be interesting to go see for the following two days, not having a clue as to what was really coming.

* Timeskip *

Jin frowned at the double doors, "This isn't right. Haru should've been back by now…"

"Maybe she got stuck around the renovators! They've probably started changing around the classrooms by now, so she could've gotten redirected around the hallways they're working on." Jin hummed, but didn't comment. Honey noticed how his friend was still worrying, so he hugged her leg tightly, which was a little difficult with his bulky armor.

"Don't worry about Haru-chan too much, okay Jin-chan? I'm sure she's learned her lesson from when we went to the beach."

The brunette blinked at the small blond before patting his head, "Okay, I won't."

"Good! Now you should probably go get into your cosplay! Kyo-chan said we need to make sure everything fits!"

"I will once you let go of my leg, Honey-senpai!" The girl began staggering to the back of the room, her friend holding on tightly and laughing playfully. Jin laughed as well, knowing they probably looked utterly ridiculous right now. A teenage girl dragging a small boy in pink medieval-style armor who was clinging onto her leg, which made her skirt tighten around her free leg, so they only shifted about an inch along at a time.

_ Again, ridiculous. _

"Honey-senpai, could I please request you release Jin so she can go change? We might have a few hours to prepare, but that doesn't mean we can slack off."

The short blond pouted but did as he was told. Jin made a show of straightening out her skirt before flashing a smile at her classmate, "Thanks, Glasses." Kyoya smiled slightly back before turning to face his journal again. He, along with the other boys, were already clad in their cosplay for the day, so he was taking some of this free time to calculate the club’s financial stance after it’s most recent cosplay purchase.

"Hey… Kyoya-senpai?"

"Did Jin-senpai just call you 'Glasses'?"

Kyoya didn't look up at the twins, knowing exactly how smug their faces probably looked, "Yes, she did."

"Aww… she's got a nickname for you!"

He didn't even bother responding. For whatever reason the redheads were clearly going to continue with that joke, no matter that no one else found it funny, and he wasn't going to waste his time trying to correct them. They were arguing for the sake of arguing, and he wasn't going to play into their game.

And, thankfully, before they could say anything else, the doors opened.

"Welcome, ladies!"

It was a gut reaction from them all. The doors open, and you greet the guests. But the guests weren't supposed to arrive for another two hours…

And then he noticed the uniforms they were wearing.  _ Oh… my. _

* With Jin *

Jin was putting on the finishing touches when she heard the doors open. Her head perked up.  _ About time Haru got here. _ It wasn't like her sister to get lost and the tardiness had been more than a little concerning.

Yeah, yeah, she'd told Honey that she wouldn't worry, but it wasn't exactly something she could stop. The sun rose every morning. The sky was blue. And Jin worried over Haruhi. It was just nature, and wouldn't stop unless something apocalyptic occurred.

Reasoning she could stay in the back room for a little longer, Jin continued to fiddle with the knife hanging at her hip. It wasn't real, of course, but the effect was perfect. She was all decked out in a green and black medieval dress, and with the fake hunting knife and the way the large hood hid her eyes, her ensemble gave her a very mysterious appearance. There were a few other accessories for her to play with as well, including a black cloak that was even longer than her dress, and a bow should she have decided against the knife. But she liked how it gave her a more dark and dangerous kind of look than the bow. So… knife it was.

Tamaki's voice then drifted out from the music room, "Well, I see you ladies are from another school."

Jin's head lifted.  _ Another school? So Haru's not here yet? _ The panic that had previously left her came back full force, but at the same time she felt a sort of interest. If Haru wasn't here… then who was? Tamaki said 'ladies', so they were girls, but there was no squealing. Maybe they got lost and were looking for directions?

She listened as Tamaki made his usual grand proclamations of devotion. Her eyes rolled.  _ Does Tamaki never consider that some people who come in here might not have sought them out? _ Yes, she did enjoy his company at times, but more often than not Tamaki was just an idiot. Jin's hand touched the doorknob of the changing rooms when a different voice spoke up.

"Oh my, do you really think you'd be able to protect us? That's awfully arrogant of you, wouldn't you agree? You think that's what a woman wants to hear? Well, you're wrong."

"Come on, give him a break, Sister Suzuran! Men are just lowly life forms who don't care about anything other than perpetuating their testosterone laden image! By 'protecting' us, he is actually attempting to disguise the fact that he is weak and unable of even protecting himself!"

Jin's mouth fell open at the cruel comments.  _ That was uncalled for! I mean, sure, Tamaki can be a bit much on occasion, but calling all men lowly life forms just goes too far! _ She could feel her mouth twist into a sneer. There wasn't anything Jin hated more than self-righteous, arrogant bullies.

She stalked over to the cloak and yanked it off the wall, throwing the thick fabric over her cosplay. After clasping the billowing fabric in the front and lifting the large hood over her head, she gave herself one final look in the mirror.

The dress she had on was very tight in the torso, and combined with the way the large cloak hid her body, her feminine figure was actually hidden very well. Her smirk grew into a large, evil looking smile as she reached underneath the hood and tucked a few stray hairs into the shadows.

She threw open the door and stepped out into the open just as a third voice sounded from the front of the room.

"Maybe something like, I would never leave my lover alone…"

Jin tilted her head up slightly and her vision tinted red.

There were three girls standing at the doors to the club room in uniforms she sort of recognized. They were students from the school putting on the big musical tomorrow afternoon, which means they had taken the time out of their rehearsal schedule to seek out the Host Club and insult them. But that wasn't what angered her…

The tallest of the girls was standing just outside the music room, her left arm wrapped tightly around Jin's baby sister. Haruhi looked completely lost, clutching at the paper bag full of instant coffee like it was a lifeline. Jin's steps became faster paced.

The tall Lobelia girl began swinging Haruhi around like a ragdoll, "If we fight, it'll be together! If we fail, we fail together! Even if I were to die, I promise you that I will never leave your side, my love…" Her mouth tilted down to press a kiss to the back of Haruhi's hand-

-and that's when Jin struck.

She shot forward and snatched Haruhi away, pulling her close against her chest and out of sight. The others were probably staring at her in complete shock, but she kept her hood down. Her large, feminine eyes would most likely be a dead giveaway, so she had to hide them for now.

_ If you want to be hateful of men, let's see how well you fair with  _ this.

Purposefully deepening her voice, she growled, "Please refrain from touching my sister,  _ thank you. _ " Haruhi let out a light gasp, and Jin automatically knew that Haruhi understood. She'd play along.

It wasn't until Jin had steered Haruhi back into the club room that the girl snapped out of her surprise. "Don't touch her, you barbarian!" She tried to grab Haruhi yet again, but Jin pulls her sister behind her, out of reach.

"No,  _ you _ will not touch her." A fist flew at her face before she even finished speaking, and she grabbed it with her own hand. Purely on reflex, but it got the point across. There were a few callouses on her palm, mostly from Jin rejoining Honey and Mori for practices at the Dojo, and now the brunette found herself thanking them. It wouldn't be any fun if these girls found out she wasn't a male sooner than she wanted.

Still, the others in the room gasped at the contact and the Lobelia girl's eyes widened. Jin pushed the fist away, making her adversary stagger back a few paces.

"So I suppose we can add 'violent' to your list of  _ lovely _ traits, huh?"

The other girls came to their classmate's aid, "Sister Benibara is not nearly as violent as you men! It's cruel,  _ evil _ males such as you who are the real horrors of this world!"

"You'd take your own sister and decide her life! This poor maiden should be allowed to escape this horrific testosterone infested land if she wishes to, not if her  _ brother _ has any say in it!"

For a moment, there is nothing but silence in the music room. Then Jin starts chuckling, "Oh…  _ Hun. _ " Her voice slowly rises back to normal as her right hand comes up to pull her hood back, "Now this is just embarrassing."

Instantly the girl's jaws drop. They stare as the newly revealed girl laughs at the trick she just pulled. She turns her gaze to Haruhi and gently touched her shoulder.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. She ambushed me in the front of the school." Jin nodded and gently lead Haruhi over to the boys. They were watching her as well, though they looked more impressed than scarred for life.

"My fair maiden… what has become of you?"

"Hm?" Jin didn’t even bother looking around, shucking off her heavy cloak to drape across the couch, "Nothing has  _ become _ of me. I just simply didn't like the way you were touching and tossing around my baby sister.  _ Or _ the rude way you were speaking to my friends."

The tall girl in the center straightened up, "Well then, I suppose the rumors we heard were true. How disappointing." She looked at the hosts, ignoring the two sisters for a moment, "You boys are just some weak little punks who enjoy toying around with young lady's feelings. Even tricking these two maidens to fight your battles… is there no limit to your twisted practice?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "Those uniforms…"

"Lobelia, in case you guys were wondering." Jin confirmed, glaring daggers at the girls.

The tall girl, who Jin assumed was the leader of the group, smirked gently, "That is correct, my intelligent maiden."

Suddenly, the three girls threw off their uniforms, revealing one tux and two frilly dresses. The hosts club leaned away as they introduced themselves... by singing.

"Lobelia~!"

"Lobelia~!"

"Lobelia~!"

"Saint Lobelia Academy 2nd year… Benio Amakusa."

"Lobelia~!"

"2nd year student, Chizuru Maihara."

"Lobelia~!"

"1st year student, Hinako Tsuwabuki!"

"Lobelia~!"

Benio stepped forward, a determined look in her eyes, "We are the members of the Saint Lobelia Academy's White Lily League! Also known as…" she tossed her hat away flamboyantly as they threw off their clothes  _ again _ to reveal even  _ frillier  _ get-ups.

_ Feathers and ruffles and sequins... oh my... _

All three girls were grinning madly, arms outstretched as they delivered their last line in unison:

"The Zuka Club!"

Fanfair of trumpets.

* * *

The host club gaped for maybe ten or fifteen seconds before four of their members collapsed in a fit of giggles. Hikaru and Kaoru were laughing so hard they could hardly stand while Jin and Haruhi tried holding back as much as they could.

"The  _ Zuka _ club?! That's what they came up with?"

"Oh man, what a stupid name!"

"They look so  _ proud _ of it too!" Jin snorted through her fingers, squeezing her eyes shut as Hikaru leaned up against her, trying to remain upright.

"The  _ Zuka _ club?! My stomach hurts!"

"That was  _ priceless! _ "

"How did they manage to hide all those different clothes underneath their outfits?" The four continued laughing until a screechy voice echoed from underneath their feet.

"You shouldn't underestimate the Zuka club!"

Jin froze and her good mood fell through the floorboards.  _ Oh great. Now what? _

Renge's pedestal pushed her up into the music room, "I may not know much about instant coffee, but I'm fascinated with girls' school." The girl took a sip of her coffee and almost spit it back out again. As she swallowed the drink with a shudder Jin raised an eyebrow in Haruhi's direction.

_ What was that about instant coffee? _

_ I'll tell you about it later. _

The sound of shattering china returned their attention back to Renge who clasped her hands together, "Saint Lobelia Academy, it is truly a woman's world there! The Zuka club is a group of strong young maidens who consider women to be superior in every way! It's a society of maidens, by maidens, for maidens! Zuka club activities include maiden tea parties, the maiden debate forum, and most importantly, widely-acclaimed musicals performed by the society's top members!"

Jin shifted her weight to rest on one leg, crossing her arms, "Okay, those sound fun or whatever, but consider this: Their blatant misandry is  _ really _ getting on my nerves.”

Renge cracked an eye open, peeking at the brunette, "Um… I'm not quite familiar with that term."

"Misandry. Noun. A hatred for men. Which makes these three,” she jerked her head towards the Lobelia girls, “misandrists. Another noun. People who dislike, despise, or are strongly prejudiced against men.” 

"Ah…" the French girl pondered the terms, "I'm not… I'm sure not  _ all _ of them hate men. There must be a few of them who... uh... well, just because they believe women are superior doesn't mean... ah..."

Kyoya cleared his throat from across the room where he had finished taking off his armor, "You seem to have quite an extensive knowledge on Lobelia, Ms. Renge."

"Er, well I've always admired girls' schools, but  _ I _ wouldn't go to someplace like that. After all, how could I live without any boys around?" Renge was fiddling with her fingers as her pedestal sunk back into the floor. Jin wasn't sure whether to be sad or somewhat pleased with Renge's reaction, but another voice broke through her thoughts.

"Young maiden, I'm afraid you don't quite understand what it is we do at Lobelia." Chizuru stepped forward and gently ran a hand through Jin's hair. The girl jolted and spun around, taking a few steps away. Chizuru simply smiled lightly and threaded her fingers together.

"A maiden's beauty… it means possessing a spirit pure enough to not give into power or to lust."

"We've had quite enough of the oppressive male contempt for women kind!"

"And our pride comes from having meaningful relationships based on equality… because we're the same sex. Including relationships of love..."

At that, the three Lobelia girls looked up at the boys, smirking and waiting for someone to explode on them. There was nothing more hilarious than a man's face after he hears that beautiful women have no interest in him. But instead, the only hosts paying any real attention to them are the girls.

"Yeah, that's nice. Whatever."

"Look, maybe you girls should just scram already."

Chizuru blinked rapidly before turning up her nose, "Oh really? Is that all you have to say? I must say, it's interesting to find a group of men who are so disturbed by our maidenly love for each other that they outright ignore it."

"Nope, that's not it, I'm afraid." Jin crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk, "They're just smart and kind enough to know that it doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is, if you're a jerk, you're a jerk. End of story."

Benio clenched her hands, "Maiden… you are truly trying our patience."

"Oh,  _ patience? _ Is that what I've been seeing lately?"

The short-haired girl marched forward a few paces, letting her arms fall away from her fellow students, "Why are you so defensive of these heathens? Exactly  _ what _ drives you to turn against your own kind? I  _ must  _ know."

Jin sneered, " _ Excuse you _ , but did  _ we _ come over to  _ your _ school and insult you without even announcing our names? And unless I'm mistaken, every single person in this room is the same species! We're all human, and it's not right to treat others like they're not! Besides, despite all of your petty insults and the stuck-up attitude you're throwing around the place, none of these boys have responded to your bitterness. Remind me again who you think has more maturity here?"

"Do you really want to go down this road with me, maiden?"

"Only if it's to someplace with candlelight~"

Benio's mouth fell open for a few seconds, so her followers had to come to her rescue, "Don't take her words to heart, Beni-bara~ She's merely been brainwashed by this notorious Host Club."

"It'll be alright, Benio. We can still save her and her sister."

Haruhi tilted her head and gave her sister a look, "Nēchan, are they really notorious?"

Jin shrugged, "Yeah. That's one way to put it." Her attention went back to the Lobelia girls as Benio regained her composure.

"Of course, you're right, we can save them still. Not even the Host Club's pretty little Halfer of a president can brainwash these girls forever! Listen well,  _ men _ . I promise you, we will not rest until we see the end to your club! The Ouran Host Club will be abolished!" Again, the host club was silent, but Jin was not.

"Hey, guys, we have the _ Zuka Club _ as our arch-enemy." The twins snorted and she cracked a smile.

Benio's lower eyelid twitched, "I… will no longer… listen to your displaced mockery! You've been tricked by these-"

"-teenage boys who wish to make young girls feel liked and pretty and confident in themselves?"

"That's not even close to what they are!"

The older Fujioka girl gestured to the music room they were standing in, "Look around you! That's exactly what they're trying to do! This isn't some prostitution activity! What the host club does with its clients is nothing that either side feels uncomfortable with! The only thing they have done to bring your "wrath" down upon them is by being male, which isn't exactly something they can control, if you can imagine! A hatred of the male sex is  _ not _ going to change how society looks at women  _ or _ men, and if you truly cared about changing how we are looked at you'd start by treating men and women as equal as they can be!"

"But men are not equal to women!"

"No, they're not! And women aren't equal to men! We have biological differences and mental differences as well. We will never be perfectly equal, but that doesn't mean one side is better than the other! Hate is never the answer! You don’t have to put down one side to build up the other! That’s not how this works!"

The hosts, who had moved to tend to Tamaki's current dosage of culture shock, were staring at Jin in awe. They seem to do that quite often, as it turns out.

She was...  _ defending _ them. Normally, if they had been left to their own devices, they would've just ignored the girls until they went away. It wasn't uncommon for them to hear the occasional complaint about their practices, so this wasn't exactly anything new… but the defense program Jin was lying down was almost heartwarming.

"She really does care about us…"

"I can't believe Jin-chan feels so strongly about this stuff."

"I've never even  _ heard _ of misandry. And can you believe the comebacks she has?"

"I'm surprised by how calmly she's handling this. She's not shouting, but is certainly emphasizing her point."

"Hey… do you see that way that Chizuru girl is looking at her? And the way she stroked her hair earlier?"

"Well, that Benio has some sort of crush on Haruhi, so I guess it wouldn't be that far of a stretch-"

Hikaru was cut off as Tamaki suddenly jumped out from underneath his blanket and charged the Lobelia students, "You girls have it all wrong! Can't you see there's nothing to be gained in a romantic relationship between two women?! If that were the case then why did God create Adam and Eve?!"

If peace could shatter, the silence that followed his shouts would be the sound. Jin's entire body seized up as Tamaki tripped over his own two feet and face-planted the floor right in front of her. She didn't even make a move to catch him.

And then she was gone. The boom of the music room doors was the only indicator of where she'd disappeared to, and the hosts felt like their heads were spinning. Had Jin just...  _ abandoned _ them?

Tamaki lifted his face from the floor, "Hey, where did Jin go? I thought she was right here?" He looked up at Haruhi and jolted. She was glaring heatedly at her senpai.

"She  _ was _ here... until you offended her. Now you're in real trouble."

A dark chuckle turned everyone's attention back to the Lobelia girls, "Well, well… it looks like our point has finally gotten across to the young lady. And now that we know what is going on, we can not allow for her younger sister to remain here either!"

Benio stepped over the blond to gather Haruhi in her arms, "We shall be forced to take this lovely maiden and her confused sibling with us back to Saint Lobelia, where they can learn and grow properly without the poisonous influence and control of man! Their papers will be completed by tomorrow morning and they shall be transferred out of this accursed academy by next week! The Zuka club will welcome them with open arms!"

Immediately Haruhi began pushing back against the taller girl, "H-hey! Woah! Woah! Who said I wanted to go anywhere?"

Benio smirked and tilted Haruhi's chin up, "If you were to ask your sister her opinion on whether you should stay or not right now… would she agree with you? The halfer… what he said to her. How do you think that made her feel? Haven't you encountered your fair share of those demeaning phrases during your time here? If I am correct… your choice of hairstyle was not received as well by these men as... say… by your own sister?"

The shorter girl turned her head away, "Look, lady, that's just… culture shock."

"Is it? After all this time that these men have known you and they  _ still _ do not believe in equality?"

"Well, maybe… but Nēchan was still right, because neither do you! So how could you be any better?"

Benio stepped backwards, heading towards the doors, "We believe women are superior because of how long we've been pushed into the shadows of history. Perhaps it's time for men to understand that feeling. Still, we will give you some time to think our offer over. We will return in two hours for you and your sister's response." With one last smug smile, she asked, "Were these boys as considerate when you first joined?"

_ Boom! _

The music room was silent.

Haruhi kept her gaze trained on the floor, her bangs covering her eyes. Benio's parting words still echoed in her ears and her chest felt like a food processor.

"Haru-chan..?"

"I need to go… think for a while." Haruhi took slow, measured steps towards the doors.  _ In...2...3...4… Hold...2...3...4… Out...2...3...4… Hold...2...3…4... Man, I wish I could find Nēchan. I'll do that in a bit, though. Right now, I think I need someplace quiet. _

As she wallowed within her own thoughts, behind the closed music room doors the host club began panicking.

"Wahhhh! What are we gonna do?!"

"What are  _ we _ gonna do, boss?"

"Nuh-uh! It should be  _ you _ fixing this mess! You put us here in the first place when you insulted Jin-senpai!"

"How was I supposed to know she felt so strongly about females being in romantic relationships!? I was just tired and shocked, I didn't really mean it!"

"Well, what if Jin-senpai is a lesbian, did you ever think about that? I mean she hangs out with us all the time without reacting and has never even mentioned having a boyfriend before! What if she's homosexual? You've just made her hate you!"

"How could I have figured that out? She didn't give any  _ signs! _ "

"Get a hold of yourself, Tama-chan! Maybe you can fix this!"

"Maybe… but-" The taller blond dragged his feet over to the window and pressed a hand to the clear glass, "Just think about it for a moment. Haruhi might be basically indifferent, but if she had to chose, we know that she tends to favor men's clothing. And besides, when Haruhi first joined the host club, didn't she tell us that she wouldn't mind having girls fussing over her? Perhaps… they would be a better match for Haruhi…"

"But what about Jin-chan?"

Kyoya spoke up this time, "Jin would have a couple reasons to transfer as well. After Tamaki's latest comment, it's unclear who she's more upset with at the moment. And the only time we've ever seen her in a skirt is here, in the school uniform. She obviously has some very liberal views, and while she wouldn't join the Zuka club… the overall atmosphere that men are not superior to women might appeal to her." He thumbed the lip of his journal, but didn't open it up, "On another note, should Haruhi decide to transfer, Jin would follow her regardless, and vice versa."

Honey burst into tears, "Haru-chan and Jin-chan are gonna transfer away?! No, they can't! I c-couldn't take it! T-Takashi and I j-just got Jin-chan  _ back! _ "

The twins grabbed at each other, "What are we going to do?"

"We can't just let them leave without a fight!"

"They're both smart enough to breeze through Lobelia's entrance and scholarship exams!"

"Could we hide their transfer papers somehow?"

"Lobelia has the money to pay off their debt if they do transfer, as well. I'd even be willing to bet the Zuka club could cover all the expenses themselves if they wanted to.” Kyoya's toes tapped at the tile floor. He felt oddly concerned that the Fujioka girls might possibly be leaving. If anything, he should've felt content with being repaid the large sum of debt in cash, but instead it was like a gaping hole in his chest was opening up. And he had a feeling the others felt the same. Call it intuition.

"Calm down, gentlemen! We still might have a chance! If I can patch things up with Jin, then perhaps Haruhi will decide to stay and we'll keep both girls! So that means the first item of business is to find Jin! And I'm going to need your help!"

"You got it, Boss! We'll take the libraries and her classroom!"

"Takashi and I will look around the expo fair to see if she's browsing any of the exhibits that have already been set up!"

"Perfect! That leaves the school grounds for Kyoya and I! If you see Haruhi, do not engage! Our sole purpose for this mission is to locate Jin first! If you find her, text me the location! Now, forward  _ march! _ "

"Sir, yes sir!"

* * *

"Jin? Jin, I'd like to talk to you! If you can hear me please come out?"

"Tamaki, she is not a dog." Kyoya walked along the stone pathway behind his friend, "Besides, if Jin truly does not wish to speak to you, then I highly doubt calling her name will help us find her."

The blond currently digging through a clump of bushes straightened up with a frown, "Well, we're not finding her very quickly, so do you have any other suggestions?"

He didn't.

Kyoya sighed, looking around the area, "We should search the maze next. Perhaps she found one of the gardens?" Tamaki nodded and the two entered through a gap in the hedge.

The green, bushy shrubbery towered above the boy's heads as they wandered the maze. A few flowers dotted it here and there, throwing little sparks of color among the dark green. Knowing the maze like the back of their hands, the two second year students found the first miniature garden in under three minutes. There was a ring of water circling the small clearing with four bridges, each leading from one maze opening to the clearing. The clearing itself didn't have anything incredibly noteworthy. A few groups of colorful flowers bloomed around the space, but there wasn't much else.

"Let's start with the one to the left."

Kyoya nodded and the two walked over the bridge in front of them. They were rounding a collection of tiger-lillies when Tamaki cleared his throat.

"So, uh… do you think Jin is… you know..?"

"Lesbian? Bisexual? Pansexual? Queer in general? Unclear. It isn't as though she has a sign on her back telling us one way or another."

"Yes, but… what do you  _ think? _ "

The ravenet crossed the second bridge before turning to face his friend again, "I recognize that tone of voice, Tamaki. Are you truly that concerned over Jin's sexuality? It shouldn't concern you or how you look at her from today onwards."

"I know, I know…" Tamaki crossed the bridge and the two continued walking, "It's just… I'd be surprised if she was. I thought for sure she liked, or at least  _ used _ to like-"

"If you dare end that sentence with my name I swear I will push you through the hedge. Now is  _ not _ the time for jokes."

"What?" The blond whipped his head around in surprise, "Of course, not, Kyoya. I was going to say Mori-senpai! The twins and I teasing you about Jin… that was it. Teasing!"

Now it was Kyoya's turn to look surprised, "Oh?"

"Yeah. It was strange and a little funny to see you display so much emotion whenever we brought it up, which is why we did it so often. But, no, we never actually considered it to be possible. That would just be..." Tamaki made a vague motion with his hand, "...highly improbable. If not completely impossible. Not to mention weird."

"Hmm."

The two friends walked in silence until the next garden. Again, it was devoid of students. There was a small fountain in the center that had water splashing down its sides to pool in a small koi pond. A few stone benches were placed strategically around the pool for optimal viewing of the fish.

Tamaki sighed, " _ Jin, where are you? _ "

The two walked to the right this time, pausing only for a moment to watch the fish swim around. It was relaxing, even in their current situation.

"When you say highly improbable, what do you mean by that?"

Kyoya didn't think it would be that odd of a question. Jin was a very admirable young lady, not to mention pretty, so he was simply curious as to why Tamaki didn't think the two of them would be a good match. Kyoya knew they wouldn't be, but he wanted his friend's explanation as well. It wasn't like he knew what he was thinking all the time, so what was it?

Tamaki, however, made a sound as if he was choking on imaginative water, "Wha? Why are you so curious about it?"

Kyoya hummed lightly and continued walking, "No real reason, I suppose. She's simply a beautiful, talented, and intelligent woman, and being told we wouldn't be a good match doesn't seem to reflect positively on me. And, as a side question, why Mori-senpai?"

A gape was all he received as a response at first. Then, "Well, it's not an insult to either of you. It's more that your personalities tend to clash. For example, _ you _ look at situations in a very practical sense, even if it means someone has to enter or leave the playing field with uneven odds, while Jin seems to strive for equality between everyone. And while you both may be very passionate in what you pursue and your activities, when everything simmers down, you tend to look out for yourself first while Jin would care for everyone else in the world before giving herself a thought."

Tamaki stuffed his hands in his pockets, "That's also why I feel like Jin must've felt something for Mori-senpai at some point, even if she somehow doesn't now. They're both so similar in how they feel and care… it just makes sense."

It took a few seconds before Kyoya felt the need to point out, "You and Haruhi don't share many personality traits. Is that why you try so hard to push your views onto her?"

The blond jolted, "That's different! Haruhi is my daughter, not my… my g-girlfriend! I'm merely trying to raise her and prepare her for the world after high school! Why are you so defensive about it anyways? I thought you hated it when we said things like that!"

"I'm not defending anything. I was simply curious as to why you continuously brought it up if you truly didn't think it had any value."

"I know you two are there." The boys jumped a bit at the sudden voice coming from the clearing in front of them. Tamaki rushed forward, his friend trailing along behind him, and jumped into the garden. A single cherry tree stood in the exact center, providing shade to the surrounding grassy area. Along one side of the garden’s edge a slab of stone was propped up against the hedge, a continuous sheet of water flowing down the rock. The sound of trickling water rushing into another small lily pond set out a peaceful atmosphere.

Sitting down on the marble bench that faced said pond was a girl in a green and black medieval dress.

"So...are you here to lecture me on the wickedness of my morals?"

Tamaki visibly flinched at the cold, harsh tone of Jin's voice. It had a faint robotic tang to it, like she couldn't be bothered to put emotion behind it. Taking a deep breath, he walked forward until he could take a seat beside her. Kyoya hung back, deciding to allow Tamaki a moment to try and fix the issue on his own. But as Jin shifted to the very edge of the bench once the blond sat down, Kyoya had a feeling it might take a miracle to keep the Fujioka's at Ouran.

Tamaki wasn't feeling very optimistic either. He twiddled his thumbs and stared at the rock for a moment. The water running down the rock face was interesting and calming to watch. The sunlight flickered sporadically across the sheet, and while he knew that the water was flowing along the rock, it almost looked like the liquid was suspended against the wall. And the way the water splashed into pool at the base of the rock sounded eerily similar to a rain shower. He understood why Jin had chosen this particular spot.

"Well? Let's get this over with. Where do you want to start?"

Tamaki glanced at Jin from the corner of his eye, "I'm not angry." The girl scoffed so he was quick to follow up, "I'm not, Jin. Promise. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just… I… I don’t really know what to say right now except sorry."

"Tamaki, listen. You're not the first homophobe I've met, and you won't be the last-"

"I'm not…" Tamaki felt like his throat was drying up, "I'm not homophobic, I swear it. I was just… tired. And upset. And angry at those Lobelia girls. They surprised me."

Jin's eyes closed, "Tamaki, really, you don't have to lie."

"I'm not! Didn't Haruhi tell you about how I thought she was a boy when we first met?" The girl beside him didn't speak, so he continued, "When she first walked through the door and I thought I was dealing with a boy, I offered our service to 'him'. It didn't even cross my mind that 'he' had wandered in by accident, and I was ready to host 'him'. I'm not homophobic, Jin, I promise."

The brunette was now staring forward at the rock again, but the tension was leaking out of her shoulders.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Tamaki tried for a small laugh, "I do believe in love, Jin. Between any gender. Truly. I just… wanted to hurt the Lobelia girls. It was wrong… both what I said and why I said it." Jin slowly turned her head to face him, tentative belief surfacing in her brown eyes. Deciding now would be the best time, he addressed the elephant in the garden.

"Jin, are you a lesbian?"

Emotion sprung up in the brunette's body. Her head tilted left as her upper body shifted away. Her face contorted into a confused look as she and her classmate continued staring at each other. Immediately, Tamaki regretted his decision.  _ Does she think I'm judging her? Or making fun of her? Oh no, oh no, oh no! _

But, instead of reverting back into her original cold-shoulder attitude, Jin threw her head back and laughed, "Oh my…  _ way _ to be subtle, Tamaki! Oh,  _ wow _ , you don’t beat around the bush, huh? And, as far as I’m aware, no, I’m not. You don't have to be gay to be an ally, you know? I mean, I’m not gonna rule anything out, but I’m pretty sure I’m straight." At that, her eyes softened into a more serious look, "But I do have a lot of friends and a few family members who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, asexual, and everything else under the rainbow. You realize that Haruhi is Nonbinary, right?"

Tamaki blinked, "She's… what?"

"Haruhi told me all about your first days together. If I remember correctly… she said that she doesn't care about what gender she's recognized as, right? Well, she wasn't kidding. Yes, she's biologically a girl, and she tends to prefer female pronouns, but she doesn't really  _ feel _ like she's a girl or a boy, and it has nothing to do with her flat chest. A few years ago she decided Nonbinary was the best term for her, but she kept the female pronouns because that’s what she’d grown up with and made it easier for everyone she met." Noticing the confused look on her friend's face, Jin held up a finger, "Another commonly used term is genderqueer. Have you heard of that?"

"Oh!" Tamaki nodded, "Yeah, that one I've heard of! I just, never connected Haruhi with that term."

Jin shrugged, "We don't make that big of a deal about it, really. I love Haru no matter what sort of gender she, or they, technically, feels like on the inside."

The blond looked back at the water-rock again, filing away that new information away to look at later, "Alright, but why did you leave so suddenly? If you'd stuck around you could've just told me-"

"Because that's not what I was mad about!" Jin's eyes grew cold once more and Tamaki almost fell off the bench with the force of her anger, "I was mad because you put the bible into it! I  _ hate it _ when people use a religion that is supposed to support peace and love to say two people cannot be in love with each other! That's just being a backwards thinker, and it's ridiculous!"

"...so you're upset over my religion?"

Jin closed her eyes before pulling her feet up on the bench, "Not at all, Tamaki. Sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. You can have whatever religion you want, and follow the bible down to the last letter if that's what you truly believe. However, it doesn't seem right to me for someone to take their belief and use it to dictate other people's lives, especially if  _ they _ don't believe it. I mean, you're not going to change who they are, no matter how often someone preaches to them. It's not like changing a shirt, someone's sexuality isn't 'reversible' or 'evil' or anything. If someone believes that Gay Marriage isn't Christian, then fine, they don't have to get married to someone of the same sex. But telling someone  _ else _ that their love isn't valid  _ because _ they're LGBTQ? Because  _ their _ religion says so? It seems unfair. Just because one person decides to become a Vegan doesn't mean the rest of the world has to stop eating meat. It's  _ their _ choice, but it shouldn't given them the right to make it everyone else's."

"Oh. Are you... Christian?"

"Eh, not really. I’m not really religious at all, not strongly at least, but my host family in America was Catholic. I went to church with them sometimes, and there was a lot of love that was preached. That was my take on it; that Christians were all about love. And I talked with a lot of people at that church, who were good people, and even a few LGBTQ church-goers. It was a very accepting atmosphere. So when someone says because they believe in a religion that's purely about loving one another no matter what, and then say that two people  _ can't _ be in love because of what's in their pants? It's... I jump on the defense really quickly. I should probably learn to not do that… it’ll get me in trouble one day.”

"Jin… I'm sorry for hurting your feelings. Really."

She sighed and bowed her head, "I'm sorry too, for biting your head off and making it seem like I was attacking your religion. I guess I just get so touchy about it because… sometimes it's rough for me and Haru. We just get  _ so _ much bashing, from both sides. So when my friends..." She cut herself off, sucking in a deep breath.

“...Bashing?” He prompted.

Giving Tamaki another emotion filled look, Jin gripped her elbows, "There are a lot of people out there, both in and out of the LGBTQ community, who don't even think people like me and Haru exist. Gender-neutral, bisexuals, agenders… those people exist! It's not pleading for attention or making a joke, and sometimes it's hard when you feel like the entire world wants to deny you as a person."

"Wait… didn't you just say that you're straight? How are you in the LGBTQ community?"

"I'm demi-sexual."

Tamaki leaned closer, resting a hand on his classmate's shoulder, "And what's that?"

"It's kind of like the middle ground between sexual and asexual. A bit of a grey area, since you can lean more towards either end. Basically, I don't feel sexually attracted to people unless I have an emotional bond with them. Sure, I can appreciate someone's attractiveness, but nothing past that, really." She shrugged, but didn't dislodge his hand from her shoulder, "I just… don't feel the need for it, or at least not  _ towards _ anyone."

"Huh." The blond dropped his hand and leaned back on the bench, tilting his gaze up towards the sky. It was such a pretty, light-tinted blue today. Not exactly what you'd expect a heavy discussion to occur under.

"You seem very informed about all of this, Jin."

The girl shrugged, looking at the sky as well, "I've had a few years of experience with these conversations. Picked up a few tips."

"Were they all this quick?"

"Not even remotely. Some of them were nice and I was given tips on how to try and not offend anyone while stating my own views… still working on that, though. I also talked with a lot of my friends who thought the same way as me and a few who didn't, and we had a very calm talk about it. I've heard a few coming-out stories where the parents weren't exactly accepting and one where she was asked to leave her church because of it. My best friend  _ is _ gay, however, and there was one person who attempted to bully him about it."

"...Again, I apologize for offending you, Jin. Could you, maybe, talk to me later in more depth and help educate me? I'd like to understand more thoroughly why you feel so strongly on the matter."

He couldn't see it, because he was still staring at the sky, but Kyoya noticed the kind smile spreading across Jin's lips. "Sure, Tamaki. Just give me some time to become more comfortable to talk about it with you."

"Okay." Tamaki stood back up, "Are you ready to come back to the club room?"

The girl shook her head, "I'm enjoying the scenery too much right now. I'll come back some time before we open for the day, I promise."

He nodded and passed by behind her. Kyoya walked out of the courtyard with him and said nothing until Tamaki suddenly folded in half, breathing heavily.

"I've never * _ gasp _ * felt so * _ gasp _ * stressed * _ gasp… _ * * _ cough _ * * _ cough _ * in my life!" The ravenet beside him watched the show, unimpressed, but waited for his friend to at least stop gasping obnoxiously.

"You do know that you are overreacting, right?"

His friend waved him off, "Well, do you think that did it?"

"I'd say so," Kyoya peeled open his journal and flipped to the last page that had been written on, "I managed to capture the main points she gave, and if I had to draw a final conclusion, I would certainly call this mission a success. Jin won't be the one to bow down to the Lobelia girls."

Tamaki grimaced, "Half the battle has been won, then, but we have to ensure we don't lose the war!" He stood up straight, pointing forwards in his signature 'I-am-determined-and-driven-and-have-an-insane-plan' gesture, "Even if Jin would prefer to remain in the Ouran Host Club, we must ensure that Haruhi wishes to do so as well!"

He turned to his friend, "Have our costume orders arrived yet?"

"They should be delivered any moment now. Thankfully they were cheap...ish. If we call everyone back now, we should have enough time to prepare everything before Ms. Amakusa and her fellow club members return for their answers."

"Perfect! I shall rally the troops!" Tamaki whipped his phone out and started texting the other hosts. He was so absorbed in his task (no doubt imagining himself as a war commander) that he didn't notice the slight grimace on Kyoya's face.

_ Why do I encourage him? _

* Timeskip *

"I thought practice went amazingly well, don't you think Beni-bara?"

"Indeed. There's no doubt in my mind that tomorrow's performance will be just as incredible. But…" Benio's eyes flashed with predetermined victory, "Our true success is just around the corner."

The girls laughed at the joke, because just at that moment they rounded the final corner and saw the doors to Music Room #3 at the end of the hallway. But what made the joke even sweeter was the fact that little Ms. Haruhi Fujioka was standing in front of said doors.

"Ah! Young maiden, you nearly beat us here!"

The short-haired girl jumped in surprise and spun around, her raised hand falling to her side, "O-oh! Hello, there." She was quickly scooped up into the tall girl's arms again.

"We are here for you, my dear!"

"Those Ouran idiots won't know what hit them!"

"As soon as we set the record straight we can finish filling out your papers and have you officially transferred to Lobelia!"

Haruhi's eyes grew wide, "B-but… I'm not-"

"Don't you worry, young maiden, we will not let them harm you! Now," Benio grabbed one handle while maintaining her hold on Haruhi with the other, "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

_ Creaaaaaaaak… _

The four girls' faces fell into confusion. The room was dark. Pitch black, actually. Haruhi couldn't see a thing past the faint glow of light shining into the room from the hallway.

" _ Guys? _ " Two shadows moved from further into the room and, one after the other, sang:

"Ouran~!"

"Ouran~!"

Haruhi blinked.  _ What the... _

"Ouran~!"  _ Was that… Mori-senpai? _

"Ouran~!" At that particular voice, Haruhi felt her spit go down the wrong tube and started coughing horribly.  _ Kyoya-senpai?! _

"Ouran~!"  _ H-Honey-senpai?! _

The lights flashed to life above the mass of bodies that…  _ sounded _ like the Ouran host club… but definitely did not _ look _ like the hosts.  _ Am I dreaming? Or did someone sneak something into the tea I had this morning? _

"Ouran~!"

"Host Club~ Welcomes you!"

Haruhi's mouth fell open.

Tamaki sort of daintily shuffled forward, "Oh, Haruhi… you've returned!"

" _ Senpai… you... heels? _ " It was like Haruhi couldn't use the proper amount of air to push all the words out. The host club was dressed up… like  _ women. _ Like  _ stereotypical _ women, no less. Makeup and dresses… long hair…  _ boobs… _ Haruhi felt like she was going to pass out.

"Why yes, I am! The pain might be nearly imaginable, but they make my posture so perfect!"

"Look, Haru-chan!" Honey twirled around, his long hair splaying out around his head, "I look just like a princess, now! Aren't I cute?"

From behind her, Benio snarled, " _ What _ is the  _ meaning _ of this? Are you men so insensitive that you'd outright mock us? Even for you poor excuses for human beings, this is low! How dare you?"

"Why that's not it at all, madam! This is merely our strategy to keep Haruhi in the club with us. You had your turn, now it is ours! And it would seem as though we have an advantage, because we know something that you do not: Commoner's are all equipped with one weakness, and that is free things! So how about it, Haruhi? It's a buy one, get one free deal! Have a host club full of brothers, and you'll get sisters as well! Two in one! A bundle! No way you can resist! After all, I got the idea from how Jin behaved as your brother earlier!"

Tamaki was shoved to the side and the twins took his place, speaking in a unison high-pitched voices, "We're the Hitachiin sisters! Which one of us do you think is prettier?"

Honey was next, "Just think about it, Haru-chan, now you can call me Nēchan as well! Isn't that great?"

"Why… I've never seen anything so half-brained in my entire life! Do you really believe a noble woman such as this maiden can be fooled by-"

"HAHAHAHAHAA!"

Her enraged outburst was cut off by a strange sound, one no person in the room had ever heard before. Benio's anger fell away as she turned her head to see Haruhi laughing just as hard as the twins had been earlier. The girl had dropped to her knees, gripping at her stomach like it was about to fall out. Tears were squeezed out as she continued laughing.

The doors behind them creaked again, "Haru? What are you laughing a-" Jin took two steps into the room before she took in the full scene. Immediately she spun around and placed one hand across her mouth, bracing her body against the closed door with the other.

"Uh * _ snort _ *  _ Is this a bad time? _ " Jin's body is shaking in clearly restrained laughter, so the twins twirl over and forcibly spin the girl around. She opened her eyes, took in their heavy makeup and burst out laughing, " _ Pfffffhahahahaha! Oh my goahahaha! _ "

" _ This is too much, you guys! What are you even trahahahahang to dohoohoahaha? _ "

The twins leaned forward into Haruhi's face while Honey grabs Jin in a hug, "Are we really that funny?"

The girls shrieked. Haruhi frantically tried to crawl away from her classmates. Jin shoved her friend off and held her upper body up with one hand, on the cusp of hyperventilating with tears streaking down her face.

"Call us Nēchan! Come on, do it! Call us Nēchan! You know you want too~ Pretty please~!"

" _ No! Oh my gosh! _ I * _ gasp _ * need * _ gasp _ * AIR!" Jin scrambled to the door and practically threw herself into the hallway. Even as the doors shut behind her, they could all hear her laughter bouncing off the walls.

Haruhi managed to shake off the twins and lay back on the floor, gasping, "You… are all… such  _ idiots _ … hee hee…" she pushed herself up into a sitting position and smiled at the boys, "I know why you did this * _ snicker _ * but it was really unnecessary."

"Maiden?" The brunette looked up at the Lobelia girls, "Does that mean you've made a decision?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I made it ten minutes after you offered." Haruhi stood up and brushed off her pants, "I think I'm going to stick around, if you can believe it. The idea of a girls' school is interesting and all that, but your club's not for me, or Nēchan. We came here to Ouran as a plan for our future, and I can't always speak for her, but I know I'd rather remain here and stick to that plan."

The doors opened once more and all eyes returned to Jin. She was leaning up against the doorframe, but clearly not looking at the hosts. Still, she was smiling.

"Oh, Haru. You should know me well enough by now to answer for me, too."

"Maiden-"

Jin held up a hand, "Girls, you are barking up the wrong tree. Because, you see, I believe men, women, and everything in between are  _ equal _ . Here, at Ouran, I have a club, friends, and a future. Joining your club and attending your school was never even a consideration." She pushed the door further open with her back and made a jerking motion towards the hallway with her head, "After you, ladies." She smiled brighter, "Don't bother coming back."

Benio stared at Jin for a few more moments before facing Haruhi once more, "Know this, maiden. Your sister may be a lost hope, but I still have faith in you. We will not give up until you've decided to reject this male banter and come with us to where you belong. Keep this in mind the next time you have doubts."

Haruhi crossed her arms and took three steps backwards, towards the hosts, "Right. See you gals around."

Frowning, but not looking like they'd given up any less, the three girls spun out of the room. Chizuru brushed her fingers across Jin's cheek before departing. To give the girl some credit, she didn't even flinch.

Instead, she watched them all the way until they reached the banana peels strategically placed down the hallway. Almost as if someone had told someone else how the Lobelia girls tended to leave the club room, which caused the second someone to walk into a room later than planned because they were setting down said banana peels.

Jin smirked as she closed the doors once more.

But she didn't turn around.

"Hey, I have a question."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… it's for Kyoya."

As soon as she said his name, Kyoya felt his mind race in a strange form of panic. Not quite how he felt when she was bleeding in his arms... but similar, and he didn't know why.  _ Did she hear something in the maze? Tamaki wasn't exactly keeping his voice down, so does she know that they used to tease me about us getting together? Did it make her uncomfortable? Does she think I like her? Does she like me? _

Of course, on the outside he only said, "Yes?"

The girl shook with poorly restrained laughter, barely able to muscle out the words, " _ How _ on _ Earth _ did Tamaki convince you to wear  _ that? _ "

And then the girls collapsed into fits of laughter again.

"I can't  _ breathe! _ "

"Hahaha!  _ My stomach hurts! _ "

Jin took in several deep breaths and managed to work her laughs down to heavy giggles, "M-maybe you guys should go get changed."

"Yeah, just… don't expect us to take any of you seriously for a few days!" The girls continue laughing as the hosts quickly shuffled into the changing rooms. Noticing the heavy glare he was receiving from a certain black-haired boy in a purple dress, Tamaki chuckled nervously.

"Well… at least the plan worked? We get to keep the girls! Isn't that worth a little embarrassment?"

Kyoya couldn't help but mentally agree. But that didn't stop him from whacking the blond upside the head with his fan.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more note: No one is better or worse than someone else because of their religion, and I don't want it to seem like I'm hateful of Christians. I'm merely trying to emphasize that Jin believes in one love and Tamaki's comment truly upset her.


	18. The Female Host!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next in-between episode. Hope you like it.

 

" _ Bonjour _ , my dears… The Ouran Host Club bids you…  _ beinvenue _ !"

The girls giggled with glee as they were ushered into the room. The large windows along the left side of the room were cracked open just enough to let in a gentle breeze. The petals of the red roses scattered around the room fluttered in the wind, their scent mixing with the hint of warm, baking bread. But the icing on the cake was how the hosts were dressed for the day.

Tamaki was front and center, as always, in a white button down shirt with a grey overcoat thrown over it, matching his grey pants and loafers perfectly. And, also as always, Kyoya was his polar opposite. While Tamaki had light colors, Kyoya was mainly in black save for his dulled-purple t-shirt. His jacket, pants, watch, shoes, and even the scarf wrapped loosely around his neck were black as night.

Hikaru and Kaoru were matching with black crew-neck long sleeve shirts and navy jackets and pants. They both also had on black fedoras, which made their almost bright orange hair stand out that much more.

Honey had on a grey sweater and brown leather coat that surprisingly went well with his black, almost blue, pants. The only bright color was the rose-pink collar peeking out from beneath the sweater. Mori was standing behind him, looking a bit more rugged than the rest of the group in a white t-shirt and a dark-blue button down with the sleeves rolled up. For pants, he just had a simple pair of jeans.

Haruhi was wearing a pair of tan pants that fit well with her grey sweater and the white shirt underneath that peeked out around the collar and bottom hem of said sweater. For the first time in a long while, she felt at ease in a cosplay and it was definitely obvious in the way she set her shoulders.

But if the guests were having any trouble with figuring out today's theme, Jin's outfit gave it all away. She was wearing a white, low-collared dress with a grey sweater over it. The pencil skirt of said dress went down to just above her knees, revealing her black tight-covered legs from there down to her sleek black heels. And, daintily placed on the top of her head, was a bright red beret.

"Welcome to Paris, ladies!"

The responding mixture of gasps and squeals and giggling made Jin grin wider. It was particularly important to her that today's cosplay was received well by the guests. Especially since she had been the one to suggest it in the first place. After the fiasco with the Lobelia girls, Jin and Tamaki had had their chat about sexuality and it's various types. During said conversation, she'd asked Tamaki what Benio had meant by calling him a "Halfer". About eight minutes later, Jin tossed out the idea of having a French themed day at the Host Club, and Tamaki had jumped on it.

The tall brunette grinned wider as the girls practically melted into their shoes from either the set-up, the scent of the baking bread wafting from the kitchen (another one of Jin's suggestions), or just the aesthetics of the boy's "French commoner" clothes. Sure, a few of the boys had voiced their doubts about dressing up in "everyday" clothes for the Host Club, but they sure didn't seem to be doubting it now.

Standing up from her perch on the arm of the chair the hosts were surrounding, Jin sparked movement from both sides of the room. The girls filed in an orderly fashion in front of Kyoya while the other boys headed to their respective tables to wait for them. The elder Fujioka observed the scene for a few moments before making her way to the kitchen.

Once inside, she let out a puff of air and looked around. There were a few loaves of freshly baked bread set out on the tables and counter space, and where there wasn't bread, there were piles of éclairs. In the oven there were two more loaves of bread, and the warm smell was making her mouth water.

Savoring the moment for another beat or two, Jin shook her head and dove into action. She piled a few small plates of chocolate éclairs and a basket or two of bread that she'd already cut into thick slices onto a tray. The bread was still soft and warm and more than once Jin had been tempted to try a few pieces on her own.

She did, but that wasn't the point.

Readjusting her beret once last time, Jin smiled and knocked her hip against the kitchen doors, making them swing outwards for her. The moment she did, someone started talking to her.

"I'm still positive your original outfit would've been just as well received as your current one."

"Were you waiting for me out here this whole time, Glasses? Nevermind, not important." Jin chuckled and continued walking towards the nearest host table, which happened to be Haruhi's today, "And really, while I appreciate your… compliments?... you boys originally had me as a French maid in a skimpy little outfit. Feather duster and all. You would've been forced to kill me in order to get me into that dress."

Kyoya smirked at her over the lip of his black journal, "I see. Perhaps we should try to avoid that."

The girl rolled her eyes and patted Haruhi's head gently before walking towards the twin's table. The boy followed her, still scribbling in his journal. Internally, Jin was grinning at how close she was growing to the Shadow King. Looks like she had been correct in thinking that they could be good friends once he stopped being a jerk. And he was fun to talk to and poke and sass at.

"Oh, really? Is that the only reason? And here I thought I pulled off being a French teenaged girl pretty well."

The twins were quick to snag a piece of bread each and start feeding each other as soon as Jin set the basket down on their table. Since they were entertaining their guests well enough by themselves, she turned around immediately and headed back to the kitchen, tray empty again.

Kyoya hummed and walked beside her, "I suppose you are correct. It's not as though your current cosplay doesn't suit you well. Honey-senpai was momentarily worried that he had another rival for his position as the 'cute' host."

Jin can't help but blush slightly, "You guys give me too much credit."

" _ Au contraire, mademoiselle. _ We do not compliment you enough."

Scoffing, Jin gently shoved Kyoya away even as her blush burned brighter, "You stupid- You're hosting the wrong person. Go back to your guests, Glasses!"

The ravenet rolled his eyes, but walked away with a small smile. His friend was smiling too as she walked back into the kitchen, the both of them unaware of the pair of eyes trained on Jin as she disappeared behind another pair of doors.

* * *

Koji Abe couldn't believe how he'd stayed away for this long.

It had been one thing to know that most of Ouran's eligible female population congregated in this single room everyday after school without fail, save for the occasional day off. But with the most recent addition to the good-looking group… well, the teenage boy's willpower had been stretched unfairly thin.

It had been a simple fluke that wound up setting him just outside of the music room's door, a simple run from the library to his Chemistry teacher's office. It wasn't  _ his _ fault that he noticed his shoe was untied when he passed in front of the music room. And it certainly wasn't his fault that the loud giggles coming from inside said room captured his attention.

He'd been locked in a very intense mental battle within himself; to look, or not to look. Koji didn't want to be caught by the host club boys, or be thought of as a pervert… but then again he hadn't seen the eldest Honor student since the Battle of the Refractory the Hitachiin twins had put on. And she didn't exactly have the sort of face you forgot about quickly.

After about four minutes standing frozen outside the doors, Koji clasped the handle and inched the large door open as quietly as he could manage. Peeking through the crack he just made, the green-eyed boy found his target almost immediately.

Jin was walking away from her brother's table with a tray filled with goodies perched on her left hip and  _ oh goodness he'd forgotten they cosplayed. _ She was wearing similar clothes to the ones he'd seen on his last trip to Paris. Beret and black tights and  _ everything _ . As she walked, she chatted with Ootori-san, and the two were surprisingly speaking civil with each other if their matching soft expressions said anything.

The longer Koji stared at the girl, the more jealous he felt of the host club.  _ Why do they get to hoard all of her attention? Who do they think they are to keep her smile to themselves? Just because her brother is in the club doesn't mean she has to be! _

Without conscious decision, the boy began leaning more and more of his weight against the door, unknowingly opening it up a little more. He didn't seem to notice that his view of the Music Room was growing wider. But some people from inside the room  _ had _ noticed. And two of them stood up.

Koji was too wrapped up in his thoughts to see the two redheads approaching him from the sides. His entire head was now showing from the opened doors as he stared intently at the kitchen doors, where Jin Fujioka had just disappeared behind.  _ Maybe I could talk to her somehow. If she's going to be in the host club, then why doesn't she host? Cater to guys? _

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer!"

"Or better yet, how about you not creep on girls in your spare time?"

There wasn't even an opportunity for him to jump in surprise before the 2nd-year student from class C was yanked harshly inside the room by his arms. The following yelp was  _ very _ manly, no matter what anyone else said, and he did  _ not _ wince in slight pain as he was tossed into an empty chair. By the time the world slowed down to its regular pace, the ravenet found himself staring up at two angry-looking hosts. And, to make it worse, it was the twins.

In a word, he was screwed.

After a few intense moments just staring at each other, Koji attempted a weak laugh, "H-hey… the Hitachiin twins, right?" The red-heads just stared at him, and it looked like Tamaki had now noticed the commotion.

"What's going on?"

"Boss, you might want to come over here."

Needing no further prompting, the blond stood up and, after a quick apology to his collection of guests, hurried over to the three boys, "Hikaru, Kaoru, who is this?"

"No clue, boss."

"Never seen him before today."

"We just found him peeking in through the door at our guests."

Tamaki's expression hardened before facing the boy who was trying to shrink down in his chair, "Is that so?"

"No… Suoh-san. I wasn't looking at your… clients."

The twins leaned closer and hissed, " _ Liar, liar… _ "

"No, I'm serious! I was…  _ I was looking at Jin Fujioka. _ " And wow, if Koji thought that his  _ previous _ accusation was a bad mark by the hosts. It was like he'd flipped a secret, deadly switch. Two pairs of hands slammed down and locked onto both armrests of his chair, one on each side.

" _ What was that? _ "

" _ Did you just… _ "

Two more voices joined from behind his chair.

"You were watching Jin-chan… is that what we just heard?"

"Hmm… perhaps you should've stuck with the twin's original accusations."

Koji whipped his head around and saw Mori-senpai glaring down at him like he wanted to pull his lungs from his throat, Honey-senpai and Ootori-san flanking the tall boy with equally angry expressions.

"Mr. Koji Abe, we as a host club have had a few experiences with hormonal boys such as yourself watching our guests from the doorway. Such an act usually ends with a verbal and written warning, and is a mere  _ wrist slap _ compared to spying on one of our own. For you see," he readjusted his glasses deftly, showing his unforgiving grey eyes, "this incidence just became personal."

The boy gulped, "Wait, wait, wait, can I just explain myself?"

"No need. We know of your actions, and it's unlikely Jin invited you here or else she would've informed us of this little meeting. Which means you were watching her  _ without consent. _ "

The twins smiled evilly, "Also known as stalking."

"Now, we can't just let someone stalk our friend, now can we?"

"H-hey! I-I'm not the only one!"

The six boys froze, and their stares seemed to grow harder, " _ What? _ "

Koji swallowed thickly, "W-well… what I mean is I'm not the only one who's considered it. A lot of boys at this school want to talk to her, you know… see what she's really like instead of just seeing a glimpse of her in the refractory."

"So you turned to stalking?"

"Not stalking! Or, at least that wasn't the intension. I kind of wanted to ask if… you know… she'd host me?"  _ Alright then, not a total lie. I didn't mean to watch for as long as I did… and having Jin host me isn't such a bad idea- _

"Not going to happen."

"What's not going to happen?"

Seven heads whipped around to see the very topic of the current conversation walking towards them with another tray of goodies. When she didn't receive an answer straight away, Jin narrowed her eyes in confusion and set the metal tray down on a nearby table.

"Guys, what's going on? Who's that?"

Jin was standing amongst the group of boys before anyone could say anything else. Koji stared at her again, he couldn't help it. She was observing him with interest and a little concern. The mere thought that she was worried about him made the ravenet sink deeper into the chair, relaxing a bit.

"He's no one, Jin-senpai."

"Nothing to worry about, just a peeping Tom."

Jin raised an eyebrow and regarded Koji with a harder stare, "A what?"

The boy blushed and sat back up, "I wasn't staring at the other girls, I promise, Jin-san. I was just… too curious about you to stay away for long." The brunette's head tilted to the side while the other boys scowled in his direction.

"What are you talking about?"

Koji shrugged, attempting to act indifferent regarding the murderous looks being sent his way, "I just wanted to talk to you, so… I was wondering if maybe you'd host me?"

Jin's mouth fell open as the Hitachiin's leaned over him again, " _ She doesn't cater to guys. _ "

Summoning up as much courage as he could possibly possess, he leaned towards them as well, "Why don't you let her decide that for herself?"

Suoh's left lower eyelid was twitching, "Fine. Jin?"

"Yeah?"

"How would you feel about hosting a male client?"

Her bright red cheeks were so endearing Koji nearly missed her flustered response, "I'm… I'm not really sure… but I suppose we can't really, um, rule it out without a, ah… trial run?"

The six hosts stared at their friend with wide eyes as Koji leaned forward, smiling brightly, "When can I sign up?"

*The Next Day*

Jin sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. Peeking out at the front of the room, the tight feeling in her abdomen ramped itself up.  _ Still there. _

Standing among the normal group of girls waiting for Kyoya to sign them in were a little more than twenty guys either staring at her or giving each other "shifty eyes". One of them noticed she was watching them and puffed out his chest, winking with what he thought was a winning smile. The other boys noticed his actions and performed similar behaviors.

The brunette quickly ducked her head and tried to control her breathing. Looking anywhere except the boys eyeing her like a piece of candy, Jin was caught in plenty of worried looks. Haruhi looked like she was debating staying still or walking over to sit by her sister's side. A quick silent conversation later and Haruhi unhappily sat further back in her seat.

The twins were the only boys not sending her encouraging or concerned glaces. They were too busy glaring daggers at the group of guys in the front of the room. Jin couldn't help but feel a little better at that.  _ If any of those boys say or do something I'm not comfortable with, I have seven people as instant backup. _

It had been a little hard for that boy yesterday to truly convince the Host Club to at least have a trial run with catering to males. It seemed like every host was against it save for the Fujioka's, who were only  _ half _ interested. But after Renge popped up and rambled along some lines about  _ really getting into Jin's potential romantic interest _ , the deal had been made.

One day of male hosting and any further dates would be decided at the end of the club hours.

Of course, that didn't mean the hosts had agreed without adding 900 or so pages of strict rules and regulations.

Every male client had to sign up on the single sign-up sheet in the main office, and only the first 24 would be allowed in on the first day. There would be a client shift every fifteen minutes for the two hours they were open, and only three male guests were allowed to sit with Jin at a time. No one-on-one appointments, and she'd be sitting in a chair while the others would share a couch.

There would be no touching of any part of her unless she initiated the contact, but the client was not allowed to advance said contact in any way. Innuendos were forbidden and could result in ejection from the club room. Any action or phrase that made Jin uncomfortable would receive a similar punishment. Jin could chose whether or not to answer a question, should she deem it too personal or not for public knowledge.

Or, at least that was the basic gist of it. Honestly, Jin was just hoping for today to go smoothly. And at the end of the day, she'd either have an additional chore that she was comfortable with, or she'd never have to do it again. Right now, she was fine with either outcome.

And it was honestly sort of cute how the boys were so protective of her. Tamaki's table was to her right, Kyoya's to the left, and the cousins were behind her. Basically, if any boy stepped out of line, she had the president to order an ejection, the vice-president to second the order, and the muscle to carry it out. It was nice to have that feeling of safety.

"Hello!"

Jin's head jerked up from its bent position and she stared at her first group of the day. It was the same boy from yesterday, Koji Abe, and two others. They were smiling pleasantly at her, so she did her best to return the favor.

"Hi. I guess you're my first group today?"

"Yes, Ma'am. May we sit?"

The brunette nodded, "Of course." As her very first male clients took their seats, she sucked in another steadying breath, "So, would you like some tea?"

The two on the ends nodded, but the guy in the middle shook his head and leaned back into the cushions instead. Jin reached across the table top to grab the kettle, but the moment her hands touched china another pair of large, warmer hands clasped over hers. In her shock, she tried to pull away, but the grip was too strong for her in her surprised state.

Looking up, she saw one of the boys she didn't know partially standing up so his face was hovering a little over the tea kettle, smiling teasingly at her, "No, no… I'll get it. We wouldn't want to burden you with such a menial task."

"Ah…"

"No touching." Jin slipped her hands out from under the boy's and clasped them in her lap as Tamaki towered over her table. However, none of the three boys across from her looked all that worried at the fact that Tamaki was glaring dangerously at them.

"It was an accident, Suoh. Won't happen again." Tamaki opened his mouth, probably to call for Mori and Honey-senpai, but Jin had managed to work her heart rate back down and she tapped his arm.

"Tamaki? It's okay. If it doesn't happen again… they can stay." The blond eyed her incredulously as her client smirked and poured two cups of tea. For a moment there's no sound at the table other than liquid splashing into the tea cups. Then Tamaki nods stiffly and walks back to his own table, but not before patting his friend's shoulder in a consoling way.

She watched him walk away, worried she'd made the wrong call, when her guests speak up again, "Jin? Would you like some tea yourself?"

"Oh, um… No thank you. I'm not thirsty." In reality, Jin was dying for a drink to quench her suddenly dry mouth, but right now the boys were acting like  _ they _ were hosting  _ her _ . She noticed movement behind her and gave her head a minute shake, discouraging Honey-senpai from getting up.

Once the boys were settled with their tea, the boy in the middle sat back up straight, "Would you like for us to introduce ourselves?" Before Jin could answer, he grinned and pressed a hand to his chest, "Toshi Iwasaki, Class 3-B."

The boy on Jin's right pulled his teacup down from his lips so quickly he almost spilled, "Yuudai Nakano, Class 1-A." He smiled bashfully, "I sit behind your brother in class. Haruhi is a very bright student."

Jin managed a small smile in return and nodded, "I will be sure to pass on the compliment."  _ Okay, Yuudai seems nice. The other two... _

The third boy continued to sip at his tea until Toshi elbowed him a little roughly, "Don't be rude. Introduce yourself."

The ravenet smirked and looked up into Jin's eyes, "We've already been acquainted, haven't we, Ms. Fujioka?" The girl squirmed slightly as the two other boys started looked between the two of them, as if the truth would be written on their faces. He smirked deeper and looked at his "host" smugly, clearly waiting for her to confirm his claim.

Jin suddenly understood what he was doing. He was trying to act like he had the upper hand over these boys with getting close to her. Were these boys expecting a relationship out of this? Was this their version of  _ speed dating _ ?

Adopting a confused look, Jin tilted her head slightly, "Um… your face is familiar, but I don't recall your name."

Koji's face went beet red and the other boys relaxed a bit into their spots on the couch. The ravenet ducked his head a bit a muttered, "Koji Abe, Class 2-C. We met yesterday? I'm the one who convinced the hosts to do this?"

Jin nodded and wriggled deeper into her chair, "Okay… so do you have any questions?"

The three boys sat up straighter and Jin's stomach dropped to her toes.

* * *

By the time 4:40 rolled around, the entire host club was on edge.

Tamaki was sure he was developing a nervous twitch due to the number of times he whipped his head sideways to check up on Jin. His guests didn't seem to think he was overstepping anything, however, as they were also casting wary glances at the male clients. In clearly unnerved everyone that all of the boys were still in the room. Instead of coming and going around their appointment time, all the boys had arrived in the club room at the beginning of the day and stuck around afterwards, save for the few that had been thrown out. Tamaki had nearly exploded in a ball of rage when he caught one of the boys  _ flirting _ with some of the other female clients.

Jin wasn't looking much better. After every 15 minute shift the elder Fujioka looked more run down and nervous than the last time. She was tucked so far into her chair it was only a matter of time before she became one with the upholstery. What made it worse was the fact that her clients either didn't notice her discomfort in the slightest or found it endearing and tried to get more of those types of reactions out of her.

Tamaki didn't think he'd seen her pull her hands from her lap at all in the past hour.

He wasn't the only one who was growing tired of today's activities. The twins were completely gung-ho for physically dragging the boys out of the room and pretending like this day had never happened.

Haruhi had lost count of the number of times she and Jin had locked eyes and she saw all of Jin's anxiety on display for her. It had been a long, long time since she had seen that amount of nervousness in her sister.

Mori and Honey were also having their own quiet debates on how to help their friend. Every time they made a move to get up and start towards the boys, Jin waved them off. Kyoya noted every time that she did so, Jin attempted to sit up straight and act as if nothing was wrong. And while he admired the fact she was willing to keep her word to try it for a day, there was an unsettling feeling in his gut every time Jin sank deeper into her chair cushions. Perhaps the club should have been a little more picky in their selection.

Still, it came as a breath of relief for everyone as the second to last shift started drawing to a close. This had been the worse group yet for Jin, and it was all because of one boy.

Her previous 20 clients had nothing on Atsushi Inaba. He didn't find ways to "accidentally" brush their hands together or keep up a continuous stream of questions that he "didn't know were personal". And he certainly didn't actually do as he was told in a way that made Jin comfortable chatting with him like a small handful of the others.

No… he just stared at her. And it was just the two of them. Alone at the table.

The other two boys had been thrown out already. One of them for almost tackling Jin over the table and the other for having a huge collection of photos of her cut out from the Host Club's magazines in his bag that spilled all over the floor. The two had sworn up and down that 'I tripped! I swear it!' and 'Those aren't mine!', but the hosts were so on edge already that they didn't want to hear it.

So now there was one, and Jin was secretly hoping he would do something similar and be forced to leave. It had been a long time since she had felt this uncomfortable in her own skin, and it was not a pleasant experience. Already Jin was preparing her verdict for these additional duties for her as a host club member.

No, freaking, way.

After today, this was  _ done _ . She was not going to lose her enjoyment of being in the club because of some stupid boys. Maybe those Lobelia girls  _ did _ have a vague idea of how some boys acted around girls…

A shift from Atsushi brought her attention back to him. Jin regretted it immediately. His eyes were drilling holes into her, and she had a feeling that when she wasn't looking at him Atsushi's eyes drifted around the rest of her.

Coughing lightly, Jin tried to get comfortable in her chair, "So… our time is almost up. Is there, uh, anything you want to ask before you have to leave?"

Surprisingly, Atsushi straightened up, "Yes, I do." His young, oddly soft voice didn't match up at all to his appearance. With dark brown hair that was almost black and eyes that were the same color, he gave off the expression that he could, and was willing, to take whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. The large muscles and his broad shoulders he gained from the weight-lifting club only helped that look.

Jin nodded, trying not to look intimidated, "Really? Like what?"

"When can I see you again?"

_ Never, _ Jin was screaming in her head, but she managed to just shake her head, "I'm afraid I don't know the answer. This might be the only time I host male clients-"

"That's not what I meant."

There was a brief moment of silence before Jin spoke up again, "Then what do you mean?"

"How about next time, we meet up at a coffee shop in town? Just the two of us so the host club won't be around to interfere."

There was a strange choking sensation in Jin's throat, and she was having a hard time breathing properly. It had been an exceptionally long time since she had experienced a panic attack… she just hoped her asthma inhaler was still in her bag where she'd left it.

"Um… I'm not very comfortable with that. And even if I do keep hosting, I shouldn't show favorites."

"Why not? Then the others would leave you alone."

"But that's not the point of a host club. I'm supposed to flirt with  _ everyone _ , not just one person. This isn't speed dating or a season of  _ The Bachelorette _ !" Jin caught herself before her voice jumped up in volume or even pitch, but it was clear that at least  _ some _ of her argument caught Atsushi's attention.

Unfortunately…

"It can be!" He leaned forward over the table, gripping the sides with his hands, "If you left the host club and became my girlfriend-"

Jin interrupted him this time and stood up, getting out of her seat and moving to stand behind it, "No. You flatter me, but no. I'm staying in the host club, and I don't think I wish to host you any longer."

Atsushi's face pinched, a flicker of anger showing in his eyes as he lunged forward and grabbed her right upper arm. Squeezing tightly, he tried to growl, "Listen to me-"

But that was all he got out before a pained scream left his lips. His chest was now pressed up against a pillar that dug roughly into his cheek while his right arm was pinned behind his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jin glaring at him. Her face showed no emotion other than anger as she effortlessly kept his 200+ pound body pinned to the pillar.

Well aware that everyone eyes were now on them, Jin growled out lowly, "Do not  _ ever _ try to force yourself on a girl  _ ever again _ . I may be your host, but I am not an object that you can manhandle. Now, if I let you go, are you going to leave quietly?"

The boy hesitated before nodding stiffly, but that wasn't enough for Jin. She lifted his right fist further up until it rested between his shoulder blades, "I  _ said _ , are you going to leave quietly and not come back?"

"Yes."

"Good." Jin's hands fell away and Atsushi quickly ran towards the exit. She watched him go until her eyes fell on the remaining 17 boys watching her from the front of the room. Placing one hand on her hip, she pointed at the door with her right hand.

"You guys, too."

There was a great deal of complaining, but the other hosts were quick to stand up and start herding the group.

"You heard the lady,  _ out! _ "

"And stay out!"

Jin watched the progression for a while before she found herself leaning up against the pillar for additional support. She let out a deep sigh and shut her eyes.  _ I can't believe I agreed to this. What was I thinking? No more. I hated this so much, I'm such an idiot. I really, really hated this I never wanna do anything like this again. Never ever never. _

"You alright, Jin?"

"I'm not sure any more." Opening her eyes, Jin found herself looking at the vice-president of the club. Kyoya was watching her with something that resembled concern. And if Kyoya himself visibly looked concerned over something…

"I don't think having male clients is going to work out."

The ravenet smirked gently, but the hint of concern was still there, "I couldn't agree more. I'll make the announcement on the website later."

Letting out a grateful breath of air, Jin smiled honestly for the first time since the hosting hours began, "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Kyoya reassured her. He gestured towards Honey and Mori's table, "Why don't you go and have a slice of cake. You look like you need it."

Laughing lightly, Jin reached forward and gave Kyoya a grateful hand squeeze, "Thanks." She walked away from the pillar and sat down on the empty couch just as the doors boomed shut. The two girls sitting in front of her gently poured her some tea and handed it to her. Jin sipped quietly until Honey and Mori sat down on either side of her.

Honey hugged her tightly, "It's okay, Jin-chan. You tried it, but it didn't work out. You never have to host a boy ever again, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for being my back-up."

"No problem, Jin-chan!"

A large hand gently patted her head and she gave her other friend a smile. Mori smiled back before leaning towards the table and cutting a piece of chocolate cake for her. Jin took in another deep breath before setting her tea down and accepting the plate of cake in its place.

"Takashi, can I have a slice, too?" The small blond blinked cutely at his cousin who nodded as the girls across from them squealed in joy. Jin found herself smiling, too. Honey was almost too cute for his own good.

"Oh, that reminds me! Honey-senpai?"

"Hm?" Her friend looked up at her with curiosity and Jin smiled fully.

"I meant to tell you yesterday but got a little sidetracked. You really don't have to worry, no one could out-cute you."

Honey tilted his head, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Jin took a small bite of her cake before answering, the chocolate soothing her nerves down and away from her previous anxiety, "Yesterday. I heard that you mentioned my french cosplay was really cute and that you now had some competition."

She took another bite and Honey narrowed his eyes in thought. He stared off at nothing for a few moments before looking back at his friend, "I didn't say that, Jin-chan." The four other students fully turned to look at him as the small boy poked at his plate of cake, "Or, at least I didn't say it out-loud. You did look super cute yesterday… but I didn't say it. Who told you I did?"

Jin blinked, "Ah… Kyoya."

If it were possible, Honey looked even more confused, "Kyo-chan said that?" The small boy thought that new piece of information over a little more before smiling at his friend, "I'm glad to see him making some more friends, especially with people like you, Jin-chan!"

"Yeah…" Jin looked over her shoulder at the shadow king who was typing frantically on his laptop, "That was really nice of him." She smiled and took another large bite of cake.

 


	19. A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pairing confirmation! I have to add another relationship tag onto this story now! Eheheee... I hope you like it!

 

The house, if it could even be called a house, looked like a decent gust of wind would reduce the rotting wood into tinder any second now. It was leaning dangerously to the left, most of the roof singles were either rusted or dangling off by a single nail, and there were thorn bushes creeping across the brown grass on either side of the cracked walkway. The six handsome and well-dressed boys standing in front of said house couldn't have looked more out of place if they tried.

They stood very still on the uneven pavement, gaping in disbelief.

" _ Are… are we in the right place? _ "

" _ No. Not possible. _ "

" _ This can't be- _ "

An opening door interrupted the twins whispers and made the male members of the Ouran Host Club jump in surprise. A single, watery brown eye stared at them from the crack in the door before pulling it open a little more.

Haruhi smiled brightly, "Hey guys! We were wondering when you'd get here! C-come on in!" The small girl shook slightly as she withdrew from the doorway and held the door open. Tamaki wasted no time in running inside, setting his gift down and gently reaching out to cup Haruhi's face.

"Haruhi… what happened?"

The small, dirty girl only smiled wider, "Nothing happened, Senpai. You're just being weird is all!"

"Haru? Are they here?"

Haruhi turned her head and sucked in a breath to call out, but was cut off by a cough. The other boys had entered the house by now and were looking around the shack in dismay. The inside looked even worse than the outside.

"Jin-chan? Where are you?"

A soft voice called out from the adjacent room again, "I'm in here, Honey-senpai."

Haruhi's coughing didn't last long, and she was quick to go back to smiling. Grabbing Tamaki's hand, she lead the six boys through another doorway, "Come on, you guys. Nēchan's waiting for us in the kitchen."

They walked into another dirty room and saw Jin sitting down on the floor. A ratty, torn up pillow was beneath her and she was leaning against the wall, but a bright smile was on her face regardless. She looked even dirtier and more exhausted than her little sister, and her clothes were so small Tamaki could see bumps down her side where her ribs were showing.

"Jin?"

"Hi, gu-" the girl broke off into a big coughing fit, her entire body spasming with the force of it. Haruhi quickly moved down beside her sister and rubbed on her back. Finally the smile she'd been sporting faded a bit.

"Don't worry, Nēchan. You can have the larger piece of tuna from our share today, okay?"

"No, H- _ cough _ -aru. You- _ cough _ -'ve been talking about that slice for weeks.  _ Cough. _ You have it."

The rest of the host club knelt down in a semi-circle around the girls. Kyoya, who was sitting the closest, reached out and gently laid a hand on the older girl's shoulder which was still bouncing with the last few coughs.

"Jin, are you alright? You don't sound well."

The girl waved off her friend's concern with another faint smile, "'m fine, boys. Sorry for not greeting you at the door, but my legs are being stupid…"

Tamaki felt like his insides were encased in ice, "Can… you can't stand up?"

She shrugged, "It happens from time to time. Nothing to worry about, really." Before anyone could inform Jin that it was, indeed, something to worry about, she turned to face her sister. "Haru, do you want to get lunch out? I'm sure our friends are hungry by now."

"Okay, Nēchan." The short-haired girl struggled back to her feet and stumbled slightly along the wall towards the other side of the 'kitchen'. Tamaki watched until he felt two fingers poking at his back.

" _ Hey, Boss… this can't be where they live. _ "

" _ Maybe they're pranking us? _ "

" _ I hope so… _ " Tamaki's eyes raked the room they were in, trying to find something that would prove this was a set of some sort.

Haruhi knelt next to a cabinet, and turned back to face the club members, "Thank you guys so much for giving us a heads-up you were coming. We don't usually have the kind of food you're used to, so to save up we've been fasting for two days. Or, Dad and I have. Jin started five days ago."

"Y-you really didn't have to…"

"We could've bought something..."

"It wouldn't have been any trouble..."

Jin smiled even as her chest tightened up in obvious pain, "No way. You're our guests. It's fine."

"Jin… you starved yourself."

The girl shrugged and settled back against the wall like it was a temper-pedic mattress, her eyes fluttering closed, "Well, Haru and Dad still needed to eat something. I can handle a little less food now and again." Kyoya shook her shoulder and she pried her eyes open again, humming at the ravenet. Tamaki noted the worried look on his best friend's face.

"Jin, I've been in too many hospitals and seen too many of their patients to count, so take my word as gospel and  _ don't fall asleep _ . Not until you've had some food." All he received was another hum.

"So, I guess that's the cue to dig in, huh?" Haruhi opened a cabinet and reached in, "Here we go… ta-da!" Seven small sushi samplers were placed on the table, "What do you think? These took up most of our savings, but they sure look good! I'm so glad we found that sale..."

Tamaki couldn't seem to use his tongue, but Honey appeared to be on the verge of tears as he looked up at the 1st-year, "H-Haru-chan… there's only seven."

"Nēchan and I usually share our meals. We'll both get half of one while you boys get one for each of you!" Haruhi was drooling slightly and she quickly wiped at the corner of her mouth, "Well, let's eat!"

The twins shakily broke their chopsticks apart and each took a small bite. Immediately afterwards Hikaru grabbed a napkin and quietly spit his fish out. Kaoru was clearly struggling with his own and murmured into Tamaki's ear, " _ It tastes like rubbery cardboard! I don't think it's real fish! _ "

Tamaki felt like his world was slipping out from underneath him. The twins were poking at their samplers in disgust. Haruhi was slowly savoring her half of the meal piece by piece, drooling more obviously as she did. And Mori, Honey, and Kyoya were trying to coax Jin into eating something.

Mori was gently keeping her head upright while Honey knelt beside them, encouraging Jin as Kyoya gently placed a small sushi roll in her mouth, "Jin-chan, you have to eat this now or you could get super sick! Okay? Can you chew that up now?"

It was like pulling teeth. Jin was slowly chewing the fake-fish, clearly running out of strength, and the boy's attempts to remain calm are replaced by panicked looks.

She all of the sudden ceased movement and slumped sideways against Kyoya's chest. The chopsticks clattered into the dirt on the ground as he grabbed at her shoulders and shook her frantically, "Jin?!"

"NO!" Tamaki burst upright in his own bed, screaming at the top of his lungs.

* Timeskip *

"When do you think you'll be back home, Nēchan?" Haruhi pressed the iPhone between her right ear and shoulder as she shifted her grip on the grocery bags once more. Tucking the heavier one into the crook of her left arm, she reached back up to grip her phone as Jin's voice came through the receiver.

" _ Not long. I just finished my last rounds so I shouldn't be more than five minutes. Did you get everything for dinner? _ "

"Yup. On sale, too!"

" _ Wow, it's not like anyone planned that or anything. _ "

Haruhi smiled, "Yeah, yeah. I'll get started on lunch as soon as I get home. Salad for you, right?"

" _ Haru, I can't survive on that rabbit food! I'm a warrior! _ " The brunette laughed at the fake-serious tone. The two had started watching a show from America some of Jin's friends recommended, and they were slowly becoming hooked. And since Jin already wasn't the biggest fan of salads, having her favorite character agree with her only spiked that dislike. Haruhi found it hilarious.

"Okay, Warrior. How about we just figure it out when you get home?"

" _ Sounds good. I'm walking home as we speak. See you in a few. Love you! _ "

"Love you, too, Nēchan."

Haruhi hung up with a smile and slipped her phone into her pocket.  _ Okay… what am I feeling for lunch? Sushi? Or rice balls? Or maybe I could try my hand at one of those recipes Jin brought back home? Anything would be good, right now, actually. Then after lunch, we can work on the laundry and maybe watch another episode of Supernatural as we clean the living room. _ Her face scrunched up in a big smile. Today was going to be a good day, she could tell!

Rounding the last corner to her street, Haruhi stuttered to a stop at the sight of the crowd in front of the apartments.  _ What is this? Did someone get hurt? Was there a fire? _ Moving closer, Haruhi noticed that the large crowd was gathered because they were looking at something in the street. There was a car parked along the sidewalk as well.  _ Was someone hit? Was there an accident? _

The sound of a car door clicking made her stop and stare as the  _ Host Club climbed out of the car to stare at her apartment building. _

There were no words. Haruhi just stared, open mouthed, as the hosts exchanged their opinions about the large building in front of them. It was probably a miracle that the groceries didn't just tumble out of her arms.

" _ No… _ " Her groan perked the ears of the hosts and they turned around.

"Haru-chan! There you are!" Honey bounced over and hugged her tightly, "We were looking for you! Were you just out shopping? Did you buy cake?"

The brunette felt her eyelid twitch, "What… are… you… doing… here?" It took all her willpower to not grind her teeth.  _ Why couldn't they leave me alone on the weekends? It's one thing to never leave me alone at school, but now they're invading my home as well? You've got to be kidding me! _

"You're not happy to see us, Haruhi?"

"Aww… our feelings are hurt!"

The brunette roughly shoved the twin's arms off of her shoulders as Kyoya readjusted his glasses, "Tamaki had another episode and insisted we come make sure you weren't living in squalor. I apologize on the club's behalf; most of us didn't have a say in whether we came or not."

"Kyoya! That's not what happened at all!" Tamaki started pacing back and forth in front of Haruhi, starting to spin the tale of his nightmare that he  _ apparently _ had to take seriously because what happened in his warped imagination somehow had a direct cause-and-effect on reality.

"Okay, that's enough! I don't care  _ why _ you came but you need to leave, now!"

Tamaki stumbled backwards, face twisted in horror, "You… you want us to leave? Why-"

"Because I get fed up with you all just by being in the same club as you! I can't change that, but I should be allowed to relax at my  _ own home _ with just my family without you butting in! Do you really have to follow me around everywhere I go?" Haruhi felt her hands shake while the boys stared dumbly at her. When was the last time she'd outright shouted at anyone?

Unfortunately, now her neighbors were watching her, too. Calming down, Haruhi spoke again though she still kept the scowl on her face, "Just tell me why you came here so I can nip whatever insane idea you have in the bud and you guys can leave."

"B-but Haruhi…"

The brunette rubbed at her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a nasty headache starting up, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a familiar figure with a purple shirt walking down the sidewalk. The person paused. Stood still for a moment. Then turned around and started walking back the way they had come.

Tilting her head to the side a bit, Haruhi called out after the person, "Not so fast, Nēchan! Get back here!"

A loud groan answers her, but soon enough Jin is walking back to them and standing beside her sister with her arms crossed, "What are you guys doing here?"

"They're creeping on us at our home, Nēchan."

"No!" Tamaki held up his hands, "That's not the reason at all! I had a nightmare about the state of your living space and wanted to ease my worries! That's all!"

As the blond continued rambling to whoever would listen to him, Honey bounced over to give his friend a hug, "I'm just happy I get to see you on the weekend, Jin-chan! And your outfit is really cute! Were you working at the animal shelter again, is that why you didn't go shopping with Haru-chan?"

The taller brunette attempted to glare, but couldn't find the fire to do so. Honey-senpai was one of the three least-annoying boys in their club, not to mention an old friend. She couldn't get mad at him for wanting to see her and Haru. So she sighed in defeat and patted the small boy's head with her left hand, as her right hand was holding her "work bag" on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I was working. And thanks for the compliment." She glanced down at her outfit, wondering what she had worn today.

_ Oh, right. _

Jin was wearing a pair of brown capri's and a purple blouse that went with a purple owl necklace and the pair of white sandals she had changed into before leaving the shelter. Since it was so warm out she had forgone her usual blue sweatshirt and the bottom half of her hair had curled ever so slightly in the heat. She hadn't really been aiming for cute, but if it worked that way she wasn't going to argue.

"Okay, with that out of the way, I really think you guys should leave before Haru explodes. Her face is looking a little too red for it to be good."

Honey stuck his lower lip out in a pout and went to open his mouth when two blurs of yellow and blue shot past the group and right into Jin. The girl let out a soft 'oof' and quickly placed her bag on the cement, but otherwise didn't seem hurt.

"Nēchan!"

"You're back!"

The host club watched in shock as the blurs turned out to be a twin boy and girl who looked no older than seven. Haruhi was the only one who wasn't surprised and smiled at the little scene. Jin's hands were grabbed and shaken up and down in time with the children's bounces, all three of them beaming at each other.

"Nēchan, my teacher said I got the lead for my class play!"

"Nēchan! Nēchan! I got an A on my math quiz!"

"Wow, I'm so proud of you two! What play is it, Kei?"

"Nēchaaaaaaan!" Before Kei could answer the question, three more children ran over to Jin hugging at her legs. Soon the five children were talking simultaneously, attempting to be the one to tell Jin about their achievements first. The girl just smiled and listened to each one to the best of her ability.

Tamaki leaning closer to Haruhi, eyes glued to the six people in front of him, "Um, Haruhi? Why are they all calling Jin 'Nēchan'?"

Haruhi smiled and shook her head, "Because she  _ is _ their Nēchan. Sort of. Nēchan is the big sister of the apartment complex. She's babysat every kid here at least three times and everyone loves her. She helps the kids with their homework and extracurricular activities. She goes to school plays and sports games and is an expert at encouraging them to do their best no matter what it is." She smiled as her sister was coerced into hefting Gina onto her back before turning back to the group.

"Come on, you guys. I'll let you guys have a peek at the apartment, but then you have to leave, okay?"

"Hold on, Haruhi."

"We want to watch this for a little longer." Haruhi scowled, but couldn't blame the boys. Watching Nēchan interact with the other tenants at the apartment complex was always enjoyable and sometimes awe-inspiring. The children had now finished talking about their achievements and were now working through their questions.

"Hey Nēchan, can you help me study for my history quiz next Friday?"

"Can you come to the play, Nēchan? It's in three weeks and it doesn't cost anything!"

"Nēchan, what's the answer to life?"

Jin didn't look very confused by the onslaught of questions. Instead, she shook whichever limb the child she was answering was on and said, "I can help you study on Wednesday and Thursday night after I come home from school. Three weeks? Mmm… I can probably make it. And the answer to life is 42."

The children squealed in laughter and clung tighter to the brunette who grinned.

"Gina! Kei! Come along now, Fujioka-san would probably like to go home at some point and we still have some shopping to do."

The twins whined and tried to keep their grip on Jin, but the brunette simply swung the girl off her back and looped her other arm around the boy. The twins complained, but they were still grinning as Jin carried them over to their mother. As she did so, the two other boys latched more firmly onto her legs and sat on her feet, making the walking slow going, while the girl took a flying leap and managed to replace Gina on Jin's back. The adults that had gathered outside to watch laughed, but soon enough the other three children were called away by their parents. By the time Jin was dropping the two twins off in front of their mother, she was child-free.

She exchanged a few words with the lady before turning around and walking back to her sister and the hosts, straightening out her pants as she went. The children who were being herded away waved and called out their goodbyes, which she responded to with a smile.

It was clear to the boys that the Fujioka's moods had taken a swing, and they weren't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

"So…" the twins began, "About checking out your place..?"

Jin and Haruhi shared a glance before sighing, "Alright…"

* * *

The eight teenagers stood outside of Room 208. It was set on the corner of the second level of the complex, and underneath the window to the right side of the door was a flower box that was lit up with red and yellow marigolds. Tamaki was staring intently at the key Haruhi was holding in her hand. While the outside didn't look as shabby as his dream had depicted, the inside could be just as bare and tarnished as he feared.

He had a vaguest idea that Haruhi was saying something, but he wasn't really listening. His worry wasn't letting him focus.

The door in front of him swung open and Tamaki let his eyes dart over as much of the room as they could.  _ No newspaper floors. Clean and well-kept appliances. Rather small… _

A sigh escaped his lips and Tamaki felt his shoulders finally relax.

"What a-" His hand shot out to cover Hikaru's mouth. Thankfully, Haruhi didn't seem to notice. The boys poked their heads in through the door frame while the sisters slid inside and removed their shoes.

Kyoya hummed, "Wood built. Three bedrooms. The usual living space of a commoner family of three…"

"It's super cute! I feel bigger just by being in here!"

Haruhi huffed but didn't say anything, opting instead to rummage through the cabinets for tea leaves. Jin waited patiently for the boys to walk in and tilted her head when they didn't.

"Um, you boys can come in now. Just please take your shoes off before you walk on the wood, if you don't mind."

Now it was their turn to look confused, "Do you have house slippers for us?"

"No…"

"Oh! Never mind, you have those commoner mats!" After that, the boys quickly slid their shoes off and trekked into the apartment, thanking the girls as they passed by. They piled themselves into the living room, but were clearly having a few, ah,  _ issues _ in regards to finding places to sit. Jin giggles at Mori accidentally hits his head on the hanging light. Not because her friend's pain is funny or whatever, but he verbally said the word 'Ow'. Just like that. Monotone. Hence, she giggled.

"Okay, boys. I'm going to quickly put my stuff away and then Haru and I can start making some tea to go along with those cakes you brought. Don't act surprised, Honey-senpai, we both know that's exactly what you brought over in that little box of yours."

With one last smile, the brunette disappeared through the door on the right side of the bathroom. Kyoya couldn't help but watch as she did so, questions rolling around in his head without any perfect answers. He was still unsure whether Tamaki had a point and Jin might have a crush on Mori-senpai. He just… couldn't tell. She didn't appear overly attached to the tall male, but at the same time the two clearly had a close history and she  _ did _ just giggle like one of their clients at Mori's speech patterns.

Kyoya shook his head, coming to terms with where his thoughts were heading. Deciding against joining the other idiots on the floor for the time being, he drifted over to the Fujioka's bookshelf. He didn't understand exactly why he couldn't shake that train of thought away for long, considering it didn't affect him in any way, shape, or form… but he did wonder at times.

"YOU LITTLE SNEAK!"

The hosts jumped in their spots and simultaneously dove for the living room entrance, landing in an uncomfortable looking pile. Kyoya managed to step over their heads and joined Haruhi in knocking on the bedroom door.

"Nēchan? Are you alright?"

The door opened revealing Jin's pout and a familiar bird perched on her right shoulder. Kyoya stared at it for a moment. Wasn't that the bird from the shelter?

"Sora?"

"He snuck into my bag! Again!"

Jin continued to pout, but there was an odd lift at the corner of her mouth that let them know she wasn't incredibly upset at the fact. And if there was any possible way for birds to look smug, then it was however Sora was looking right now.

A few moments later the small white bird was happily zipping around the apartment, occasionally fluttering into a 'temporary bird cage' to peck at some food or water before flying out again. Jin watched him for a moment before going back into her room.

"Haru? You should probably start the tea without me," were her last words before she shut the door once more.

"Alright, do you guys mind what kind I make? We don't have that big of a selection but if there's one type you  _ know _ you don't like-"

"Well, how about you just make some of this Black tea? Our father bought it for us from his last oversees trip and we haven't had a chance to try it yet, so we figured maybe we could have it here."

"According to our dad it's best served as milk tea."

"Hm…" Haruhi got a thoughtful look on her face before she walked over to Jin's door and knocked, "Hey, Nēchan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do we still have milk?"

"Uh… I think so! It wasn't on your list for today, right?"

Haruhi almost smacked her own forehead, "Oh, right. Duh. Thanks, Nēcha-"

"ARE YOU JOKING?!"

The brunette blinked at the sudden increase of volume before leaned closer to the door, "Nēchan? Everything okay in there?"

Silence met her question and for a moment Haruhi was tempted to open the door, but it opened itself before she could decide. Jin was now full on scowling, but there was still a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Haru? Get the hutch and the cage."

"Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Rolling her eyes, Haruhi tossed the pack of tea onto the counter before hauling a modestly sized hutch and cage out from their front closet. She didn't answer any of the boy's questions as she set them up in the corner of the living room. Thankfully, Haruhi had a knack for it, and they were ready by the time Jin walked back out of her room, a small white bunny in her arms and a ferret perched on her shoulder.

"Well boys, meet Mimi and Kuu. Escape artists extraordinaire."

"You're too good with animals, Nēchan."

"Shut up, Haru."

Haruhi laughs as she walks back towards the kitchen part of their home, making sure to wash her hands thoroughly before starting the tea (finally). Jin gave the fuzzy animals a few strokes before situating them in their Fujioka-temporary-homes. With a sigh, she pulled out her cell phone and tapped in a quick series of numbers. While it rang, she washed her hands in the kitchen sink and gave the strange bag of black tea a questioning look. Haruhi jerked her head back towards the boys and Jin nodded.

Suddenly the long-haired girl looks away, holding the phone a little closer, "Hey, Aki. No, I didn't forget anything, I just-" She paused for a beat, "Yeah… yeah… yes, all three this time. Yeah, we have enough. Okay, thank you."

She pulled the phone away and looked up to see the rest of the host club staring at her. She grinned sheepishly, "It's happened before…"

Haruhi snorted and dodged her sister's playful swipe before the girls focused in on tea making. They didn't usually have this many guests over, so they had to pull down two different sets of tea cups. They complimented each other well enough, though, being blue and white, so hopefully the boys wouldn't complain.

"Alright, tea's done." Jin balanced the tea tray on her hip with practiced ease as she served the boys, "Sorry they're in different cups, but whatever works, right?"

There were dulled affirming noises from the hosts as they all took a few sips. Honey managed to drain half of his tea before he couldn't take it any more, "So, can we serve the cake now?"

The others chuckled at his obvious eagerness and Jin nodded, making the small boy cheer, "Yay! Haru-chan, Jin-chan, you can chose your cakes first!"

"Uh, really? Okay, then, I'd like the strawberry cake, please."

Jin smiled but sipped her tea again before answering, "I'm grateful for the offer, Honey-senpai, but I think I'm just going to stick with tea today."

"Wah? But Jin-chan I thought you loved cake? Look, there's even double chocolate!"

"I know, sweetie, but I already had a small cake today. One of my coworkers had a birthday and brought sweets to share, so, polite pass."

"Oh… okay, Jin-chan. I guess that makes sense."

"I wish to decline your offer as well, Honey-senpai."

The small boy laughed, "Well, I knew  _ you _ wouldn't want some, Kyo-chan! It's okay! What about the rest of you?"

As Honey doled out the rest of the cake slices, Kyoya pulled his journal out and flipped a few pages, "Jin, I was hoping to spend some of this time discussing the future sales of your drawings. Have you come up with any more new creations? I'd like to start selling them as soon as possible, if you wouldn't mind."

The girl on his right smirked into her tea cup and glanced up at her sister. The two smiled deviously at each other before looking away, "I'm not so sure you want to see some of my new  _ personal _ creations, but I do have a few more you can sell. I can bring them to school tomorrow if you want, they're not completely finished yet. I still have some- HEY!"

While Jin had been talking, Kyoya noticed a sketch pad resting next to the television. It was the same one she brought to the beach a few weeks ago. Curious as to what she meant by 'personal creations', he went for it. Jin saw what he was reaching for and spun around, wrapping her arms around his chest to pull him back even as he grabbed it and started flipping through the new drawings. When he landed on the last page, he stilled.

Sighing, Jin released him and pulled away but still keeping her legs thrown over his. He pushed himself into a sitting position as he flipped between the last two pages of the book. On said pages were renditions of the hosts… as girls. There were a few similarities between the drawings and how the hosts had looked like when the Lobelia girls came by, but these sketches were far more realistic and natural looking. He looked up at Jin for an explanation.

"I was just wondering how you all would've looked like if you'd really been born as the opposite gender. I think I did okay, and I wasn't going to make you sell it either. And before you get mad, notice I did one of Haru and I, too."

Kyoya glanced back down at his female counterpart and smirked, "Well, you did a much better job than Tamaki when he dressed us up." The sketchbook made a small loop around the table, letting the other hosts have a good laugh before going back to their cakes.

"Well, if we're going to start selling my drawings, what do you have in mind money wise?"

"Hm. Let's see… I was hoping you and I could discuss the selling prices based on the different variables, such as if it were a realistic sketch or a cartoon rendition or how many hosts are in each drawing. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

Jin shrugged and popped a strawberry in her mouth. As she chewed, Kyoya's eyes trailed to her tea cup saucer. There was a tiny pile of strawberries there, and another quick glance confirmed they came from Mori-senpai's cake.

"Auctioning."

"Hm?" Kyoya looked away from his Senpai's strawberry-less cake, "What did you say?"

"Auctioning. Since my drawings are all going to be different, how about we hold online auctions for them like everything else we sell? Make them all 24 hours or so… and whenever someone wins they have to wait a certain period of time before they can auction again, which should give all the girls an opportunity to win instead of just the extremely rich. Oh, and also by auctioning we won't run out of my drawings faster than I can make them."

The two stared at each other for a long while. Long enough that the others around them noticed the staring contest and were starting to grow uncomfortable.

"Jin?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind helping me with the club's finances from here on out? Giving my work a second pair of eyes might help save me some precious time." The hosts gaped as Jin grinned broadly.

"Absolutely."

"Excellent. However, before you make your final decision, if you could take a quick look at this page?" Kyoya flipped back in his journal until the words 'Cake financials' were scrawled at the top of the page. Jin leaned over and ran her eyes down the page until they hit the bottom. Her eyes widened.

"...Ah. Yeah, I think may be able to help out a little." She glanced up at the ravenet before laughing and shaking her head, "No wonder you don't care for sweets. Looking at these numbers,  _ anyone _ would get sick to their stomach."

Kyoya smiled and closed his journal just as Honey set down his fork, "Ah! That cake was so yummy! But it was kinda small…"

"Yeah, it is almost noon, anyways."

"So, Haruhi, what did you have planned for lunch?"

The brunette stared at the boys for a moment before turning to her sister pleadingly, "Hey, Nēchan?"

"Nuh, uh, Haru.  _ I'm _ cooking dinner, so  _ you're _ doing lunch. Besides, I'm sure these boys would prefer a more Japanese styled meal rather than my new Americanized diet."

Kyoya's eyes dipped to the girl by his side one last time before standing up, "It's alright, we'll take care of it. You two were gracious enough to invite us in without much forewarning we were coming, so how about we pay for lunch? You can order some of your favorite sushi and have it delivered."

"Wow, that was actually nice of you Kyoya! Are there some underhand motives that we're not aware of? Perhaps you'll make us pay for it later?"

"Not at all. We can just use the money from the photographs of you two we've already auctioned off."

Jin smiled and looked away, "Damn it. You were  _ so close. _ "

"Heh, well if you guys want sushi Jin has a friend who runs a shop nearby. They don't deliver yet but it's not that far of a walk. I think you guys would like it, it's pretty high-quality for such a small place. She's done well for herself."

Tamaki had some sort of a spasm and yanked Kyoya's pen away to start scribbling a message on his napkin. Jin watched him curiously for a moment or two before a small tugging on her shirt refocused her attention.

"Why can't Haru-chan just make us something for lunch? I'm sure we'd like it no matter what she made!"

"It's not that she couldn't, but it would take her some time. Haru's not especially gifted in making quick meals."

"That's okay, we could wait!"

Shaking her head, the brunette's exchanged a look, "Well, Haru? What do you think?"

"I guess I could make something, but I'd have to make another run to the supermarket-"

"Can we come? Can we come?"

"No."

"We're coming anyways!"

Jin laughed as she stood up, the twins bolting out the door with Honey and Mori right behind them. She followed them quickly. If some of her neighbors were still out and about she wanted to be there to explain her friend's behavior. Thankfully she noticed the four of them happily waiting around at the bottom of the stairs for the others to join them.

"Jin, what did you mean by an 'Americanized diet'?"

"Hm? Oh, that. I kind of got a taste for American foods while I was gone considering my host father was a very popular caterer  _ and _ owned his own restaurant."

Kyoya smirks, amused, "I suppose that would do the trick."

"Yeah. He sent me home with a book that had copies of a lot of his recipes, so I've been making them all one by one for Haru and Dad. They've turned out well so far."

"Really? Are you planning on opening your own restaurant after high school? Or perhaps becoming a famous chef?"

The girl laughed again and leaned against the side of the staircase, "Not at all. I plan to pursue Accounting."

"How brave of you."

"If I was given a yen every time I heard that phrase I wouldn't need my scholarship for Ouran. Besides, I'm good with numbers. I took a year-round accounting class in America and did really well."

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't go into it if I didn't. Besides, it pays well no matter where I go."

"Are you looking into-

"Hey, that lady looks a bit like Jin."

"Yeah, she kind of does. That's weird."

Jin jerked away from the wall and bolted up the stairs.

"Jin? What are-"

"Haru and Tamaki! They're not out here yet!" There's the sounds of pounding feet behind her, but Jin ignores them for favor of running back to her home. She dives into her apartment, "Dad! Stop!"

A long-haired woman whipped her head to the side, staring at Jin while holding Tamaki off the floor by his shirt collar. The brunette rushed forward and pulled the blond away. He sank to the floor with a whimper and cowered behind Jin's legs as she stared at the lady. The other five boys, having followed the brunette when she raced up the steps very suddenly, looked into the apartment to see Jin standing firm with her arms outstretched and her face determined between Tamaki and the lady they'd seen earlier. Oddly enough, the two  _ did _ look like each other.

"Jin? What is going on here?"

"Dad, this is our friend, Tamaki Suoh. I don't know what you saw to attack him, but I promise you that if Haru wasn't screaming at him when you entered, then it wasn't what you thought it was."  _ Dad? So this lady is Mr. Fujioka? _

"...Fine. Haruhi, darling, please explain why I found this young man pinning you to the floor a few seconds ago?"

"W-we were on our way to the supermarket, but Tamaki hadn't left the apartment yet, so I went to check on him. He was paying respects to Mom. We talked for a bit, then got up to join the others when he slipped and fell on me. It was an accident, Dad."

The transvestite's eyes softened a tad and he looked down at the blond on the floor, "You were paying respects to Kotoko?"

"Y-yes, sir. I promise I would n-never disrespect either of your daughters, s-sir."

"Alright then, I apologize for the misunderstanding."

Jin relaxed her stance and smiled at her dad, who quickly pulled her into a spontaneous hug, "Oh! My daughter is so smart and kind! If you wanted to be a lawyer I'm sure you'd be a fantastic one!"

"Yeah, Dad, thanks. But, I think I'm going to stick to Accounting."

Wriggling out of her father's tight embrace, Jin noticed the others hanging out by the doorway, "Dad? This is the Host Club we've told you about."

Her father smiled, "Really? Come in, come in, boys. It's so nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you!" The host club was frantically ushered back into the apartment. They sat down around the table (except for Jin, who was making a splash of tea for her father) as Ranka introduced himself. The twins tilted their heads to the side and stared at him for a few moments.

"You know, I have to say Ranka-"

"-I'm surprised that we didn't recognize who you were sooner."

"Oh, and why do you say that? Have my daughters told you all about me?"

"Not really, sir. Your daughters are a little tight-lipped about their personal life."

"No, what we meant was that you three look oddly alike…"

Jin came back and set a teacup in front of her father before kneeling between him and Kyoya. The boys were finally allowed to do a side-by-side compare/contrast between the three Fujioka's, and they were a little caught off guard by it.

"You know… you two do have a point…"

"Haru-chan and Jin-chan have the same eyes and hair color… Haru-chan and her dad have the same mouths… Jin-chan and her dad have similar body types… and all three of them have the same nose! That's so cool that you share traits with each other!"

"Oh, you're just as sweet as they described Mitsukuni!"

"Hold on… you know my name?"

"Of course! Jin has showed me a few of her drawings before, but I also recognize you and Takashi from when I picked Jin up from the Dojo on occasion. I always saw the three of you talking and playing together, so I just put two and two together. I'm so happy the three of you found each other so soon after Jin came home! Oops! I got sidetracked! Anyways, you two are the Hitachiin brothers, Hikaru and Kaoru. I'll try not to confuse you, but hopefully I'll continue to remember which way you two part your hair! And last but not least you two are Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya Ootori, the boys in Jin's class!"

"So, wait… Haruhi and Jin-senpai talk about us at home?"

Ranka grinned, "Not at first! When Jin was away I had to depend on Kyoya calling me with updates! But once my eldest daughter returned they was quick to start telling me all about the club."

He gave his daughters a beaming smile, but they responded with gaping mouths, "Dad…"

"Did you just say-"

"- _ Kyoya used to call you? _ "

Ranka tilted his head, "Did I forget to tell you? Kyoya called me the day after Haruhi joined the host club. He wanted to check in and make sure she didn't have any allergies or what not and it quickly turned into him being my updater. But once you girls started telling me about the club I told him I didn't need the calls any longer!"

"I had a feeling that was the reason." Kyoya turned to Jin, "Exactly what have you told your father about the club, if I may inquire?"

"No, you may not."

The ravenet is surprised by the glare she's giving him, "You… are upset?"

"Brilliant deduction,  _ Sherlock. _ Come on, Haru, let's go shopping."

The brunettes stand up and stiffly walk towards the door, ignoring the boy's shouting behind them. Sighing, Ranka leaned back a little and looked up at Sora who was preening in his cage at the moment.

"You'd best leave them alone for a while, boys, I doubt you'll get much of a conversation from them at the moment. My girls have always had incredibly independent spirits… except for each other. However, now that we're alone, I have to tell you boys a few things. First off, I am grateful that you have become Haruhi's friends and have accepted Jin into your group. My daughters are much happier now, even more so than before Jin went to America.

"But still, be forewarned. My two daughters are very close, as they've only ever had each other, despite being very opposite. Jin is highly protective of Haruhi, something you're probably aware of by now. You've won my eldest daughter's favor, she is a very kind person after all, but I wouldn't push your luck or test her trust in you. Should you lose that trust for any reason, it quickly becomes the hardest thing for you to get back. And believe me... you'd want it back."

Ranka gave each paling boy a lingering glance. Kyoya was the only one who wasn't staring at him in fear of his words, but the ravenet  _ was _ clenching his pen fairly tightly.  _ Hmm... _

Anyways… since I got that out of the way, would you gentlemen care to play a little game with me?"

"A game?"

"What kind of game?"

* * *

Ten minutes later the group of seven were peeking around a sidewalk corner, watching two brunettes walking into a market store together. The taller girl held the door open for the shorter one and they disappeared behind the panels of glass.

"Alright, in we go!"

Like ill-trained assassins, the group rushed down the sidewalk and into the supermarket. It wasn't hard to find the girls, the store wasn't extremely large, and Ranka knew his daughters.

"If lunch is still undecided, the two are going to go through the boxed meals first and take a look around. If nothing sounds particularly good, they'll separate. Jin will go to the fresh fruits while Haruhi tackles the vegetables. They'll roam alone for a bit before one of them comes up with an idea and meet up with the other. It may seem like an odd tradition, but at least it's predictable and gets us healthy, fresh food into the house."

Like clockwork, the two girls do just that. After slowly drifting down the boxed dinner aisle, they shake their heads and walk away from each other, clearly deep in thought. The twins, easily bored by nature, turn around and start looking up and down the end aisles. Honey must've noticed the bakery sign at the opposite end of the store because he suddenly took off running, his cousin close behind.

Noticing Tamaki was slowly following Haruhi, Ranka went after him. An accident it may have been, but the image of that blond boy pinning his youngest daughter to the floor was still etched firmly in his head. When a third set of footfalls didn't reach his ears, Ranka briefly looked behind him. Wasn't Kyoya just by his side? Nope. The ravenet was actually moving away from the other two, his eyes fixed on Jin's retreating back.

Ranka's lips pursed.  _ Hmm. _

* Kyoya's P.O.V. *

_ Why am I even doing this? This is beneath me. I could be at home, studying, but instead I'm stalking a classmate through a commoner's supermarket? Is this what my life is becoming? _

Despite all of his mental reprimanding, Kyoya wasn't walking away. He remained tucked against the side of a wall of sliced bread, watching as Jin Fujioka strolled up and down the piles of fruit by herself. Occasionally she's stop and look at a price-tag or two before moving on, at one point plucking a bag of green grapes for her basket.

It was oddly fascinating to watch her. There were times when he knew exactly what she was going to turn to next, and times when her choice completely surprised him. Jin wasn't predictable; there was no telling what she might say or do, and it was strangely exciting for him. Kyoya had always prided himself on being able to see and diagnose others, yet Jin Fujioka was a new thing entirely. She didn't fit into 'Kyoya Ootori's Guide to People', where everyone did everything in accordance to their self interest.

Just trying to fit her into a box in his mind was a one-way ticket to headache city. She was selfless except when she wasn't. She was kind and helpful except when she told people to 'f' off. She encouraged Haruhi to live her own life and learn how to deal with what it threw at her, but never failed to help her sister work through every problem she managed to have. Even her insults and teasing and affectionate terms were constantly overlapping.

Jin was confusing and strange and headache inducing and yet simply-

"Amazing."

Kyoya was surprised to see Ranka by his side. That last he'd seen of Mr. Fujioka he had been following Haruhi with Tamaki, probably to ensure the blond wouldn't act like a fool around his youngest daughter.  _ Perhaps he realized it was a lost cause? _

The older man peeked out at Jin and watched as she sighed at the price for a container of raspberries, "Watching my daughters is always an interesting experience, wouldn't you agree? Jin because she is so hard to describe, and Haruhi because you can see her subconsciously attempting to be like her big sister." Sideways glance. "I assume you've noticed?"

"Yes." Kyoya smirked as Jin finally walked away from the treat and look over a few apples, "It's nothing I've ever seen before."

"Mm. You're a very observational person, Kyoya. I am, too." The two were silent for a few moments as Jin chewed her lower lip while eyeballing a kiwi stand.

"You sound as if there's more you wish to say."

"Hm, observational. Very well, I wished to go into further detail as to how I learned to observe others just as you do. This won't come as any shock, I suppose, but I learned it from them." Haruhi suddenly appeared beside her sister and gently paced three kiwi in Jin's basket. The taller girl didn't even flinch at the arrival.

"How so?"

"The two of them read and react to each other so well, of course I would try to pick up a few signals. While I'm not nearly as fluent in nonverbal communication as they are, I have grown to learn a few hints and signs. For example, I can tell when two people care deeply for each other."

"Understandable, especially with Haruhi and Jin as close to each other as they are."

"Agreed. But that is not where I was going, Mr. Ootori." Kyoya turned his head and found himself locked in an intense staring contest with Mr. Fujioka.

"Pardon?"

"What I'm trying to say, Kyoya, is that I know that you care deeply about my eldest daughter. You shifted closer to Jin once she sat down beside you. When the two girls went off in different directions you followed her without even giving Haruhi a glance. And as I explained the consequences for toying around with Jin's trust, you might not have showing it very physically, but I could tell the idea of being cast away by her terrified you. And it's clear that even as you feel and do these things, they are slowly beginning to frighten you.

"The  _ only _ reason I am speaking with you about this now, instead of waiting for you to come to terms with your feelings on your own, is because Jin cares for you, too. Unfortunately, being the person she is, I can not tell how much or if it will ever be more. I simply wished to warn you against taking advantage of her feelings, for I will never, ever forgive you if you do."

Kyoya felt like most of his appendages had fallen asleep. This most likely was a result of his heart pounding madly in his chest. For the first time in a long while, he was at a loss for words.

"I… I don't… but Mori-senpai?"

"Brotherly. Don't change the subject, Kyoya. Your calls may have helped me during Haruhi's first month in your little club, but from now on, when it comes to Jin, do not consider yourself to be my friend." Ranka's face softened a tad, "You are an intelligent, handsome young man with a bright future, but as of this moment on you are now no more than a boy who may take one of my beloved daughters away from me. I won't count you as an enemy, but know that you will have to work hard in order to gain my trust. Good luck with that."

Just like that, Kyoya is left all alone by the bread again. His face felt unnaturally warm and he struggled to cool down.  _ Why did he say that? What possessed him to-why did he say all of that? It's not true… it can't be. Ranka is merely a romantic, much like Tamaki. I most certainly do NOT have feelings for Jin Fujioka. And besides, even if I did, I wouldn't even have the time or patience to really think about it. No! No, stop thinking about that! I don't- _

"Kyoya?" The ravenet experienced a full-bodied jolt at the sound of Jin saying his name. Clearing his throat and hoping that his face wasn't an absurd red color, he faced the girl marching up to him.

"You too? Did the  _ entire _ host club follow us here?"

"We - _ ahem _ \- we were invited by your father. There wasn't much opposition."

Jin rolls her eyes, but there's the beginnings of a smile on her face, "Well, as long as you're here, you might as well help me with the shopping. Tamaki asked for a stew pot for lunch, so I'm heading towards the deli. Let's go, Glasses." She held out a hand, clearly for him to take. Kyoya stares at it, Ranka's speech still echoing around his head as he slowly reached out.

_ Because Jin cares for you, too-they are slowing beginning to frighten you-if it will ever be more-Jin cares for you, too-never, ever forgive-Mori-senpai? Brotherly-Jin cares for you-take my beloved daughter-Jin cares for-Jin cares-Jin cares-Jin cares-Jin... _

His palm settled snugly against hers and she lead him away, "Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but knowing this store it's going to get pretty crowded in here soon. I don't want to lose you in here since you don't know where you're going."

"...It's alright. It doesn't bother me." And the truth was, it didn't. What bothered him was how he could almost  _ feel _ Ranka's eyes burning into his head for the rest of the shopping trip and throughout lunch. Even when Kyoya gently pushed the bunny back into Jin's lap again and again while it tried to crawl into his, he could feel the parental rage being aimed at him.

And yet, when Ranka would turn away to give Tamaki the same treatment and Kyoya could relax, he continued keeping his eyes on Jin. The way she smiled up at him and happily carried a conversation over the strangest topics. She stole various pieces of meat from his plate, claiming the pot was too far away, and laughed every time the bunny tried to swap laps. Then she's look out across the table and the smile would be replaced by a content look and hum. Her left hand would gently stroke the rabbit's ears and she'd chew almost thoughtfully. She'd let Kyoya take the lead in the conversation and listen through a full topic without a single word.

Kyoya had never felt more confused or off balanced around another person before, and yet she was still constant and a complete pleasure to be around. He found himself smiling and laughing throughout the meal, finally consenting to have his lap be occupied as Jin asked for his opinion on Solar Energy.

_ Feelings? Maybe. _

 


	20. Ferret Hunting!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes off RIGHT after the last one. Apologies if Kyoya is a little OOC for this one. Hope you like it!

 

"Jin-chan? Can I hold Mimi?" Without even a sideways glance, Jin plucked one of the uncooked carrots piled by her plate and tossed it into Honey's lap. The white fuzzball currently residing comfortably in Kyoya's crossed legs took off like a shot, launching himself at Honey to scarf down his treat. Unfortunately…

"Oof!"

"Ah... oops? Sorry, Kyoya…"

Ignoring the twin's poorly hidden snickers, the ravenet slowly unfurled himself from a bent over position, "It's alright, Jin. I know you didn't..." He trailed off into a steady glare once he realized the twins weren't the  _ only _ ones laughing.

"I'm  _ really _ sorry, Kyoya, I just-"

"Yes, ha ha, it's hilarious. I'm glad my pain is funny to you."

"Oh, don't be like that, you killjoy! You have to admit it's kind of funny!"

"Oddly enough,  _ no _ , I do not."

Jin just looked away, smiling, shoulders bouncing with muffled laughter. She watched as Honey stroked Mimi's ears, cooing softly at the small white rabbit still chowing down on the orange veggie. Kuu, her escape partner, was contently curled up around Mori's neck like a small (living) grey scarf. And Sora was in his open cage, preening. Despite how their multiple attempts to come live with Jin will probably end up getting her in trouble one day, she couldn't be upset with them. The animals were too cute for their own good. And oddly intelligent.

_ Knock knock knock _

"I'll get it." Before Ranka or Haruhi could argue, Jin was walking towards the front door. Sora, noticing new movement from his favorite person, fluttered back out of his cage and rested on her shoulder. She hummed and stroked his head before pulling the door open. A man wearing a delivery uniform bowed quickly from the other side.

"Hello, is this the Fujioka residence?"

"Yes it is, may I help you?"

The man held out a brown package, "I am delivering a book for a Ms. Jin Fujioka."

Jin quickly opened the door further, reaching for the parcel, "That would be me! Do I need to sign anything?"

"No, that is not necessary. I-"

"Jin-chan! Catch him!"

Jin and the man looked back into the apartment just as they felt something small and furry scuttle over their feet. The brunette's heart froze as she turned back around to see Kuu's tail disappear around the corner.

"Kuu! No! Bad ferret! Get back here!"

The brunette slammed the brown package on the counter space and ran out the door, quickly followed by the others. They raced around the corner of the complex and down the stairs, Kuu staying a good twenty meters ahead of the group. Mori and Jin quickly took the front of the pack, taking two steps at a time all the way down to the concrete. But by then the small animal was gone.

Haruhi went up to her sister, white sandals in her hand, "Nēchan? Your shoes. You forgot-"

"Did you see where he went, Haru? I think he went into the bushes but what if he runs into the road-"

"Nēchan, put on your shoes."

"We need to go get ferret food and try to lure him out! Have you seen the stray cat around today? Oh no, what if-"

"Nēchan, breathe!"

Jin sucked in a deep breath before doubling over, suddenly out of air. Sora was launched off and chirped shrilly, but quickly relocated to Tamaki's shoulder. He then went back to preening, keeping one beady eye locked onto Jin's bent form. She gasped for a few more moments before straightening up, "I'm good. I'm good…"

"Put on your shoes then. We'll find him, but only if you don't panic." Jin nodded mutely and took the sandals as Haruhi faced the others, "Teams of two, everyone. Dad, see if any of our neighbors saw Kuu. They might've spotted him out their windows if they checked out our shouting. Since we'll have four groups, we'll have four locations; both halves of the road and both sides of the complex. Let's find a ferret, boys!"

Ranka nodded and turned back towards the apartments. The twins and the cousins took off towards the road, fanning out to maximize the search area. However, curious by nature, the redheads peeked over their shoulders to see if their boss had somehow stolen Haruhi from Jin. First of all, they figured the girls' reactions would be hilarious as well as Tamaki's frantic and nonsense based explanation, but secretly they were hoping for more material to taunt Kyoya with. Who knew having Haruhi have a sister would be the key to getting under Kyoya's skin?

They weren't completely disappointed, as Tamaki  _ had _ reached for Haruhi while she reached for her sister, as expected. But, weirdly, Kyoya had reached for  _ Jin _ instead of Tamaki to pull him away from the opportunity to embarrass himself, and Jin had taken  _ his _ hand instead of Haruhi's. But, then again, Jin looked like she was about to faint at any given time, so she might not even know she  _ was _ holding anyone's hand. Still, the remaining three seemed surprised by the turn of events, even as Tamaki grinned and hauled Haruhi away to the left side of the building, her complaints trailing after him the whole way and Sora tweeting in agreement. Once those two were gone, Kyoya released Jin's hand and gestured towards the remaining search area. Jin blinked and nodded, following after her search partner.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at Kaoru, but his brother only shrugged, "Kyoya-senpai has to get sick of the Boss every once in awhile. He's probably thrilled he can use another friend as an excuse to take a break from him."

"Just as long as the Boss doesn't catch on, that's fine by me."

"Agreed.  _ Heeeere ferret, ferret, ferret~ _ "

* 5 minutes later *

"Kuu? Kuu, where are you, sweetheart? Come on out, please?"

If it were anyone else (read: Tamaki), Kyoya might've made a passing comment that they were looking for a ferret, so attempting to reason with it was pointless and perhaps they should try something like food to lure it out. However, it was Jin, and she looked to be on the verge of tears, so he kept his mouth shut. Still, as previously stated it looked like she was about to cry, and he felt as though he should say  _ something _ . She was his friend, after all.

"I doubt he'll go far. He's very attached to you, so he'll come back eventually."

"We don't know that!" Jin suddenly stiffened, her hands still buried in the shrubs as her breathing grew heavier. As he had a sister of his own, Kyoya noticed the warning signs of a tear-fest approaching and felt a seed of panic take root.

"Jin? Don't cry, please? We'll find him, I promise, just don't cry. If your father or sister comes along and sees you crying with me, I may not live long enough for you to explain I'm not the cause of your tears!"

The brunette choked out a small laugh and palmed at her eyes, "I'm sorry. I just… I'm in charge of the animals when they sneak into my home. It's my fault Kuu was here in the first place, and if I hadn't opened the door all the way when my book was delivered… it's really all my fault he's out here. And if he gets hurt or lost or-" The rest of her sentence trailed away, a tear trickling down her face. "I-It's all my f-fault..."

Kyoya was at a loss. He'd comforted his fair share of girls in the past; guests who were accidentally offended or were stressed about something and vented about it to their host, but the words he recycled for those speeches sounded hollow when he imagined saying them to Jin. Is this what caring for someone does to a person? If so, Kyoya wasn't sure if he liked the feeling.

"K-Kyoya?"  _ Well, I might as well be honest. _

"I'm sorry, Jin, but I don't know what to say to comfort you."

The girl had another hiccup-like laugh and gave him a watery smile, "I know that, Glasses, 'm not stupid. And, 'm sorry to make you uncomfortable like this, 'n… I know you're not big on physical contact but…" her lower lip trembled as she raised her arms up a little. The gesture was so meek and cute and sad Kyoya didn't hesitate to wrap the girl up in his arms.

The hug felt sort of... strange. Or, more accurately, it wasn't like Tamaki's hugs. He didn't feel like his ribs were being crushed as Jin's arms came up to squeeze him back, and the warmth that grew from their shared body heat was oddly comforting. The girl buried her face in his shoulder, and even as he felt a few wet spots forming on the fabric, he didn't comment.

For a few moments, the two stand there quietly, Kyoya rubbing calming circles on her back like Fuyumi used to do for him. Jin's breathing eventually evened out and she turned her head, forehead now resting in the crook of Kyoya's neck. Having a feeling she was waiting for a little more reassurance, the boy took a leap of faith and squeezed her a little tighter.

"You don't have to worry about a thing, Jin. The rest of the club won't rest until we find him. It's not your fault, no one is blaming you for this, and Kuu will be back in the safety of his cage in no time. You'll see."

He felt the girl shift in his arms and loosened his grip. Sure enough, she pulled away just enough to lift her head and face him. Thankfully, her lips were upturned in a smile, but Kyoya found himself soon distracted by the feel of little warm puffs of air against his chin.

" _Thanks, Kyoya…_ _And by the way? You give really good hugs._ "

Kyoya's vision narrowed, focusing in on the face that was  _ far _ too close to his. Jin stared back with that small sad smile of hers, eyelashes dark with the remains of her silent tears. There was the faint sound of something heavy pounding on the ground nearby in a fast rhythm, and it took him a moment to realize he was hearing his heart beating wildly in his chest. Kyoya didn't know what to do, which unnerved him more than anything else.

After all,  _ he _ was the 'cool' type. Kyoya didn't  _ get _ shaken up, by anyone or anything. Everything always played out like he imagined it, people reacted like he expected them to, and he most  _ certainly _ didn't  _ blush _ around  _ girls! _ And yet, that's exactly what was happening now, as he was pressed up against Jin Fujioka along the side of her apartment complex in search of a ferret only a mere half hour or so after her father had warned him away.

A million and one movie scenarios flashed before his eyes where the lead roles were placed in this exact same position and all that was missing was the rain and  _ oh god isn't this the part where they lean in an- _

"We got him!"

The twins shout seemed to have activated some sort of restart button in the two 2nd years. They jumped apart instantly before racing to the front of the complex, following the twin's continued shouts of victory. And sure enough, the two red heads were parading around the concrete with a long fuzzy grey creature in Hikaru's hands. Kuu himself didn't appear too upset about being caught. It was more like he was saying, 'Yeah, you got me. What do you want, a medal?'

Jin let out a sob of relief before gently accepting the animal from Hikaru, hugging him gently against her chest. The ferret nuzzled her t-shirt in an apologetic sort of way as she mockingly berated him for "giving her a heart attack". Once the others arrived the group made their way back up to the Fujioka residence. As they did so, the boys were starting to get the feeling they were overstaying their welcome and began saying their goodbyes once Kuu was back in his cage.

But, of course…

"So... d o we get a reward for catching Kuu?"

"Yeah? A medal of honor would be appreciated, you know?"

Tamaki scowled at the twins, looking ready to start berating them for asking more of their hosts while on their doorstep, but Jin merely smiled and laughed, "You know what? Sure." The girl walked over to the two red heads and kissed their cheeks, one after the other. "For being my heroes~"

Hikaru face reddened while his younger brother started stuttering out his thanks, also growing red. Most of the others started laughing at their reactions, Jin ruffling the boy's hair before steering them out, a few final goodbyes thrown across the threshold before the door to 208 finally shut between them. The six boys stood still on the doorstep for a few moments, not really wanting to leave just yet. They'd had fun today...

Kyoya was the first to turn and walk away, quickly followed by the others as they recounted their opinions on the day out. Unanimously, they declared the day a success and started making "plans" for next time. They made it all the way to the car before Hikaru reached up to rub at his cheek, the one Jin had kissed.

"Hey, Kaoru?"

"Yeah?"

"Does your 'reward' feel a little sticky?"

"Uh..." the other twin swiped at his face, "A little, I guess?"

"I didn't think Jin was wearing lipstick?"

"Chapstick?"

"Are you two really going to complain about Jin thanking you?"

Tamaki's question was answered with devilish smiles, "We weren't planning too..."

"But it  _ did _ seem like a good opportunity to rub the kisses into Kyoya's face."

The three smirked and looked over to see how flustered the vice president would be, funny even when he attempted to be scary, only to watch as the limo suddenly took off. They blinked once. Twice. Then started running after it.

"HEY! COME BACK HERE!"

"WE DIDN'T REALLY MEAN IT! DON'T LEAVE US!"

"KYOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAA!"

 


	21. Big Brother is a Prince!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Old solution to this episode is GONE. In its place? The cliche 'music-makes-the-world-go-round'. Because why not? Anyways, I hope you like this chapter!

 

"Hey, Tamaki? Could you come back here for a hot second?"

At the sound of his name, the blond host king came running to the changing room, "Yes, Jin? Is there something wrong with your cosplay?"

"Well... I wouldn't exactly call it something  _ wrong _ , but," Jin Fujioka pushed aside the curtain she'd been changing behind, "Can I request for Kyoya to no longer be allowed to order my cosplay without adult supervision?" There was a brief pause during which Tamaki stared in disbelief at his classmate's outfit before he was running full speed out into the music room, screaming for his vice president. As his angry shouting echoed through the changing rooms, Jin turned back towards the mirror and cocked her head at the cop cosplay that had been assigned to her.

It wasn't  _ bad _ , per-say. Just… unexpected. Like, if you knew Jin and you knew what sort of clothes she normally wore, you'd have to do a double-take at her outfit. This situation was actually quite similar to when the twins had given her that black bikini to wear to the beach. It looked good… but what had been the incentive?

"Nēchan? Tamaki is screaming at Kyoya out here. Everything alright? Are you decent?"

Jin tucked the remaining sliver of a cherry jolly rancher to the side of her mouth and mumbled out, "You can come on in, Haru."

_ Creak _

At the sound of the door being pushed open again, Jin turned around and spread her hands, "Well?"

Haruhi tilted her head, moving her eyes up and down the "cop" outfit. Working from the bottom up, she noted that Jin had slipped her feet into some black leather boots that went up to her mid-calf. From the lip of her boots to the bottom of her black skirt, which started around her mid-thigh, you could see the fishnet stockings that clung tightly to her legs.

The top was a deep blue button down, the buttons stopping right between her breasts cutting the shirt into a deep 'V'. Thankfully there was a little white triangle of fabric that covered up most of her cleavage, but her collarbone was very much visible. And, like icing on a cake, there was a matching blue police cap perched atop of her hair, which now hung in ringlets to the tops of her shoulders. She looked  _ really _ pretty, but on the other hand-

"Very dominatrix of you, Nēchan."

Jin laughed, reaching up to fiddle with the lip of her hat, "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing! I wonder if there's a riding crop hidden somewhere in the box this came in?"

"Let's not find out!" The two sisters giggled with each other for a while before Haruhi turned back around, "Come on out when you finish, Nēchan! Kyoya-senpai wants to have everything set up a half hour early. That is, if he's still alive once Tamaki-senpai's finished with him."

"Got it!"

Jin turned back to the mirror and pulled experimentally at the white fabric. Nope, sewn in with the rest of the shirt. The brunette abandoned that project and moved up to her hair. It was cute, sure, but the way the hat was sitting on top of her head made her feel like it was going to fall off any moment. Sighing, Jin pushes it back a little, entertaining the idea of bobby-pinning it.

_ Honestly,  _ what  _ was Kyoya thinking when he ordered this? _

The girl stopped fiddling with the hat.

_ Kyoya. _

She watched as her face slowly morphed into a pink-ish color in the mirror and turned away, feeling even more embarrassed now that she knew she actually blushed at the thought of the vice-president. This wasn't  _ exactly _ what she'd had in mind when she said she wanted to be closer to her classmate. And while that may be the case, she was finding it harder and harder to deny the fact that she really really  _ liked _ the Ootori boy.

First of all, he was a big softie underneath his cold exterior, and Jin enjoyed being able to pull that part out of him. Sure, she didn't want to change Kyoya's personality, but she did like the privileged feeling of seeing beneath the surface. The boy was interesting, smart, and Jin enjoyed being around him. It also made her feel warm inside when he showed interest in her hobbies and achievements, like what she was good at was worth something to him.

And, if she was being fully honest, Kyoya was eye candy. Sure, the entire host club was attractive, it was one of the requirements for  _ being _ a host after all, but there was something about the ravenet that made Jin's knees go weak. Really, how is it possible for a person to have a voice that makes  _ history lessons _ sound dead sexy?

Jin liked to think that she hid her attraction well beneath the teasing tones and eye rolls, but there were still times she knew she had almost slipped up. Just this weekend, for example, she not only initiated unnecessary hand holding with her crush in a very public place, but she'd wrung a hug out from him and almost  _ kissed _ him! Thank goodness the twins had found Kuu when they did! Jin almost didn't go to school the next day out of embarrassment and worry that Kyoya had somehow realized what she had been thinking about doing.

Thankfully it hadn't come to that, and the two of them had only grown closer since last Sunday. Since they went over the club's financials together every day during the lunch period, they had ample time to chit-chat with each other and work in close quarters. Kyoya hadn't even playfully pushed her away when she rested her chin on his shoulder just this afternoon.

Shaking herself out of her memories, Jin lifted a hand to her warm cheek and looked back into the mirror. Her pink face was now a deep red, like all the blood in her body had migrated upwards. Worried for a moment that Haru would come back in and start asking questions (that she wasn't quite ready to answer just yet) Jin frantically threw her mind out to different topics. It took her a few moments to finally settle on the lyrics for P!NK's new song, 'Just like Fire'.

By the time the first chorus was ringing through her head, Jin's face had returned to an acceptable rosy hue.

Deciding her outfit wasn't going to become any more comfortable by staying shut up in the changing room, Jin bit the bullet and walked out into the music room. To say the scene waiting for her was surprising would be an understatement. The host club was staring at a little blond girl who was clinging to Tamaki, squealing about him being her big brother while the boy denied any relationship to the little cutie.

"You know, the two of you do look alike! Especially with your blond hair!"

"Yeah, but the boss's eyes are a more purple color-"

"-while this little girl's eyes are just blue."

Jin blinked as a fragment of a memory resurfaced in her mind. Of a darkened house and equally dark bedrooms that hid two pairs of the brightest blue eyes Jin had ever seen in her life. And of a cute little blond girl who's name was-

"Kirimi-chan?" The large group turned at once, but didn't have a chance to comment on their friend's police outfit before the little blond girl was gasping and launching herself across the room and into Jin's arms.

"Nēchan! You're here with Niichan! I  _ knew _ you'd keep your promise! I've missed you so much, Nēchan! So, so,  _ so _ much!"

Jin's face broke out into a grin and she squeezed the small girl tightly, "I've missed you too, Kirimi-chan! Oh, you've gotten so big since I saw you last year!"

The host club had finally broken out of their shock and hurried over to the two girls. Haruhi looked at Kirimi with interest, attempting to place her with a memory, "Wait… Nēchan, is  _ this _ the 'Kirimi' you used to babysit that you told me about? The one from that really rich family who found out about you at your recital and hired you because their entire staff was sick with the flu?"

"Yeah… what are the odds, huh?" Jin looks down at the girl she was cuddling, smiling widely at her cute little face and big blue puppy-dog eyes. "What are you doing at the high school, little cinnamon bun?"

"I was looking for my Niichan! Are you the one running the reverse harem, Nēchan?"

The room went silent again. Jins' face had frozen with her smile still in place, but it looked fairly forced now.

" _ What? _ "

"It's your reverse harem, right? These boys are your love slaves!"

Ever so slowly, Jin set the girl down on her own two feet, turned around, and walked over to the corner of the room. From there, she curled up into a little ball and began rocking back and forth, mumbling to herself in a language that sounded vaguely Italian.

"Is Jin-senpai going to be okay?"

"Yeah...she's acting like the Boss-" The doors creaked, making the group rotate themselves yet again to see someone new entering the room. This time it was a guy with extremely bright blond hair and crystal blue eyes.

"Kirimi? There you are!"

Noticing the little girl's fearful way of looking at the newcomer, the twins slid in between the line of sight of her and the newcomer.

"Uh, excuse us-"

"But who are you?"

Unnoticed by everyone else, Jin chose that moment to lift her head up out of her arms.

_ I know that voice… _

She looked around just as a pair of tall, dark clothed staff-looking adults walked in behind the strange boy and quickly shoved him in a black wig and full body cloak. By the time they were done, Umehito Nekozawa was standing before them, creepy smile and all. Most of the club members felt their mouths pop open in shock.

"Ume-kun? Is that really you?"

Blue eyes peeked out from underneath the dark hood, mouth set in a confused tilt. "Jin...chan?"

"That would be me!" Jin ran over to Nekozawa and hugged the dark boy. He squeezed her tightly in return, propping his chin on her shoulder showing off a grin to the boys of the host club. Tamaki felt like his brain had been tossed in a washing machine set on 'high', and most of his friends would have agreed with him. All except for Kyoya, who felt more like his torso was being tightly compressed. Watching Jin hug Nekozawa-senpai like that… he didn't like it.

Finally, Jin pulled away and smiled at the three people in front of her, "It's good to see you, Ume-kun. And now that our pleasantries are out of the way, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRUPTING MY PRECIOUS CINNAMON BUN!?" Jin's voice tripled in volume and nearly shook the windows out of place. Haruhi and the members of the Nekozawa household were the only ones who didn't flinch or fling themselves to the ground and cover their heads.

"Miss Fujioka, I'd like to say on behalf of the Nekozawa family that we are glad to see you have returned from America safe and sound."

"And we are incredibly grateful that you located our young mistress before she strayed into harm's way."

"Thank you, Kuretake-san, Kadomatsu-san. I'm glad to see the both of you again, and must apologize for not announcing my arrival sooner. But I shall ask again, WHO TAUGHT KIRIMI THOSE WORDS?"

The maid pursed her lips, "Once you left for America, we didn't have anyone to paint, or sing, or read to Mistress Kirimi, so we began reading her stories with princely characters like her brother, in order to bring the two siblings together."

"But I was already working on that! I had a  _ plan! _ What happened to  _ that? _ "

"We had no means of continuing that plan once you left! All we could do was find as many princely characters as we could, and soon all we had left were Shoujo manga!" Jin pales and face-palms.

Tamaki noticed she was moving her lips silently against her palm and called up to Haruhi, whom he was cowering behind, "Haruhi? What is your sister doing?"

"Counting to ten. To collect her thoughts and calm down."

They watched as her lips finally shaped the word 'ten' before her head fell backwards, "Please tell me you've been practicing at least?"

Umehito nodded with utmost sincerity, "Of course, Jin-chan. Every day."

Kuretake puffed her chest out a bit and smiled at the boy, "Master Umehito has become quite talented. Master Nekozawa has considered paying you for all those lessons you offered to his son last year."

"That won't be necessary, but it's a good thing you've kept going Ume-kun. I'm proud of you."

The butler, Kadomatsu, moved again, walking towards Kirimi, "While catching up with you is always a delight, Miss Fujioka, I'm afraid it is time for Mistress Kirimi to be taken back home where she belongs."

"No!" The small girl ducked around the man's outstretched arms and wrapped herself tightly around Jin's right leg, "I wanna stay with Nēchan and Niichan! Nēchan don't let them take meeeeeee!"

The brunette sighed, "Maybe Kirimi could stick around for a little while longer? I'll look after her until she's ready to be sent home, if that's alright with you? I won't charge."

The butler nodded, "Very well, if Mistress Kirimi wishes to remain here, then she may. Master Umehito will be able to contact us when she is ready to return home."

The girl nodded and bent down to scoop up the cheering girl who waved and thanked her servants as they left the room. The doors shut and Nekozawa cleared his throat, "Kirimi? As much as I am happy to see Jin returned to us, you cannot ask her to-"

Unfortunately, at that moment Kirimi suddenly decided that her older brother's appearance was scary and started crying, "N-Nēchan! N-Niichan! S-save me from the scary monster!" Umehito's expression dropped, his free hand coming up to clutch the fabric above his heart as the rest of the club members slowly came to understand the stakes between the siblings. The twins offered to change his outfit, to make it less 'scary', but were shot down by both Umehito and Jin. Honey tried to darken the room a little, which only made Kirimi cry harder.

"Nēchan? What's going on with these two? They're such polar opposites…"

"Yeah," Jin bounced the small girl in her arms, "It gets a little sad at times. I spent a majority of the year I babysat Kirimi trying to help get these two into a situation where they could actually  _ meet _ each other, but nothing panned out. Kirimi-chan here is afraid of the dark, and Ume-kun can't be in brightly lit places without hiding under that garb or being subjected to pain, so it's been difficult. I tried to help out, came up with a plan and everything, but it would see as though  _ that's _ been screwed royally."

"What plan?"

"Yeah, Jin-senpai. Maybe you could still use it?"

"Oh, well, not only was I Kirimi-chan's babysitter, I also-"

"Nēchan, can you please sing for me? I wanna hear you sing again! Those recordings you gave me were so pretty but I wanna hear you sing now! Pwease, Nēchan? Niichan, tell her she has to sing again! Nēchan has such a pretty voice! Could you two sing together for me?"

Umehito turned around, shoulders trembling, and Jin reached out to touch his shoulder, "Ume-kun? Are you-"

"I'm fine, Jin-chan. I just… Kirimi deserves to have a princely big brother like Suoh-san. As long as she's happy, right? I… I should go."

Now it was Jin's turn to purse her lips. She passed the small child off to Tamaki, caught up to Umehito as he walked dejectedly to the doors, and smacked him upside the head. "Stop being a moron. You can't just decide one day to not be related to Kirimi, it doesn't work like that. You don't get to pick and choose who you're related to, you just have to make do with what you have. I'm not giving up on you, idiot, so stop moping."

The dark-robed boy stared at his friend for a heartbeat before turning away again, "Maybe you should give up… after all, there's no guarantee that your plan will even work."

"You should listen to Jin, Senpai." Tamaki set Kirimi on the floor and lifted his chin definantly, "After all, once Kirimi-chan stepped foot into this room she became a guest of the Host Club, and it's our job to make every guests happy! Kirimi-chan wants her  _ real _ big brother, and we will not rest until that has been achieved!"

Haruhi and Jin looked at each other from across the room.

_ I have a feeling this isn't going to end well for someone. _

_ Patience… maybe Tamaki isn't going down the road we think he is. Benefit of the doubt, right? _

"Therefore, Operation: Nekozawa-Senpai's-Character-Reform is underway!"

_ Or not. _

"Senpai… please don't tell me you're going to ask  _ her. _ "

"Tamaki, I'm warning you-"

Too late. Renge slowly spiraled up from the floor, cackling as per usual. She grinned down at the group watching her, looking cute and innocent to the two siblings who didn't know any better. Nekozawa was even staring at the French girl with something similar to hope.

Jin sighed and dropped her chin down into her chest, "This is going to be a long day…"

* * *

* Twenty minutes later *

"I feel really bad for him, you know?" Haruhi winced as Renge smacked Nekozawa around for using another occult term. The poor boy was trembling on the tile floor while he was screamed at. It was hard to imagine that it was Nekozawa-senpai cowering in front of them, especially with his black robe and wig stowed away in a garbage bag for later disposal. The twins closed their eyes at the following hit across Nekozawa's cheek.

"Yeah… Renge can be a little rough with her character reformation program."

"Let's just hope this blows over quickly, for all our sakes."

"At least Jin-senpai doesn't have to watch her friend get beat upon."

Honey looked over from his perch on Mori's shoulders, hand covered in chalk dust, "Hey, where is Jin-chan? I thought she wanted to be here and support Nekozawa? And wasn't Kyo-chan in here a moment ago?"

"I'm right here." Kyoya closed the doors behind him as he re-entered the science room, "Jin, on the other hand, I managed to convince to stay behind with Kirimi in the club room and entertain her. After all, she does need to be watched while we condition her brother, and Jin is the best babysitter candidate. I just finished checking up on the two of them. Jin is truly a phenomenal sitter."

Haruhi was about to agree when a pair of fingers poked at her back. Hikaru's voice hissed into her right ear, " _ I bet that's not the real reason. Kyoya-senpai probably just doesn't want Jin-senpai and Nekozawa-senpai to contact each other any more than necessary. _ "

Kaoru leaned down on her other side, " _ He  _ does  _ seem like the jealous type, doesn't he? _ "

The brunette groaned and swatted at the twins, " _ Would you two cut it out? That joke is really getting old and if you're not careful you're going to start to believe it yourselves. Kyoya-senpai and Nēchan are becoming really good friends, and I think it's a good thing for the both of them so stop trying to ruin it! _ "

Lifting their hands in a placating gesture, the boys backed away, "Fine, whatever you say."

"We were just having a bit of fun, Haruhi."

"We'll stop if you really want us to."

She nodded once, the three of them forgetting the conversation almost immediately as they went back to "Renge Watching". None of them noticed how Kyoya's grip on his black journal had tightened until the topic had changed. Kyoya Ootori does  _ not _ get jealous of  _ anyone _ … visibly.

The seven club members watched as Renge continued to tear poor Nekozawa and his complaints to pieces, wincing whenever he was smacked around. Tamaki looked over at Haruhi, wondering if watching all of this violence was good for her or if he should send her out into the hallway. Instead, he found her watching the scene almost… sadly.

"Haruhi? Are you alright? This isn't too much for you, is it?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine Senpai. I guess I just never really fully appreciated how lucky I got with Nēchan. Just looking at Nekozawa-senpai and Kirimi-chan really makes me think. Nēchan and I could've easily turned out just like them; we are different enough. This whole experience is making me glad that we didn't. I just want to help these two."

The blond regarded her for a moment. As an only child, he'd never experienced having any sort of sibling relationship. At first, he'd been upset by the fact he didn't have someone to always look up to or to have look up to him, but when he met Kyoya and his family some of his views had switched. Then came the twins. Then the Fujioka's. And now the Nekozawa's. Why were sibling relationships always so different? Did it depend on the whole family or only the children? What caused adoration in one pair and hatred in another?

Did he still wish that he had a sibling? The jury was out.

"Please! Please, just ten minutes! Just one break with Jin-chan, please!"

Renge paused mid-smackdown, "Wait… Jin-senpai? What do you want with her?"

"She's my friend! When she first began babysitting Kirimi, we met up in the hallway and started talking to each other! She's been trying to help me for over a year, but it was thanks to my cowardice that it hasn't been fixed yet!"

"Your... cowardice?"

The blond stared up at the hosts, "Jin-chan was more than my friend… she was my music teacher. She heard me chanting while in the middle of an occult prayer and said I had a great voice and would teach me what she knew if I wanted. I decided to accept. She taught me guitar, and eventually taught me one song to eventually sing for Kirimi. She recorded my playing and gave it to Kirimi, telling her it was her brother and that one day I'd play for her in person. We were supposed to perform for Kirimi right before Jin-chan left for America… but I was afraid of being rejected and having to deal with that by myself while my only friend was thousands of miles away! Forgive my fear of rejection, but I don't know if I could've handled a failure like that all by myself."

Renge tilted her head, " _ So she was using the musical character reform. Risky… but can be effective if done correctly. _ Wow, I never would've attempted something like that, not even if I had a year like she did. Jin-senpai deserves more credit. You know what? I agree with her. I'll go fetch Jin-senpai and a guitar for you, and you can play for Kirimi-chan right now! Let's see if this works."

"WhAT?" Before Umehito could argue, Renge was out the door.

Haruhi groaned, "I should probably follow her. I don't think Renge will be able to entertain Kirimi properly until Nekozawa-senpai has had time to practice."

"You sound upset, Haruhi. Do you not like children?"

The brunette shrugged, "I like them plenty, but Nēchan has always been so much better at babysitting than me. She's taught me a few of the finer points, but I have a bad feeling Kirimi's version of entertainment and mine are going to be impossibly different." As she walked out of the room, still grumbling under her breath, Umehito had moved up to sit on a stool, bending his head in defeat.

"Neko-chan? What's wrong?"

"This is pointless. I can't do it. I can't perform for Kirimi..."

"Sure you can, Nekozawa-senpai! Kirimi-chan won't even be in here while you practice the first few times! I'm sure a little more practicing will put your skills back into tip-top shape!"

"NO! You don't understand!" The other blond jumped to his feet and began pacing, "I've completely memorized that song  _ and _ my practice song and play my guitar  _ daily _ , but I  _ can't _ play for Kirimi! I've attempted to pretend I was playing for her and could never do it! I mess up and panic each and every time! I can't play for Kirimi! Not even in my imagination!"

"Well, that's just a load of bull." Jin suddenly appeared leaning up against the open door, silhouetted by the hallway lights, "You've done it before, and you can do it again. When I recorded you that one time you  _ knew _ Kirimi would be hearing it later, and yet you played perfectly. And no one is leaving this school building before you play for your baby sister."

Umehito swallowed harshly as she pulled a very nice looking acoustic guitar out from behind her back, but held his hands out for it anyways. The boy ran his long, thin fingers over the polished wood before strumming out a C major chord. The notes echoed beautifully in the darkened room, lingering for a moment before dispersing into a memory.

"How long did Renge give us?"

"10 minutes. Then she, Haru, and Kirimi-chan are coming in."

Umehito clutched at the instrument, "I'm not sure if I-"

"Hey… hey, hey…" Jin gently gripped his upper arm, sitting down on the stool beside him, "One minute at a time. Practice song first, right?"

The blond relaxed under her touch, fingers plucking out another note, "You'll sing, won't you, Jin-chan?"

"Have I ever not?"

Umehito smiled before reaching up to tune the guitar. He quickly went through each string methodically, and by the time half of their 10 minutes was up he was slowly strumming a plucky kind of tune.

Jin swayed to the beat, keeping her eyes trained on the guitarist.

" _ Baby, can't you see _

_ I'm calling _

_ A guy like you _

_ Should wear a warning _

_ It's dangerous _

_ I'm fallin...' _ "

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. The host club had already known that Jin could sing (in English no less) but they'd never heard her voice all alone and not being covered up by the actual artist. Her singing was incredible, as was Nekozawa's playing.

" _ There's no escape _

_ I can't wait _

_ I need a hit _

_ Baby, give me it _

_ You're dangerous _

_ I'm lovin' it... _

_ Too high, can't come down _

_ Losing my head, spinning 'round and 'round _

_ Do you feel me now?" _

The two performers looked to be growing more comfortable with each passing moment. Nekozawa was pulsing to the hits in the music. Jin's eyelids slid shut as the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile.

" _ With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride _

_ You're toxic and I'm slipping under _

_ Taste of a poison paradise _

_ I'm addicted to you _

_ Don't you know that you're toxic? _

_ And I love what you do _

_ Don't you know that you're toxic? _

_ It's getting late _

_ To give you up _

_ I took a sip _

_ From my devil cup _

_ Slowly... _

_ It's taking over me... _

_ Too high, can't come down _

_ It's in the air, and it's all around _

_ Can you feel me now? _

_ With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride _

_ You're toxic, and I'm slipping under _

_ Taste of a poison paradise _

_ I'm addicted to you _

_ Don't you know that you're toxic? _

_ And I love what you do _

_ Don't you know that you're toxic? _

_ Intoxicate me now _

_ With your lovin' now _

_ I think I'm ready now _

_ I think I'm ready now! _

_ Intoxicate me now... _

_ With your lovin' now... _

_ I think I'm ready now… _

_ Don't you know you're toxic? _ "

The final notes hung heavy in the air before Jin and Nekozawa relaxed. The girl lightly shoved her performance partner in the shoulder, non-verbally berating him for doubting himself.

"That... was... amazing." Tamaki applauded the duo softly, prompting the others to follow in his steed.

Jin smirked, "Wait until it's Ume-kun's turn... which isn't too far away anymore." She turned back to her friend, expression softening, "Are you ready?"

The occult worshiper sucked in a deep breath before nodding, "Even if Kirimi doesn't accept me... thank you for trying to help, Jin-chan."

"No problem. What are friends for?"

_ Creeeeeeeak. _

The doors opened slowly, shining a thick band of yellow light inside the dark room. Three shadows interrupted the glow, the one in the center much shorter than the outer two. Kirimi looked left and right in the room before whimpering softly. Jin, noticing the impending meltdown, jumped down from her stool and raced towards the little girl.

"Shhhh... shhhh, it's okay, Kirimi-chan. I know it's dark, but I'm going to have to ask you to be very brave for us right now, okay? Are you ready to have your big brother play for you in person?" Her question got the desired answer she was looking for, thankfully. Kirimi quieted down and stared into the dark room again over Jin's shoulder, but this time curiosity and hope shined in her blue eyes.

Hoping that the sudden paleness of his face was hidden by the nonexistent lighting of the room, Umehito clutched his guitar tightly before re-positioning the instrument in his lap.

The room tapered off into expectant silence as he plucked out a few low notes. Swallowing, he inhaled before letting the words flow out.

" _ Edelweiss… _

_ Edelweiss... _

_ Every morning you greet... me... _

_ Small and white... _

_ Clean and bright... _

_ You look happy to meet... me... _

_ Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow... _

_ Bloom and grow forever... _

_ Edelweiss… _

_ Edelweiss... _

_ Bless my homeland forever… _ "

Jin slowly edged further into the room, Kirimi so absorbed in staring at Umehito that she didn't notice the darkness. It wasn't until the two girls were sitting down beside the blond boy that Kirimi turned to look at her old babysitter. The brunette smiled widely before adding in her own voice to Nekozawa's song.

" _ Edelweiss… (Edelweiss) _

_ Edelweiss… (Edelweiss) _

_ Every morning you greet... me... _

_ Small and white… (Small and white) _

_ Clean and bright… (Clean and bright) _

_ You look happy to meet... me... _

_ Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow... _

_ Bloom and grow forever... _

_ Edelweiss... _

_ Edelweiss... _

_ Bless my homeland forever... _ "

There was nothing but silence as Umehito strummed out the final chord.

Nothing.

Until...

" _ Niichan? _ "

Umehito gasped before grinning down at his sister.

"Niichan!"

The small blond girl jumped out of Jin's arms and into her brother's, the two hugging each other tightly. Their audience applauded, all smiles and cheers. Renge and Tamaki were, as expected, near tears and taking credit for the reunion. Haruhi and the twins finding time between their applause to correct them. And Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai just enjoying the cute scene.

Jin slid away from her stool to give the siblings some space, shaking her head from side to side, "I cannot believe that actually worked."

"You shouldn't be, you were his teacher." The brunette scoffed and swatted at Kyoya, who dodged the smack, "What do you expect to happen now?"

"Well, it's not going to be perfect, for sure, but at least now Ume-kun can explain to Kirimi-chan  _ why _ he doesn't go out into the light. From then on, it'll be up to them."

"Sounds like those two have their work cut out for them. But I must say, I'm impressed with how well you handle children. Not many of us could have been able to convince Kirimi-chan to brave the dark like that. Your skills are fairly amazing."

"Not with all children." At the sound of Jin's voice dropping to a resentful tone, Kyoya couldn't help but be intrigued. If not also irritated with himself for somehow spoiling her celebration of a job well done.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jin's face screws up into a sour kind of look, "My dad called me a few minutes ago before Renge came to get me. My cousin, Eiko, is going to be down at our place for a week."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"For me? Yes, it will. A  _ big _ problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahaaaa Kyoya doesn't know how to express his feelings because he's an emotionally constipated little bby so he does some weird shit. I apologize if that doesn't seem like something he'd do, but I just can't see him being some sort of completely suave flirt with a girl he is actually emotionally invested in. At least not at first. And Jin kind of knocks him off kilter anyways. I just hope I didn't over-do it.


	22. Jin's Unwilling Competition!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to throw in an Anti-Jin character to make her seem a little more realistic. I hope you like it.

 

"You ready for this, Nēchan?"

"Absolutely not."

Jin's foot tapped at the tile lining the train station, crossing her arms in an attempt to not appear too restless. Haruhi didn't feel the need to tell her sister that she was failing. She just sighed and watched the train times change on the call board. If nothing changed in the near future, Eiko Fujioka would be walking out onto the platform in the next two minutes. Haruhi sighed again, but for a different reason. Why was Eiko going to stay at their place for an entire _week?_

_Oh, right, because Obasan and Ojisan are going to a festival up in Sapporo… and Obasan wouldn't let Eiko stay home all by herself._

Biting down a groan, Haruhi wondered if it was bad that she hoped Ojisan had convinced his wife otherwise and Nēchan was about to get a phone call from their father saying they could go home?

' _The 2 pm train from Nagasaki to Tokyo will be arriving in less than one minute. Please stay behind the yellow line until all passengers have disembarked._ '

Jin upper lip twitched with displeasure, "We could dump her at a hotel for a week."

"Nēchan, she's nine."

"I don't see your point."

The sound of the bullet train approaching took their attention away from each other. They watched with increasing distaste and nervousness as the train pulled into the station. It hissed to a stop just as Jin elbowed her sister.

"Last chance. If you turn and run I'll follow you and take all the blame."

_Ding!_

The doors to the train slid open and everyone on board piled out. Most were in three-piece suits and talking on their phones, but a few looked like everyday travelers. Including one black haired little girl pulling a bright pink suitcase behind her and sporting the most icy glare anyone had ever witnessed on a child's face. The girl stalked her way over to the Fujioka's, keeping her glare drilling through them. However, being only 4 feet tall, she didn't exactly strike fear into their hearts.

Eiko Fujioka didn't look very different from the last time the sisters had seen her. She still had glossy black hair that reached her middle back, parted straight along the top of her head as if it had been set by a ruler, and bangs that stopped just above her eyebrows. Through the angry slits of her eyelids, you could just barely see the dull grey/hazel color of her eyes, and her nose was so scrunched up it seem to turn up at the end even more than it actually did. Her thin lips were pressed even thinner until they were almost straight lines, making the light pink lip gloss she had applied an absolute waste.

But there were still a few traits here and there that detailed her relation to the girls in front of her. For example, when her eyes weren't squeezed in a squint they matched the same shape as her cousin's, and her face was a slightly chubbier copy of Haruhi's. She even had Jin's eyebrows.

Or... she _would_ if she hadn't thrown a fit for half an hour until her mother agreed to get them "done" at the neighborhood salon a few years back.

For a long while, nothing was said. It was a stand-off in the middle of the crowded train station, with both sides refusing to back down. A few by-passers noticed the mounting tension and skirted around the three girls, wondering what could have possibly been said between them to promote such angry faces. It wasn't until the bullet train had been re-loaded with passengers and sped off that Haruhi attempted some sort of conversation.

"Hey, Eiko. You've grown."

"Yeah, that's something that happens to humans."

If Eiko had hoped that the ice in her voice would make her older cousin's react, they didn't. Jin's returning stare just grew harder.

"Oh… yes, I suppose so."

"I see you've cut your hair short."

"Oh, yeah. Funny story actually. Basically, some gum got stuck in it and I decided-"

"I don't care."

Silence wrapped itself back around the group, only more awkward now. As more people walked around them, even the ones who didn't actually notice the tension between them were steering clear, like the anger was physically driving other people away.

Haruhi glanced around the platform and noticed a security guard glancing their way, "Okay, look. None of us want to be here right now and we all know it. So how about we take one step at a time, starting with getting out before security arrives?"

Eiko nodded, but smirked darkly at Jin, "Looks like Haruhi is more mature than you, huh? So much for being the wonderful big sister."

The brunette's eyes flashed as she stepped even closer, " _I'd watch my tone if I were you. You are_ very lucky _I'm even here at all and didn't leave you alone to fend for yourself in the city. I have given you years of my patience, but now?_ " She let the threat hang in the air for a moment, eliciting a shiver down the small girl's spine. Eiko angrily looked away, finally breaking their staring contest.

Jin drilled her gaze into the side of her head for a moment longer, " _Knaw on the scraps of my affection,_ cousin. _That's all you're going to get._ "

Then she turned around and marched towards the exit, leaving the others little to do but follow. Eiko was hissing indiscernible words under her breath and Haruhi watched her older sister's back. It was always strange and never fun to see this side of Jin, and it didn't help knowing that they would be in close quarters with Eiko for the next week.

Haruhi shuddered at the sudden mental pictures in her brain from that reminder. Hopefully she and her father would be able to keep the two apart from each other for a majority of the time.

"Aren't you going to tell me what _fun happy times_ we're going to have later or do I have to wait until we see your dad to hear that?"

Jin's shoulders stiffened, so Haruhi answered, "Dad is working overtime tonight so he can come home earlier than usual for the rest of the week. Have you eaten?"

"Yes."

"Then… I guess we're just going to go home and get you settled in."

"I'm taking your room again?"

"Yeah. I've moved most of my stuff to Nēchan's bedroom already. I shouldn't need anything else."

"Fine."

"Um…right. Uh, after we do all that... is there anything you want to do first?"

The group arrived at the next platform, where they were going to board the train that could take them close to the Fujioka's apartment complex, and Eiko smirked.

"Ice skating."

* * *

"Here, Nēchan, I've got your skates." Jin smiled weakly and gave her a soft thank you. Handing the white ice skates to her sister, Haruhi sat down on her left and began pulling her own skates on over her fuzzy socks.

"Where's Eiko?"

"The Devil reincarnated? On the ice already. Probably carving the words 'I HATE JIN' into the sides of the rink with her fingernails." Jin pulled the laces as tightly as she could, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. A tell if Haruhi ever knew one.

"Nēchan, is there something else going on that you're not telling me?"

"Um… look, don't get mad or anything, but… I might've asked for a little… back-up?"

Haruhi tilted her head, "Back-up?"

"With Eiko going to be around all week and with the skating starting up already… I just needed a little extra moral support. So, I might have... made a call?"

"No... no, Nēchan, please don't tell me you called-"

"Haruhi! Jin! We're here!"

The brunette's jaw dropped at her sister as Jin raised a hand to the Ouran Host Club in greeting, "Hi, guys. Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"Jin-chan, you invited us to go ice skating! How could we say no?" Honey jumped into his friend's lap to squeeze her in a tight hug. Haruhi didn't even move when he turned and hugged her as well. The other five boys crowded around the girls on the bench, all smiles. Even Mori-senpai had excitement dancing in his eyes.

"We brought our own skates-"

"-if that's okay with this place."

Jin shrugged, "A lot of people bring their own stuff. I'm sure you're fine."

The host club nodded and sat down on the bench as well, pulling their own high-priced ice skates out of their equally high-priced bags and chatting amicably with each other. Jin felt her upper body flush with warmth as Kyoya quickly claimed the open seat to her right. The two exchanged smiles (one smaller than the other, though no less sincere) before turning back to pulling on their ice skates.

"Hey, Kyoya. How're you?"

"Very well. And you?"

"Good."

"Hm, that's good to hear. Now with that out of the way, why am I getting the feeling you didn't invite us here because you missed our presence?"

Jin ducked her head, "Sometimes I hate how well you read motives. Nice black skates by the way. Suits you."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kyoya pulled the laces loose, "I purchased them on a trip to the United Kingdom during Christmas break a few years ago. The business partner we were meeting with invited my family to the ice rink at the Somerset House. It was quite lovely. You should visit it sometime."

"Only if you're paying, Glasses."

For a moment, Kyoya was knocked off balance by the almost blatant request for a date before he remembers his original question. "Perhaps I will if you tell me why you invited us out tonight."

Jin sighed and leaned back against the wall behind them, eyes sliding shut, "Remember how I told you about our cousin, Eiko?"

"Yes. Isn't she visiting you this week?"

A nod, "We picked her up from the train station about an hour ago. She insisted we come here."

"I see... but I still fail to understand why we are needed."

"You'll see."

"Nēchan? Are you ready?"

"Not really." Despite her obvious discomfort, Jin pushed herself up off the bench and immediately started wobbling. Haruhi darted forward and caught her older sister before she face planted the ground.

"I hate this."

"I know you do."

The girls began their slow shuffling to the ice rink doors, other teens and families passing them quickly this way and that. Jin continued leaning heavily on her baby sister the whole way. She wished she didn't have to, but Eiko could be watching from the windows for all she knew.

At least one good thing did come out of her painfully slow shuffling. By the time the Fujioka's made it to the doors, the rest of the host club had finished putting on their own ice skates and joined them. (Okay, only Jin saw it as a good thing, but that was probably obvious.)

"Jin-senpai, if you're this off balanced with your skates on carpet-"

"-are you sure you want to get on the ice?"

The tall girl huffed, "I don't have much of a choice, unfortunately. Eiko would throw a _fit_ if I didn't."

Tamaki smiled at the brunette, "Jin, it always warms my heart when I see how far you are willing to go for your family. Your generosity is so-"

"Nice try, Tamaki, but that's not what this is about. Now, could someone help me into the rink besides Haru? I think I'm about to crush her."

Takashi shifted forwards and offered his left arm out. Jin shakily pushed herself away from her sister and wrapped her arms around Takashi instead. With probably more patience than a nun, the tall boy waited for his old friend to regain her pitiful balance against him before shuffling her through the doors.

The cold air hit them like a brick wall, sending the host club into shivers. Jin buried her nose into her black and yellow striped scarf before continuing to shift closer to the rink. Peeking out beneath her eyelashes, she saw a good handful of other skaters already in the rink. Some were fumbling just as badly as she was or zipping around the ice like it was second nature.

Two guesses as to which category Eiko fit into.

"Ouch!" The ravenette girl crashed against the wall before sliding to the ice. She had attempted to turn her skates and stop, but that hadn't exactly worked out. Cursing under her breath with words a nine year old probably shouldn't know, Eiko pulled herself shakily back to her feet. However, spying how miserable Jin looked at the moment, she smiled again.

"About time you got out here." She suddenly tilted her head, spying the boys surrounding her cousins. "Who are these guys?"

Jin did her best to straighten up, "They're all in the club Haru and I are a part of. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Kyoya Ootori, Tamaki Suoh, and Takashi Morinozuka."

"Why are they here?"

The boys blinked at the harsh accusatory tone this little nine year old was using, like her entire _year_ was now a pile of rubbish because she had been introduced to them. Jin could hardly contain her smile.

"Happy coincidence."

The girl sneered, "Don't let them trip me up, or I'll tell your dad you pushed me down."

"Honey, you don't need _anyone's_ help to trip you up."

Eiko smacked her hand on the glass, hard, "Why don't you get out here, then, huh? Let's see who's the better skater!" And with that, she fumbled past the entrance, trying to pick up a controllable speed. Once she was nearing the first corner, the group let out a collective breath. That had been a surprisingly _tense_ conversation with a nine year old.

"Nēchan, why do you rile her up like that? It doesn't help."

"It helps me. And if she didn't want me to talk back she shouldn't make it so easy! We might want to get on the ice before she inches her way back around, though."

The others cast wary eyes around before moving through the small opening to the rink and taking off. Haruhi attempted to wait around for Jin, but she was waved off. Shrugging, the short haired girl started skating, her blue dress skirt fluttering around the black leggings she had pulled on after they got home from picking Eiko up. As she went around the rink with ease, other skaters called out compliments on her Ravenclaw sweater and cute white hat, which she responded with a wave of her blue gloves and a smile. The twins and Tamaki were quick to follow after her; Haruhi was just too cute to resist!

Jin, however, was having a much harder time. After Takashi had pulled her onto the ice, she immediately latched her arms around his chest to avoid falling on her face. After a pretty rough start, and with one hand clutching tightly to Mori and Honey each, the two boys were now pulling her slowly around the rink. Kyoya created a sort of rhythm for himself, skating easily around the rink once before slowing down and taking Jin's hand for a moment to let the cousins skate around themselves.

And if Honey tended to dawdle, twirling around the rink and taking a much longer time than Kyoya would have? Well, he somehow couldn't find it in himself to care all that much.

All in all, the host club was actually enjoying themselves quite a lot on this impromptu day out together. The only thing that ruined the picture?

"Ha! That's the _second_ time I've looped you!"

Jin tucked her chin back into her scarf, which Kyoya had now learned was a 'Hufflepuff' scarf she had gotten for her birthday last year, and mumbled, " _It's not a race._ " Eiko either couldn't hear her or wasn't listening, because she continued to laugh and drag herself further along the ice via the rim of the rink.

Kyoya frowned and opened his mouth, but Jin tightened her grip on his upper arm and shook her head. Once again, he didn't say anything, but he wished he could. A quick glance around the ice told him the same could be said by the rest of the club. After all, Eiko's voice sort of _carried._ Tamaki was watching the small child with a pinched mouth, obviously torn between his soft heart around girls and young children and the direct unpleasantness that came from close quarters with Eiko. The twins were grilling Haruhi with questions like 'Why can't we push her down again?'. Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai were out of his line of sight, but Kyoya was sure they looked displeased as well.

Eiko pulled herself a little more ahead of them, so Kyoya slowed himself and his friend to a stop along the edge. Jin didn't protest as she was shuffled through to the hockey bench and sat down. Her skates had been starting to push her fuzzy socks away from the hem of her skinny jeans, and she was happy to have the opportunity to fix them. Even if it meant being grilled by her crush.

"Would you mind explaining why we must entertain such an egotistical little brat?"

Jin sighed against her knees, "We can't leave her alone at our home because I might return to find all of my possessions burned to ash, and she refuses to go anywhere else. This just seemed like the least of many evils."

"Then maybe you could explain why all of her anger is being aimed at _you?_ "

"You know what? The moment my patience with the world comes back, I will answer any question you have about my family that you can't Google, alright?"

Kyoya's head jerked back, face rippling with vaguely raw looking emotions. Shock and hurt to name a few. Jin sighed and rubbed at her face, the guilt already eating her from the inside out.

"I'm sorry, Kyoya… that came out meaner than I intended. But… Eiko is just sucking all of my patience out and this is only the beginning. I'm really sorry I'm such a jerk right now."

Kyoya wanted to be mad. Really. All he had wanted to do was help and understand her problem better and he'd nearly gotten his head bitten off. But one look at the brunette girl in the long sleeve Hogwarts shirt that was a size too big so it almost covered her hands, black winter hat pulled down to cover her reddening ears, and pitiful brown puppy-dog eyes… he couldn't pull up the emotion.

Instead, he reached out a hand and pulled the girl back to her feet, "Fine. But the moment your cousin isn't around, I am getting some answers from you."

Jin sighed and pressed her forehead to his shoulder, nodding against his green sweater, "Yeah… okay. That's fair."

Shortly after, the two stepped back out onto the ice, Jin grabbing Kyoya's hand so tightly in hers he could hardly feel his fingertips. Eiko was now almost at the opposite end of the rink, still fumbling along. She came to the entrance/exit for the rink and stopped. After a slight hesitation on her part, she stepped off the ice.

Haruhi noticed and slowed to a stop before she passed it. The two girls exchanged a few words before the brunette nodded her consent and Eiko shakily waddled back out into the lobby. Jin and Kyoya stopped shuffling forward and waiting for Haruhi to skate around to them. Jin saw the smile on her sister's face and loosened her grip on the boy beside her.

"Haru?"

"She's gone. She said she was tired and was taking the train back to our apartment whether we liked it or not. Dad should be home by now, so I said okay!"

Jin sighed, but there was a grin on her face. Pulling her hand free of Kyoya's, she turned her smile to him, "Thanks for putting up with me. And, uh, sorry about holding your hand so tight."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't receive a verbal answer. Instead, the brunette's brown eyes twinkled before she pushed off on her skates. With ease, she gained speed until she was cruising along with the other occupants of the rink. The girl weaved around her fellow skaters, laugh bouncing off the windows surrounding them all. As she approached the second short end of the rink, Jin swung herself around so that she took the fourth turn backwards, head turned to let her look over her shoulder.

Once she came up to her sister and Kyoya again, she reached out and grabbed Haruhi's hands, pulling her along in a motion that looked somewhat similar to a waltz. The two girls spun and "danced" around the edge of the rink, all smiles. The other occupants watched them with similar pleasure weaved into their expressions, all except for one blond boy whose eyes widened before he quickly exited the ice rink.

The other hosts were too absorbed in watching Jin with complete and utter confusion they didn't even notice who was missing from their pack.

As the girls made another loop, the boys tried to skate beside them and ask questions, only to have Jin release her sister and grab Kaoru's hands instead. The redhead quickly gripped her tightly in return, but craned his head frantically over both of his shoulders in rapid succession, knees starting to gravitate towards each other.

"J-Jin-senpai? I-I'm not super comfortable skating b-backwards!"

"Oh, sorry, Kaoru! I'm just so happy I can actually skate now!" She released Kaoru and grabbed Honey's hands next. The blond was less nervous about the backward skating and trusted his friend to not let him bump into anything or anyone, even though her back was now bent over to keep their hands clasped. He actually began laughing along at the thrill it gave him.

"Jin-chan! Can you do a jump? Or a spin? Like in the Olympics, can you do that?"

"Nope! This is as exciting as my skating gets Honey-senpai! Now, I've gotta let go or my back will kill me tomorrow!" The blond giggled as he was released and Jin straightened her back, groaning as the pressure eased quickly. She reached behind her to press the palm of her right hand against the small of her back, only to have it snagged into a chilled hand and used to spin her around.

"I believe it's my turn to cut in, yes?"

Kyoya took her skating dance to a more refined level, with proper hand placement and everything. He didn't even flinch when it was his turn to face backwards. Jin cocked an eyebrow and he smirked, "Just because I was too busy dragging you along the ice does not mean I don't know a few skating tricks of my own."

The brunette huffed and looked away, "Again… I'm sorry about that."

"Tell me why and you can stop apologizing."

"You drive a hard bargain, Ootori."

"I try."

Jin laughed, throwing her head back and nearly sending her hat flying, "Fine, ruin a good mood, why don't you? Well, I had to pretend I sucked at skating because of Eiko. She believes she's better at skating than me, and I plan to keep that image in her head as long as possible… even if it means embarrassing myself on the ice for the next six days."

"But why?" Kyoya spun the two of them around in a full 360-degree turn before continuing to push Jin backwards around the ice, "I don't often think this, but perhaps Eiko doesn't deserve to believe she's better than you."

His partner's face darkened, "If you tell her, I won't forgive you. This secret is as much for my benefit as it is for her. I don't see Eiko that often, which I am grateful for, but I will gladly suffer through this next week with her thinking I suck at something than dealing with her if she found out I didn't."

Kyoya looked away, not understanding why Jin couldn't just pull the wool off of her cousin's eyes and be done with it. He saw a pair walk into the rink. A blond boy, and a black-haired girl.

"You may not have a say in that, anymore."

Jin turned to face his line of sight and the two skidded to a halt right outside of the ice rink entrance/exit. Tamaki stood behind Eiko, a proud smile etched on his face while the small girl stared at her cousin, mouth open.

"See? Didn't I tell you your cousin cared for you? She pretended to be bad at ice skating to make you feel-"

"YOU'RE A LIAR! I HATE YOU JIN! YOU'RE A LIAR AND I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU _SO MUCH!_ " Tamaki fumbled to a wide-eyed stop as Eiko stomps herself back out the door, screaming how much she hates Jin at the top of her lungs.

"What… have… you… _done?_ "

* The Next Day *

"Okay, Jin. We've waited as you've asked. Now, why does your cousin hate you?"

"Is this some sort of rivalry?"

Jin sighed, readjusting her book bag on her shoulder. Tamaki was on her left, Kyoya to her right, and there was no way she was escaping this 'classmate-sandwich' without divulging some answers.

"Couldn't we wait until the others join up? I don't want to have this discussion more than once."

"We're already here, Jin-chan!"

Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai emerged from the intersection just in front of the three, the 1st year students right behind them.

"Fine. Yeah, there's sort of a rivalry between Eiko and myself, unfortunately. She's always had a problem with me being good at stuff. Or, at least always being better than her."

"So, this is jealousy at work?"

"Sounds more like an inferiority complex."

"I'm afraid it's a little worse than that, you two. Eiko is… ruthless. I don't think she'll stop at anything until she finds something she's better at than me."

"...which is why you made her believe that skill was ice skating."

The two brunettes nodded, "I've been playing that card for over a year, but now that _Tamaki_ messed it up, we're back to square one. And it'll be harder to convince Eiko that she's honestly the best at something this time around."

"Jin, I'm sorry for ruining your trick," Tamaki patted his friend's shoulder, relieved she wasn't so upset that she brushed him off immediately, "but is it really so bad that Eiko is back to looking for something she's better at? It's something that drives her to do better, right?"

"Oh, trust me, it's bad." Jin pushed open the music room doors and a red blur quickly catches her attention.

Good thing, too, considering it was flying directly towards her face.

She squeaked and batted it away with the back of her hand. Whatever it was, it was heavy, and the spot on her hand that had smacked it now ached. The object, thrown off its original course, went sailing to the right. It bounced off the tile once, twice, before smacking into a pillar with a solid _thud_.

"You've _got_ to be _kidding!_ " Jin's mouth dropped open at the sight of Eiko stomping her feet in a circle, "I should've thrown it lower! Then she wouldn't have seen it so quickly! _Augh!_ "

"Seen… what?"

Honey bounced his way to the red object and picked it up, "It's a ball, Jin-chan."

"Honey-senpai? Let me see that for a moment?"

The blond raced back and placed the object in her hand. She stared at it in disbelief, "Is… is this a racquet ball? Did you just throw a _racquet ball_ at my face?"

Eiko sniffed, "Duh. A tennis ball would've been too bright for you not to notice, and I couldn't find a baseball." Jin's jaw popped open and Haruhi snatched the ball from her before she did something rash.

"Why'd you do that, Eiko?"

"To test her reflexes. See if mine are better."

"And?"

The small girl frowned and kicked the couch beside her, "I hate you, Jin! So-"

"Yeah, I get it. You hate me s _o so much_ . We've all witnessed the Eiko-tantrum parade. Now, why don't you tell us _what you're doing here?_ Why aren't you at your own school?"

The little girl flopped down on the couch she was previously kicking, "Well, you dropped me off at that stupid public school, and I got bored once the day finished. So I took the train here. I must say... for a private school, it's not that impressive. Security sucks, too, consider I walked right in and no one stopped me."

"Our school does not require security, but most of the students here are under almost constant surveillance from their family's private police force."

Eiko cocked an eyebrow, "And who are you, exactly? Some high-priced rich guy, I assume? And the rest of you as well? So... you're all wealthy, smart, and handsome? That's why you're all in the same club?"

"Well, if you wish to generalize it to the surface, then perhaps."

"Then why are you hanging out with my cousin?"

Tamaki made a breathy sound as if he'd been kicked in the gut. His reaction was easily mirrored in the other's faces. Kyoya finally leveled a light glare at the small girl again, "Are you suggesting that Jin, your cousin, is undeserving of having the attention of wealthy, smart, and handsome students as you've so labeled us as, or that she is neither wealthy, intelligent, nor physically attractive?"

"Mmm..." Eiko flattened her hand out, palm down, in the air and tilted it to the left and right a few times, "A little of both, really. I mean, the non-wealthy thing is a bit obvious I think, so 'suggesting' is almost a moot-point. And undeserving of your attention?" She raked her eyes around the boys once more, "Who knows? Maybe you're all assholes?"

Tamaki was now laying flat on his back, mouth gasping like a fish out of water. Surprisingly, Jin and Haruhi seemed to be taking this conversation in stride. The older Fujioka pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long breath of air.

"Look, tomorrow, _you stay at the public school until we come get you._ Got it?"

Eiko blew a raspberry, "You can't control me, _Freak_."

Jin stalked forward, bearing down on her cousin who unhappily withdrew further into the couch cushions, "Wanna _bet?_ "

"Nēchan! I thought we talked about this!"

"We never discussed her showing up at Ouran! God, she's like a curse that's following us around!"

Eiko snarled, "Don't call me a curse!"

"Don't call me a freak!"

"But that's what you are!"

"Right back at you!"

"Oh, what a _brilliant_ come-back! I'm _so scared now!_ "

"ENOUGH!" Haruhi pushed herself between the two girls, shoving her back against her sister to move her away, "You guys are going to end up either killing each other or starting World War 3! So, while we have an outside party to help us, we're going to settle this feud _once and for all._ This week, we are going to find _something_ that Eiko is better at than Nēchan and we can _all get on with our lives!_ "

"Yeah, right! Like I'm just going to sit around and listen to some stuck up-" Jin made a small sound in the back of her throat that sounded oddly like a growl, and Eiko looked away, "Fine! Whatever."

Kyoya opened his mouth, ready to make it clear that the Host Club would _not_ be spending their week entertaining a monstrous brat, but Tamaki quickly announced his consent. The rest of the boys groaned, and the ravenet pushed his glasses further up, digging the nose piece deeper into his skin than was pleasant.

"Tamaki... while your usual plans are almost parallel to how moronic and unnecessary _this_ request is, I admit I'm having difficulties trying to find the reason that it appeals to you in any way."

"Really? I thought it was obvious?"

In response to the blank stares he was receiving, Tamaki gestured for the rest of the hosts to gather around in a tight circle.

" _Look, Jin is miserable with Eiko hanging around her and Haruhi all the time, and it's obvious that Eiko plans to keep it that way. Perhaps we can not only find a way to ease this feud, but also distract Eiko from ruining Jin's week? We'd be doing her a great service!"_

The blond's head was immediately filled with scenes of Jin showing her appreciation with more old photographs of Haruhi (and Haruhi professing her love after seeing the way he mightily defended her sister) while the others whispered among themselves.

Kyoya contemplated his reasoning. _Entertain Eiko and find her a personal talent... make everyone happy in the process... good PR... doing Jin a service... being thanked afterwards, perhaps?_

"Hm... perhaps I was too quick on my judgement. Very well..." he turned around to the three Fujioka's, "Miss Eiko? It would seem as though you are our new project."

The small girl looked around at the high schoolers surrounding her, dark smiles plastered on their faces. Even Jin was looking far too pleased with herself.

"I'm going to regret ever coming up here, aren't I?"

"Oh, sweetie... you have no idea."

* * *

"Alright, men! Operation: Find-Something-Eiko-Is-Better-At-Than-Jin-Before-She-Hurts-Someone is now underway!"

"...Boss?"

"We need to have a serious talk about coming up with Operation names."

Before the blond could dissolve into a mountain of angry defensive rants about his brilliant ideas, Jin clapped her hands together, " _So..._ how are we going to start? Because if I'm totally honest, I'm a little excited about getting this show on the road."

"Nobody says 'getting this show on the road', anymore. It's just stupid."

"Senpai? The sooner we start..?"

"Right!" Tamaki quickly wheeled out a large white board and started writing along the very top with a red marker, "We'll start by making three lists. One of things Jin is good at, one of talents she's never attempted before, and one of things she is bad at."

Eiko scowled from her spot on the couch. She had the whole piece of furniture to herself, which she didn't mind one bit. "You guys _are_ idiots! Don't you think I've done this a million times?"

"We actually did think that, but tell us exactly _how_ well you know your cousin in comparison to us?" The girl scowled even deeper, but gestured for them to continue.

"Let's see... Jin can drive, play piano, teach guitar, sing, fight, ice skate, and babysit like a professional. Anything else?"

Instantly the whole room looked at Haruhi, who hummed and leaned her head back, "Nēchan's writing is very good. She's won a few awards with it, after all. She's also a very good cook and a bit of an actress. Not to mention her class placement and the seven languages she taught herself."

" _Seven... languages..._ Alright, what else?"

"She can tell the two of us apart even when our hair is covered up!"

"One of her drawings just sold for over 30,000 yen on our website."

"She can surf."

"Jin-chan's good with animals!"

Eiko crossed her arms so tightly it looked like she was trying to knot herself together, "See? Freaking perfect! It's unnatural! And don't forget that creepy thing where she can look at her sister and instantly _know_ what she's thinking! Why do you think I call he-"

"ON To the next list! We can add more to the first one later. So, things Jin doesn't know if she's good at or not!"

"Oh, gosh...um, I've never flown a plane or a helicopter, but I wish I could. I've never scuba dived before and I never want to. I've never para-sailed. I don't know if I can roller-blade. Um, I've never tried to build anything from scratch before, either."

Tamaki quickly added 'building' to the list before moving to the right side, "That should be okay for now. How about things you're bad at?"

Jin straightened her back, "Now, those are easy! I can't fix a car to save my life. High-ropes or high-wire courses I can't do, at all. Sewing is also a no go, for me. I've stuck my thumb with a needle one too many times. And while I'm okay at freehand drawing, I'm _shit_ at tracing. It's awful and always looks bad! Let's see... being a waitress is a hard job for me because I'm pretty sure I'm going deaf and it's hard to catch everyone's orders and write them down legible enough for the cook to read I'm a really big procrastinator and have wrecked my health before with the stress of it I can't help anyone else with applying makeup or doing their hair and I've killed every plant I've ever owned same goes for goldfish and-"

Jin stumbled to a stop when she saw that Tamaki was no longer at the white board. Instead, Haruhi stood there with the red marker in hand and a long list of hastily scribbled words behind her. Her face flushed pink.

"Oh... was I talking too fast?"

"A little. It's alright, Nēchan, I think I got everything you said down. Anything else?"

"Um... not that I can think of?"

"Good. Well, I think this is enough for now, so, Eiko?" The hosts turned to look at the short black-haired girl, "How about we get started?"

* Three days later *

"This isn't working."

"No kidding..."

Tamaki leaned back against the wall of the changing room, frowning up at the ceiling. For the past three days, the hosts had tried to find something that Eiko was better at than her oldest cousin... to no luck. The girl just had no talent. And everything she was even somewhat decent at? Jin was just good enough at it for Eiko to not be satisfied.

And not only that, but apparently Eiko was still trying to take matters into her own hands when they left the school. Every morning they were told a new horror story from the Fujioka household, and it seemed like they were just getting worse each day.

"Eiko poured a whole container of chili powder into the soup pot to see which of us could handle spicy foods better and we had to order sushi!"

"Nēchan had to pull Eiko out of the way of a bus this morning! She tried to jump farther than her and ended up off the sidewalk!"

"I swear, if our Dad hadn't been there she would've chopped her fingers off!"

"How would that have even proved anything?"

"Oh, my, gosh, I feel like I'm in a _Chuckie_ movie!"

" _She tried to switch out my water for wine to see which of us got drunk faster!_ "

There was no doubt in Tamaki's mind now. That girl was a menace. And even though he wasn't the type of person to give up easily, this situation seemed pretty hopeless. At the moment, Eiko, Jin, and Haruhi were in the main room, and all the boy could think was that he was glad he wasn't out there with them. Eiko had taken to throwing insults at anyone who seemed to be Jin's friend, so the Host Club had heard the words "snobs", "trust-fund babies", and "silver-spoon suckers" more than five times a day.

And everyone was sick of it.

"Boss... I think we're in over our heads here."

"Jin-senpai's just _good_ at things. And Eiko sucks."

"Besides, we're sick of being insulted every day."

"Yeah! She's a meanie!"

Tamaki sighed, "I know, gentlemen, but we must remain strong. And think of it this way: How could things possible get any worse?"

" _EEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!_ "

A bloodcurdling shriek bounced off the walls of the music room, shifting the host club into action. They bolted out of the back room just as Jin ripped a piece of paper away from her bleeding arm. Eiko, of course, was nearby and holding something black in her hands, but the boys couldn't tell what it was from this distance. The two girls were staring at each other, one in disbelief, the other in anger and disappointment. Haruhi was nowhere in sight.

"Jin? What happened?"

"We heard you scream, are you alright?"

"Where's Haruhi? I thought she said she'd help you watch Eiko?"

The brunette was speechless. She simply raised a hand and pointed at the object her cousin was holding. Kyoya snatched the item away quickly, before it could hurt someone else, and got a good look at it.

It was a stapler.

"Eiko... what did you do with this?"

"I stapled a piece of paper to her arm to see which of us handles pain better."

The ravenet spun around and stared at his friend, "'How could things possibly get any worse' you say. 'Remain strong' you say." Before he could get a response, the doors burst open and Haruhi came running in, a man carting a few boxes on a trolley right behind her.

"Nēchan? What happened? I leave for _two seconds_ and the next thing I know you're screaming bloody murder!"

"She stapled a piece of paper to my arm." Jin pulled her hand away and looked at the wound, "It's stopped bleeding at least. I take it those are our cosplay for the day?" The uniform clad man nodded and set the boxes down, bowed, and left the drama-infested scene in a hurry. No one could blame him either.

"Cosplay? Man, you guys are bigger losers than I thought you were."

Tamaki's left eyelid twitched, "If it's not your cup of tea, then I suggest you _leave_. We don't have any more time to entertain you today."

Eiko didn't listen. She just strolled over to the boxes and looked at the labels, "Tennis uniform... Volleyball uniform... Basketball uniforms... What, are you guys finally splitting up your stupid club for more fulfilling activities?"

"No. Sport-related pick-up lines. Work more than you might think."

"Right, keep telling yourself that. The only reason your pick-up lines work are because those girls want to get into your- _ack!_ "

The small ravenette was cut off by Jin grabbing the back of her shirt collar and yanking her backwards. The second she was moved out of the way, the cosplay boxes tumbled to the ground, crashing down on the tiles where she was once standing. Hikaru was revealed as they fell, his left hip jutted out in a seemingly casual stance.

"Oops."

For a moment the room is quiet, before Eiko whipped herself around and kicked Jin's legs, "Stupid! I don't want your help! You almost choked me to death! Don't touch me again, you hear me? I _hate_ it when you do that! Stop trying to be a freaking superhero! Just because you're a freak doesn't mean you have superpowers, you... you... _Freak!_ "

The tall brunette didn't even respond. She just scooped up the only cosplay with a skirt (the tennis one) and walked to the changing rooms. Eiko stomped her foot one final time before spinning around and walking out the doors, slamming them shut behind her.

Haruhi sighed and ruffled her own hair, _not_ looking forward to the tension that was sure to still be there when she and Jin got home. _Thank goodness Dad's already home by now or Eiko would probably take a knife to Nēchan's mattress the moment she walked through the door._

"Hikaru, while I do realize that Eiko is grating on everyone's nerves, we _can not allow physical harm to come to her while she is in our care at the Host Club_."

"What? You're defending her? She would've deserved it!"

"Hika-chan!"

"Oh, come on! They only had clothes in them! They wouldn't have hurt her _that_ much. Maybe a bruise or two, nothing serious!"

"Actually... he might've just done us all a favor." Tamaki continued to gaze towards the back of the room where Jin had disappeared, unaware of the stares he was receiving.

"Senpai? What are you talking about?"

The blond turned back to face his club members and finally smiled, for the first time all day.

"I have a plan."

* * *

"This is stupid."

"Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first seventy-two times you've said that, _brat._ Now shut up."

Eiko opened her mouth again, clearly not about to take orders from anyone who was friends with her cousins, but just then the doors opened. Said cousins walked in and their faces fell even further at the sight of her on the couch, waiting for them.

"About time you showed up. These jerks refused to let me get up and do anything."

Jin rolled her eyes, "With all the hell you've been putting me through? I have no problems with making you wait in boredom." Before the two could commence in another verbal battle, Tamaki strode forward and took Jin's school bag from her, gently pushing her further into the room.

"Jin? Could you sit on the couch beside your cousin for a moment?"

"What? Whose side are you on?"

The blond continued to gesture her forward, "Call it a hunch, but I wish to try something."

The brunette squinted her eyes a hair, hearing an odd somberness in her friend's tone she wasn't quite used to, but in the end decided to trust his judgement. A few seconds later, Eiko and Jin were sitting on the far opposite sides of the couch from each other.

Tamaki himself collapsed down on the one cushioned chair facing the girls. The rest of the club stood behind him, flicking their gazes between the two. Eiko received a number of hard stares, but most of them kept sending Jin encouraging, if not small, smiles and nods. The nine year old twisted her lips into a very familiar scowl when she noticed one of the boys in particular never sparing her a glance, preferring to send Jin flirty eyes. What was his name again? Kyoya something? He was in the same class as her, and it was clear they had a thing for each other. _Oh_ , the number of times Eiko had considered using that as a way to get under her cousins skin...

But it would've been pointless. She'd overheard the two redheads teasing the glasses-wearing guy for liking her cousin on Monday, and he'd simply brushed it off before Haruhi went to tell them off. If Jin was already being teased for something, then what was the point of her doing it?

"I bet you're wondering what this is about?"

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Eiko rolled her eyes, "If you're going to try and make us 'hug it out', I may puke." Tamaki, the stupid blond, looked at her without any anger, surprisingly. Only curiosity. And... a little sadness. It was weirding her out. "What's up with the freaky expression?"

"I've just finally found something that you do better than Jin."

 _That_ sure got her attention.

"You have? What? What is it? Are you sure?"

He shook his head, "Not quite. Not yet. But... I do believe that you're capable of being angrier than her."

Eiko remained frozen in her seat before flopping backwards, "I assume you're suffering from some sort of mental damage that's making you forget the past few days? To refresh your memory, we're _both_  angry at each other. I highly doubt one of us is angrier than the other."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's you."

"Oh, yeah?" She pushed herself back up and leaned forward in her seat, " _Prove it, then._ "

"Easily. Hit her."

Everyone in the room stared at Tamaki in shock. Did he just ask for Eiko to hit his friend? What sort of villain had replaced their President?

Yet despite the anger and betrayal that was now rolling off his friend's in waves, Tamaki only had eyes for Eiko. There was a challenge echoing in them, and if there was anything that Eiko didn't do was back down from a challenge. She continued to meet his gaze for a few more seconds, wondering if he was serious, before twisting in her seat and launching a punch at her cousin's arm for all she was worth. Jin winced and rubbed at the spot as she pulled away, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, I did it. Now what does that prove?"

"Nothing yet. Not until after Jin's turn." The blond looked at Jin and pointed at the younger girl, "You heard me, it's your turn. Hit her back."

She blinked, "What?"

"What I just said. Hit her. Hit Eiko. Or smack her. Kick her shin. Throw something at her. _Anything_ you want, just cause her physical pain."

There's another long stretch of silence as the group waited. Eiko screwed her eyes shut preemptively, knowing her cousin was a _lot_ stronger than she was. What was this idiot thinking?

"No."

Eiko's eyes shot open.

"What was that?"

"No. I won't do it."

Tamaki leaned forward in his seat, finally looking like his old self, "Care to explain to your cousin _why_ you won't hit her?"

"I just don't want to do it." Jin sat back into the couch, not looking at anyone, "Is that some sort of crime now?"

"No, but wouldn't it only be fair, Jin? I mean, she _has_ hit you. Muliple times, actually. And she stapled a piece of paper to your arm yesterday! Why won't you hurt Eiko?"

The brunette frowned and finally looked at the blond, "You just want to make this as bad as you can, huh? Fine. The reason I don't physically hurt my cousin is because I've never _wanted_ to hurt her. Ever! I hate how I have to say mean things and threaten her, but it's all in her best interest."

Eiko was, oddly, speechless as Jin looked around at her, "Eiko hates me. She's probably hated me before she even knew what that word meant, and I've accepted that she'll most likely never stop. And I get angry at her, yes, but I never get angry enough with her to hit her or follow up on my threats. I'd _never_ leave her alone in Tokyo for a week. I'd _never_ dump her in a hotel by herself. I'd _never_ refuse to cook and feed her even if she got on my last nerve. And I'd definitely _never_ harm her. But I pretend like I would because if I showed her how much I actually cared about her, she'd feel guilty about hating me. This way, she can justify herself by saying I hate her in return, even if the truth is the exact opposite."

Haruhi was holding her hands up by her mouth, eyes wide in shock as she looked between her sister and cousin. She'd known about it all along, but she never thought that Eiko would find out about it! How had Tamaki figured it out?

Jin tilted her head, "How'd you figure it out?"

"After you pulled her out of the way of the cosplay boxes yesterday. I also remembered how Haruhi told us that you pulled her out of the street before she could get hit by a bus. You were always looking out for Eiko's well-being, and never once struck her back. Everyone here has witnessed the fact that you're clearly capable of inflicting plenty of damage onto a person who hurts you or someone you care about, but you've never even spanked your cousin after everything she's done."

He smiled and looked at Eiko. She was staring at her knees, hands pressed down hard against the cushions beneath her. For once, her face wasn't squished in a sneer or glare or any other angry emotion. And she looked young. And... oddly enough... a little more like Jin.

"Eiko? Do you understand what-"

"YES!"

The young girl jumped up from her spot on the couch and started dancing around in a circle, "I DID IT! I'M BETTER THAN JIN! YES! WAHOO!"

Eiko began performing cartwheels around the room, a gigantic grin on her face as she pranced around. The Host Club watched in disappointment and contempt.

" _That didn't exactly turn out the way I had hoped..._ "

Jin sighed and threw her legs up on the couch, stretching out, "Eh? You never know. Maybe things will get better now. After all, I've never blamed Eiko for how she turned out." Her sister walked over and sat down by her feet, nodding in confirmation.

"We figured it mostly stemmed down from her parents. Our Uncle, Eiko's father, has never been close to Nēchan, and her mother likes us. They've probably brought up all of her successes in an argument before, so the best we can figure is that Eiko feels inadequate to her own parents or that they're disappointed with her."

The other boys shook their heads, each of them finding a spot themselves to sit down on, since Eiko was still cartwheeling around and singing (terribly) at the top of her lungs. Kyoya walked over to the couch the girls were sharing and Jin immediately moved her legs off for him to sit down. He didn't say a word when she replaced them over his lap once he got comfortable.

"Commoner families... who would've thought?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "Not _all_ 'commoner families' are like ours, idiots."

"Still, what a rough break."

"We make do. Besides, it could be worse."

"Oh, really?"

"How?"

Haruhi shrugged, "I could've been born an only child."

Jin scoffed and poked her sister with her foot, "Way to be a sap, Haru."

"But still! Think about it! What would we be if it was just me?"

The eight high schoolers were silent, trying to picture them without Jin in the mix.

"Nope."

"Not going there."

"Can't picture it."

"It doesn't feel good..."

"No."

The long-haired brunette leaned her head against the couch, smiling, "Way to make a girl feel special, guys."

 


	23. Honey's Three Bitter Days!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, there's a little bit of Accidentprone!Jin in this chapter and I put in a LOT more KyoJin moments than I had originally planned. Oh, and I'm really big on NotAnIdiot!Tamaki, so a little heads up there. I hope you like this chapter (it's one of my favorites)!

 

"Haven't you finished, yet?"

"Almost there, Glasses. Don't get your boxers in a twist. Aaaaaand… Done! You can have your precious diary back, now."

Kyoya rolled his eyes, snatching the notebook she was waving under his nose, "If it  _ were _ my diary, which is a ridiculous notion, you would not even be aware that it existed."

"Oooh… does that mean that you  _ do _ have a secret diary we don't know about?"

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out," he teased before skimming over the new entries, "Are these all the calculations from this morning's shipment?"

"Double and triple checked, both in the calculator and by hand, as you like it. No errors, but I have a few suggestions."

"Suggestions?" Kyoya ran a single finger down the page, following along to her math, "Like?"

"Like maybe limiting Honey's cake intake? I mean, if we took the time to really talk about it with him and how much it costs us for him to eat so much every day, he'd probably be open to changing his habits."

"My previous question remains valid."

"Okay… so this is only off the top of my head, but what if we only let Honey-senpai have two slices of cake per customer? Or maybe only one? That way he wouldn't be eating half of our stock every day."

"Hm…"

_ Thud! _

_ Ting! _

_ Splish! _

"You…  _ what have you done? _ "

The responding silence sent a chill around the room like a  _ Supernatural _ ghost. Jin could've sworn she saw her next breath mist out in front of her. Turning around, she saw the twins and Tamaki standing around a table, staring at it with unmasked horror. Casting a glance at her crush, Jin went over to check it out, hearing Kyoya following right behind her.

"Hey, it wasn't our fault!"

"W-How is this possibly not your fault?!"

The brunette came to a stop beside her sister, " _ What's happened? _ "

" _ Hikaru and Kaoru were reenacting something that happened in class today for Tamaki, and they accidentally pushed him backwards into the table and spilled a cup of tea all over Usa-chan. _ "

" _ So… totally their fault? _ "

" _ Completely. _ "

" _ And… they're going to try to convince Tamaki it was his fault? _ "

" _ Without. A. Doubt. _ "

The three boys around the table were now engaged in a full-blown argument, per usual for Tamaki and the twins, and Jin felt a heavy hand fall onto her shoulder. She looked up at Mori-senpai's face, which was sporting a small frown.

"Something wrong?"

"They'll wake him up."

The two looked over Haruhi's head at the only occupied couch in the room. Honey-senpai turned over in his sleep, a small mumble barely heard over the shouts of ' _ is too! _ ' and ' _ is not! _ '. Jin immediately understood Mori's concern and gave him a quick nod before walking between the arguing boys.

She gently picked the sopping wet bunny up off the table, giving it a good look, "Look, it doesn't matter how it happened, it's done now. We just need to send this little guy to a Dry Cleaner's and everything will be fine. I've done that with more than a few stuffed animals before."

"You have stuffed animals?"

The brunette sent a small wink at Kyoya, "That's for me to know, and for you to never find out. But seriously, if you just send it in it'll be good as new in a few hours."

"A few hours?! We don't have that kind of time! Honey-senpai will wake up soon enough and if his precious Usa-chan isn't where he left him-"

"You're gonna wake him up even sooner if you keep shouting like that, you know."

Tamaki clapped a hand over his mouth and shot a fearful look over his shoulder at his Senpai. The others followed his gaze, watching as Honey's cheek muscle twitched once before he settled further down into the couch cushions.

"Huh… I've never known any other 3rd-years who still need naps, but why don't we just wake him up now and apologize? He's going to find out eventually, right?" Haruhi reached forward towards the small blond, but soon found her wrist in a light grip. Jin stood just behind her, a warning look on her face.

"That… might not be a very good idea, baby sister."

"What? Why?"

Her sister cast another wary look at her old friend before jerking her head towards the others, "Let's… move away from Honey-senpai while we have this conversation." Confused, but still trusting of her sister's judgement and wisdom, Haruhi followed her back to the others.

" _ Whew! Nice save, Jin-senpai! _ "

" _ For a moment there, I thought Haruhi was a goner! _ "

" _ What are you guys talking abou- _ and why am I whispering, too?"

" _ Shhhhhhh! _ "

" _ Honey-senpai isn't exactly a… morning person. _ "

Haruhi tilted her head, " _ But… it's late afternoon. _ "

" _ Haru, he means Honey-senpai wakes up in a bad mood. Think Dad, but more dangerous. _ "

" _ Oooooooh. _ " Haruhi nodded, suddenly looking very serious, " _ Gotcha. _ "

" _ Yeah! There's a rumor going around that he once wiped out two whole platoons of American soldiers because someone was careless enough to wake him up when he was jetlagged! And we've had diplomatic issues with America since that fateful day! _ "

The brunette bowed her head, " _ You know… I can understand him being a bit grouchy when he wakes up, but becoming violent and ruining our country's relationships? That's stretching it a little, don't you think? _ "

" _ Oh, you think I'm exaggerating? Well consider this: Honey-senpai's blood is AB! _ "

" _ What does that have to do with  _ anything  _ we've been talking about for the past five minutes? _ "

" _ Becaaaaaause! That's the same blood type as Kyoya's! _ "

Haruhi covered her mouth, finally looking genuinely terrified. Her sister, however, snorted and peeked out at the now frowning ravenet.

"What's wrong with that? Do you have a problem with my blood type?"

The others quickly shook their heads, ducking away from his angry gaze. Jin smirked and set the stuffed rabbit down on a dry table, "Maybe we could clean him up ourselves? A little water and a pat-dry should be good enough before we can explain to him that Usa-chan needs to go to the dry-cleaners?"

"Are you insane? Why do you keep talking about this dry-cleaners? Don't you understand what he'll do to us when he wakes up?!"

"If that's what you're worried about, don't forget that both Mori-senpai  _ and _ I can protect you from him, right?"

"Protect us?! I know you're both learned in martial arts but Honey-senpai on a rampage would decimate the both of you anyways!"

"Tamaki! Shh!"

But it was too late. Honey-senpai slowly sat up on the couch, rubbing at his eyes with a tight frown. Everyone in the room tensed, watching their smallest friend slowly wake up fitfully. Kaoru suddenly grabbed a generously stuffed brown teddy-bear out from his school bag and chucked it at the occupied couch. It hit its mark on Honey-senpai's lap with a little  _ pamp! _

" _ Where did you get that? _ "

" _ It was in the Boss's backpack! I pulled it out earlier to tease him with, but forgot about it until just now! _ "

They fell silent again as Honey froze, suddenly realizing there was something new on his lap. Lowering his hand, the small blond stared at the teddy bear with an unreadable expression. Slowly, he reached down before snagging the bear's leg and whipping it across the room.

Jin clapped a hand over Tamaki's mouth to keep him from screaming out.

Honey slowly slid his legs off the couch, standing up and walking over to the table with Usa-chan still resting on it, his matching bunny blanket dragging along the ground behind him. He stared at the tea-stained stuffed animal before slowly turning his head to face the rest of the Host Club.

"...Who is responsible for getting Usa-chan…  _ dirty? _ "

Jin could feel the blond in her arms shaking violently, as well as the two sets of fists clinging to the back of her blazer. Honey's face was that of blank fury, eyes zeroing in on the guilty-looking party. From behind her, she heard the heavy footfalls of her other childhood friend as he slowly walked around the group and approached his cousin.

"Usa-chan was thirsty, so we made him tea."

Jin ducked her head, stifling her snickers in Tamaki's tensed shoulder.

"Oh! Okay! That's why his face is all dirty, huh? Usa-chan, you need to be more neat when you're drinking your tea! I bet Jin-chan made it for you, she's nice like that! Hey, Takashi, should we get Usa-chan some cake, too? It'll probably taste really good after his drink!"

The three boys surrounding Jin suddenly slid to the floor, shivering in relief. The girl stepped over Hikaru's curled form, flashing a smile at the remaining two members of the club.

"I tried to tell them! Mori-senpai and I wouldn't let him hurt anyone."

"I feel like you left out a few important details that would've convinced them more thoroughly."

She shrugged, "I have to entertain myself  _ somehow _ . Come on, the guests will be here any minute now."

* * *

Less than two hours later, the host club was slowly winding down to the last couple customers of the day. Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki had healed quickly after their slight mental breakdown earlier, but it was obvious to the well trained eye that all three boys were avoiding their small Senpai.

Jin found it hilarious.

She was still snickering as she went around the room, handing out the last pieces of cake and teapots for the day. Everything else was already locked up back in the kitchen. Pushing her new cart (that Kyoya had so graciously given her after she'd begged for it all of last week), she rolled to a stop beside Haruhi's table.

"Anything from the trolley, Dears?"

Haruhi lightly kicked her sister's foot, acknowledging the reference she'd just made, before sending her a wink, "We'll take the lot!"

The two muffled their snickers as best as they could, even though the guests were laughing, well aware of what their hosts were talking about. As Jin began handing out cake, the three girls sitting around her sister started rapidly discussing 'potential cosplays', so she took the time to actually talk to her sister.

"How've you been today, Haru?"

"Fine. It's weird with you not plastered to my side during lunch anymore."

Haruhi received a light tap to the back of her head, "Unless you want me to start inviting Kyoya over to our place, the cafeteria and before Hosting Hours are the best times for us to do 'Accounting stuff' as the twins have so eloquently put it."

"Let's stick to that." Haruhi felt a small shiver travel down her spine at the thought of Kyoya (and therefore the rest of the club) following them home everyday.

"That's what I figured. And you  _ can _ always sit on my other side during lunch, you know?"

"Yeah…" Haruhi stirred her tea half-heartedly, "But Honey-senpai usually takes that seat."

"Oh, shoot!" Jin hurriedly grabbed the empty cups and plates, stacking them haphazardly on her cart, "I need to get to Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai's table!"

Haruhi cast a glance at the full half of a chocolate cake on the lower half of the cart, pink floral decorations lining the edges and sides.

"Riddle me this, how has he not gotten a cavity from all the cake he eats on a daily basis?"

Jin shrugged, "I'm guessing a strict brushing schedule."

"Even so, if he keeps it up he's going to get one eventually."

"Don't jinx it, Haru!"

The shorter girl lifted her hands, "Fine! Sorry! Knock on wood!"

Not entirely convinced, Jin pushed her lower lip out in a sort-of pout before whisking herself away, ruffling Haruhi's hair in passing as she did so. As she neared her childhood friend's table, Honey turned to her with very wide eyes.

"Jin-chan! Have you brought more cake for me?"

"I have," the girl flicked the brakes on before skillfully swapping numerous plates and tea sets, "But maybe you should think about taking the cake a little slow for the rest of the day, Sweetie. Stick-in-the-mud over there is worried you're gonna get a cavity with that big of a sweet tooth." Jin lightly pinched her friend's chubby cheeks, taking a little bit of an edge off her warning.

"Nah!" Honey scooped up a big piece, more frosting than actual cake, "I always brush my teeth in the morning, at night, and after big meals! I'm-" he shoved the bite into his mouth and was cut off with a very painful-sounded yelp.

The room stilled.

The empty plate in Jin's hand was gently placed on the cart, "Honey-senpai…"

"Just… bit my tongue. 'm okay… Jin-chan."

"Um, how about you let me check, okay?"

"No, I'm fine."

The twins gravitated over to the other two, reaching out in an attempt to hold Honey down. Of course, he started squirming away from them, "What are you doing?"

"Honey-senpai!"

"Just let her check!"

"Stop messing with me! No!"

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey," Jin quickly pulled Hikaru's hands away from Honey's jacket, "Hold up, let him go!"

"Leave me alone!"

"...Mitsukuni-senpai?"

Honey's eyes slowly squinted open to see Jin resting on her knees in front of him, "Jin… chan?"

"Mitsukuni-senpai, please let me look? I promise I won't hurt you, but we need to know… if it's a cavity."

Tears slowly grew in the blond's eyes. Off to his left, he saw a long shadow growing along the floor and turned to his cousin. "Takashi?"

"Let her look, Mitsukuni."

The blond gasped, before miserably letting his lower jaw drop. Leaning in, Jin peeked into his open mouth. He'd been holding his right jaw, so that's where she looked first, and almost immediately she saw the black pit inside one of his back molars. The brunette withdrew with a sigh.

"Nēchan? Is it…"

"You jinxed it, Haru. I'm so sorry, Honey-senpai."

Tamaki pressed his pointer and middle finger to his forehead as Mori-senpai crouched down beside Jin to get his own, personal look, "Okay… could I have everyone's attention, please? I have an announcement to make."

Jin backed away from the cousins, knowing where Tamaki was going with this, and not wanting to be especially close to her friend when he heard the news. She loved Honey, dearly, but there were a few memories with him she never wanted to repeat again.

" _ And yet again, you demonstrate your incredible skills in handling children _ ."

"I'm guessing you've completely forgotten about last week's plot line?"

"Save for that particular one."

"Ha, thanks, Glasses." Jin turned to face the ravenet, not wanting to see Honey's facial expressions as his cousin carted away what was left of his cake, "But I have a feeling you're complimenting me because you're happy about something. And would that happiness have anything to do with not buying and sweets for the next few days or so?"

Kyoya flashed a grin.

"You're so mean."

"But you wouldn't have it any other way, now would you?"

The push off his chest and scoff told him all he needed to know.

* Timeskip *

"If you were just looking, then why don't you try this?  _ I'll _ keep the real stuff."

The 1st and 2nd year trios exchanged head shakes from the 'T' of the hallway before turning away in different directions.

"I never would've imagined Mori-senpai would treat Honey-senpai this harshly. It's almost like he's punishing him for having a cavity. I mean, taking his candy away was one thing, but flashing a half-off sale in front of his face? That seems like a cruel and unusual punishment."

"Well, it's not as though we have any say over how Mori-senpai keeps his cousin away from candy or other sweets. Perhaps this is normal behaviour for the both of them. After all, it  _ was _ Honey-senpai's carelessness that caused this unfortunate incident to occur. I think it's fair to up his punishment a little, to really drive in the lesson. But even I admit the sale was poorly timed… we really could've used it."

"Kyoya, I know you're my best friend and all, but could you please stop being so insensitive? I  _ know _ you only really care about the monetary standpoint of this problem, but would it kill you to at least  _ pretend _ to care about Honey-senpai's mental wellbeing?"

"I never said that I didn't care, and I highly doubt that his mental health will play any factor in the following days. That being said, sometimes I wish that  _ you _ would pay a little more attention to the club's spending on certain things, such as Honey-senpai's eating habits. Just today we've saved enough for a full cosplay set of Hogwart's wizard robes, not even counting how much we've saved by not ordering sweets for the rest of the guests."

"But does that really trump Honey-senpai's suffering enough to smile about it? I haven't seen you this happy and carefree in months! Well, apart from when Jin took half of your workload off your shoulders… but that's beside the point!"

"Tamaki, you're over exaggerating!"

"Am I? Jin, be honest; when was the last time you saw Kyoya smile as much as he has today alone?"

The brunette sighed, pinching her skirt fabric between her thumb and forefinger to swish the material around, "I'm not going to take sides in  _ that _ particular argument, but if either of you care, I personally agree with how Mori-senpai is handling this."

"...Huh?"

"Yes, Tamaki, I think he's doing what he should. Honey-senpai may be the eldest, but he still acts like a little kid. As someone who practically raised their little sibling and who sees younger children on a daily basis, I say that little kids need to be told that enough is enough on occasion. Considering that, if he continued to eat sweets like he normally does, Honey-senpai would not only be in terrible pain every time he did, but it would make a bad situation worse and instead of just getting the cavity filled at the dentist in a few days, he might need a root canal instead.  To me, Honey-senpai needs Mori-senpai to really behave as his common sense in situations like these and ensure that he's doing what's best for him in the long run. After all, eventually the two of them won't be around each other all the time, and Mori-senpai can't spend the rest of his life worrying if his cousin is unable to withstand temptation like this."

Her classmates were silent, so she rounded off her argument, "And if you think about it, Mori-senpai cares so much about Honey-senpai and his well being… he may be blaming himself for this whole cavity business."

The three lapsed into silence until they walked into their classroom. Kyoya sat down at his desk and smiled up at Jin, who situated herself atop said desk as per usual, "Once again, I'm impressed by how well you handle children."

"Are you going to keep saying that? That's, what, the third time? Fourth?"

"Apologies."

"No, it's fine, I was just wondering. It's nice when you say it." She gently swings her feet, tapping her heels against his knee whenever they swung back under his desk. Feeling a deep warmth in his chest, Kyoya looked around the girl on his desk, wondering why his friend was suddenly so quiet.

Tamaki seemed to be frozen halfway between standing and sitting, his body tense and eyes wide, staring at the legs of Kyoya's desk.

"Tamaki? Is something wrong?"

The boy jolted and he tumbled backwards into his chair, nearly toppling it over, "W-what? Oh, no, yeah, no I'm just fine. I just, you know, well, uh-Sugar withdrawal! Yeah. Just... " he turned around to face the front of the classroom, back ramrod straight, "...sugar."

Jin looked away from the blond and raised her left eyebrow, as if asking  _ What was that all about? _

Kyoya simply shrugged and pulled out his black journal, unable to not smile as Jin leaned closer and started listing the rest of the savings he'd forgotten to calculate.

* * *

"Jin-chan..?"

A faint tugging at the bottom of her jacket followed by a pair of sniffles pulled Jin's attention away from the roses she was arranging. She peeked over her shoulder.

"Yes, Honey-senpai? What is it?"

"I… why does everyone hate me all of the sudden? Did I d-do something to offend you? I'm s-s-sorry, Jin-chan. I didn't m-mean to…"

The girl sighed lightly, pulling her jacket out of Honey's grip as she turned around, "Mitsukuni-senpai, look at me."

He didn't.

"Please."

Slowly, Honey's head lifted. It had been three days since his last taste of strawberry cake, and it was easily read in his face. Dark bags hung below his red-rimmed eyes and his cheeks seemed to be both hollowing out and sagging at the same time. His hair hair looked half-brushed and one shower short of its usual shine, and Jin felt her heart strings clench viciously.

On the other hand, she was well aware that not a few seconds ago he'd been rummaging through the candy drawers she had emptied herself the first night of his prohibition. His irritation was buzzing around the room, making six other heads poke out around various furniture pieces at the two of them.

"Honey-senpai, making yourself look homeless is not going to bring your dentist visit any closer, and you know that. Everyone around you is trying to be as patient and understanding as they can be, but right now you and I are going to have a 'big-kid talk', okay?"

Usually, this is when Jin would crouch down to be eye-level with the child and soften her voice, but she'd been observing her friend for the past three days and was honestly disappointed in him. He was the closest of her friends to adulthood, and was doing a very pathetic job of showing it. By now she had realized what Mori-senpai was doing, so there was no help coming from him, and there wasn't anyone else in the club who knew Honey-senpai like they did. So, as usual, it came down to her to try and put things in order. Typical.

"Mitsukuni-senpai, I've seen your various plots to try and trick people into giving you sweets, and I'm disappointed in you. You are 18 years old, for goodness sake, and this is one of those times where you're going to have to act like it. I get that you like cake, sometimes more than you like people, and that can be okay in some cases but not when it concerns your health. It you go into your dentist appointment tomorrow to have your cavity filled, but learn that you need a root canal instead because you kept on mooching sweets off of everyone you're going to have to wait  _ even longer _ before you can eat cake again. I know you don't want to think about it, but it's the truth.

"You need to be a big kid for just a few more hours, that's all I'm asking of you here. After you get your cavity fixed, you can have all the sweets and cake you want because like Hell the entire Host Club wouldn't bring you all the cakes they can carry after the horrible week you've had. So, if you want this to take as little time as possible, I suggest you bring out your tough guy side and act your age."

Honey was facing the ground again, his arms wound so tightly around Usa-chan's neck it looked like his head was about to pop off. His body was still, but his mind was racing. A small part of him, deep, deep inside his brain knew that Jin was right, and that eventually everything would be alright again, but his rational mind wasn't in control at the moment.

Right now, he was mad. He felt like he was being mistreated. Like no one cared that he was suffering and couldn't possibly understand what he was going through. Takashi was being mean, Kyo-chan was obviously happier than normal, Haru-chan gave him kelp instead of chocolate like she'd promised, and now Jin-chan was being mean to him in front of everyone. Calling him a child! He wasn't a child! She was just being a big, stupid-

"JERK!"

It was a knee-jerk reaction what happened next. All of his anger at his cavity, the lack of sweets, zero support for his side, and the knowledge that everything Jin had just said was true down to the last syllable… it just came bubbling out at that one word. Usa-chan fell to the floor as Honey rotated clockwise on his left leg, tucking his right up against his chest before striking out at Jin with the heel of his shoe.

In the split second that followed his foot connecting with her chest, seven things happened at once.

There was the sound of every occupied chair in the room scraping against the floor as one. Jin's name and nicknames began to fall off of parted lips, as well as his own first name being sharply bitten out by his cousin. Jin's eyes went wide, shock etched into every line of her face. Her lips were parted as well, but instead of words, there was a great mass of air being forced out of her throat. Honey realized that was because his kick had struck her diaphragm. Then there was a brief curiosity as to why Jin hadn't blocked his attack, like he knew she could have. Easily. And the seventh thing that happened was an immediate, overwhelming tidal wave of regret and horror that flooded Honey's entire being.

When time went back to normal, Jin was flying through the air until she slammed against the wall of the music room. She didn't say anything at first, because she had no air in her lungs to make a sound. In lieu of that shout, a very loud, ominous  _ CRACK _ filled the air instead.

She slid to the floor, pulled her left forearm out from behind her back, grabbed the middle of it with her right hand, and let out a breathless scream.

Six hosts ran to surround her, Honey still frozen in place as he watched tears of pain begin to stream down Jin's face as she clutched her arm tighter. Kyoya finally managed to push Tamaki out of the way, cell phone to his ear as he called for an ambulance. Jin was quickly lead out from the circle of boys, Haruhi's arms wrapped around her and steering her around obstacles as her eyes screwed up due to the pain.

Her wrist was swelling.

Honey's apology caught in his throat, feeling all the blood in his head drain down to his toes at the sight. Neither Haruhi nor Jin were looking his way, but he'd have to be dead to miss the glare Kyoya shot in his direction before closing the Music Room doors behind the three of them.

The room falls into silence once they're gone. The events of the last two minutes replay in Honey's head, emphasizing the feeling of Jin's body giving way beneath Honey's kick and the crack of her, most likely, broken bone.

There was something warm and slightly ticklish on his face, and he reached up to feel it all wet from tears. He began to shake.

"Mitsukuni…"

He couldn't take it. The sheer weight of disappointment in Takashi's voice was the final straw. Honey collapsed into a pool of tears.

"I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean too!  _ *Sniff* _ I'm so sorry! Jin-chan I'm sorry!"

The warm hug he was pulled into was almost worse.

* Timeskip *

The next day was a little emotional to say the least.

Jin had walked into Ouran Academy with an uncomfortable looking cast around her left wrist only to be wrapped up in one of the most tear-filled hugs she'd ever experienced. Honey was wailing into her hip for about five minutes straight, and the small boy was still whimpering out apologies as she bent down to wipe his tears off.

"Shhh, shhh, it's… er, well maybe not completely okay, but thank you for apologizing, Honey-senpai. I'm not mad at you. It's just a little crack, it'll be healed by the summer!"

"I'm s-s-so s-sorry, Jin-chan! I-I won't eat any more sweets until after my d-dentist says so!"

She smiled, "Promise?"

"Mm, hm! I-I won't even complain!"

"That's very good progress for you, Honey-senpai. I'm proud of you."

Honey sniffled again before throwing his arms around her neck, leaking a few more tears onto her shoulder. Jin straightened up with the boy still in her arms and exchanged glances with her sister who had watched the whole thing. Haruhi nodded with a small smile before grabbing both of their school bags and leading the way to the music room. They had a feeling the others would be waiting for them to be updated on Jin's wrist.

Unless Kyoya already told them.

The taller of the three blushed when she remembered how concerned Kyoya had been the day before. After rushing the two sisters into the back of an Ambulance, he had followed behind them in his limo and had stayed by Haruhi's side while the doctors at the nearest Ootori hospital treated Jin's injury. It had been hard to judge who looked more relieved when they were told Jin had suffered merely a cracked bone instead of a broken one, and he'd even paid for all of Jin's medical expenses. When asked he said it was because she got hurt at the club, and it was therefore their responsibility to pay for it, but Jin knew better.

Haruhi pushed the doors open and they walked inside, Honey slowly lifting his head from her shoulder. He tried not to meet anyone's eyes, but soon realized no one was looking at him angrily and relaxed.

"Honey-senpai?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I set you down for a moment? I need to talk to Mori-senpai about something."

"Huh? Oh, okay, Jin-chan!"

The blond slid down off of Jin's hip and walked over to where his cousin had sat Usa-chan down. Jin also moved away from the doors, answering the boy's questioning stares with a smile and a thumbs up before pulling her other childhood friend off to a corner of the room. The two began conversing in hushed tones, Mori-senpai looking a little scolded the longer they talked but understanding all the same.

"What are they talking about?"

"Do I look like I'd know?"

"Oh, cut it out, you two. Jin probably wanted to talk about how Honey-senpai reacted once she left for the hospital."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"They really are close, aren't they?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai didn't make a move on Jin-senpai after all the years they knew each other."

"Unless they're secretly in an arranged marriage?"

The trio looked between the girl and boy who looked to be wrapping up their conversation.

"Nah."

Just then, Mori nodded and patted Jin's head lightly, the two smiling at each other before turning back to face the others in the room. The brunette smiled wider and pulled a handful of colorful sharpies out of her blazer's inside pocket.

"Time to sign my cast! Line up, everyone!"

Haruhi was, of course, the first person to snatch the green sharpie up and start scribbling along the white plastic. Mori-senpai grabbed the blue and seemed to be delicately spelling his name with complete concentration.

Hikaru and Kaoru each took one step forward before something tugged them backwards.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Let go, Boss! We wanna sign her cast, too!"

"Shhh! Be quiet! You can sign her cast  _ after _ ."

Tamaki yanked the two other boys behind a couch before releasing their jackets. He poked his head up above the lip of said couch to see if the other five had noticed their retreat, but they were all surrounding Jin, markers in hand.

"What's the big deal, Boss?"

"Yeah, and the harsh grip?"

The blond didn't look at them, too preoccupied with staring at his best friend who was currently signing Jin's cast, unaware of the faintest hint of pink currently sprawled across the girl's cheeks.

"Men, I have a hypothetical question to ask of you… in regards to Kyoya and Jin."

 


	24. Sick Day!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a big ol' bundle o' fluff! Lots of Jin-Honey-Mori sibling-ish stuff, and Jin-Haruhi sibling stuff, and Kyoya caring just a little bit more than usual for things like, you know, a girl. Hope you like it!

 

She knew the thermometer didn't lie, and neither did the mirror, but Jin couldn't deny the fact she felt like dirt. Old, gritty, spat-upon dirt. Her whole body ached from the moment her eyes opened this morning, and she felt exhausted despite having a full 9 hours of sleep. Even her cracked wrist felt worse than usual. Haru, of course, could tell immediately that her onēchan didn't feel so hot. She watched in concern as Jin slowly packed her bento box away into her bag, eyelids fluttering sleepily.

"Nēchan, maybe you should stay home if you're not feeling good."

"No. I'm not going to make everyone worry about me when I'm not actually sick. I'll be fine."

"But maybe the reason you feel so bad is because you're  _ getting _ sick-"

"I'm going."

"Nēchan, I  _ really, really- _ "

"How much longer are we going to argue this?"

"Until you agree to stay home."

"So... never?"

"Not if you stay home."

"I'm heading out to the train station now. You're welcome to join me."

"You're being really stupid and stubborn this morning, Nēchan. More so than usual."

"Right back at you, Haru. Let's go."

The rest of the day was sure to be a struggle, and it was. Even the train ride to the school felt like torture. The screeching wheels making Jin's head throb and the compartment felt so overheated she felt like her lungs were being constricted. Arriving at Ouran was no better. The school hallways were too loud, and she could barely keep her eyes open during the lessons.

By the last hour of the day, she felt so run down and exhausted she didn't even fight when her eyelids gravitated towards each other. Propping her right arm on her desk, she set her chin down in the palm of her hand and shut her eyes. She'd rest them for five or so minutes, then zone back in on the lesson. She wouldn't miss much, right? Besides... Tamaki or Kyoya... would wake her up... when they realized...

"Jin?"

The brunette jerked herself out of her nap, elbow slipping off her desk in the process and sending her chin into the wood. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes at the sharp pain and how completely unfair the situation was. She'd just recently broke her wrist, felt like her entire body had been crushed by a steamroller, and now this? Maybe she  _ should've _ stayed home today.

"Ow…"

"Ah! Jin, are you alright?"

A too-warm hand cupped Jin's cheek and she quickly shied away. Mumbling unintelligibly, she shoved at Tamaki's chest, "Wha? What do you want?"

"...Class is over, Jin. Um… were you asleep?"

"Just resting my eyes."

There was a moment of silence before a cooler hand reached out to touch her chin. She stayed still this time, partly because if she pushed Kyoya away he'd know something was up and also because the cold felt nice. Long, thin fingers traced what was sure to become a bruise later on before slowly inching their way up to her cheek.

"Jin… you're very warm."

"What did you expect? Hit my chin. Rush of blood. Warm."

"No." Kyoya quickly pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, "You're  _ warm _ .  _ Sick _ warm." Deciding that Kyoya had touched her enough, she feebly tried to push him away. He caught her wrist in his free hand instead. "You came to school when you're  _ sick? _ Are you completely  _ idiotic? _ "

"Mm… I wasn' sick this morn'n." Her on-again, off-again headache was making an unawaited reappearance, so Jin abandoned all her pretenses and grabbed his cold hands to press against her forehead. She let out a sigh at the feeling of the heat in her head being sucked out, headache numbing down.

"Tamaki." Kyoya withdrew his hands to lift her up into his arms, "Let's take her to the club room. She can rest there until Haruhi arrives and we can figure out how to get her home."

The blond nodded, his face a mixture of concern, seriousness, and… something else. But Jin didn't pay him any attention, too preoccupied with lightly shoving at Kyoya's chest, wriggling her legs around in an attempt to get back to the ground. "Ngh, Glasses, you don' have ta carry me. I can walk on m' own."

"And have you faint on the way? Strange, but I'd rather avoid that."

"I won't faint!"

She did.

By the time she woke back up, she was all but swaddled in at least three layers of blankets and lying down on a familiar looking couch in a dark room. She even recognized one of them as Honey's pink bunny blanket he used during his naps. That, mixed it with the fact she recognized the couch, meant she was somewhere in Music Room #3. Her head and feet were propped up on a couple soft pillows piled at both ends of the couch, a cool washcloth lying on her noticeably chilly forehead and headache mercifully gone.

Groggily, she pulled the washcloth off to instead press it against her warm cheeks, "Haru?"

"Nēchan? You awake?" Haruhi walked into the small darkened room, quickly kneeling by the couch.

"Yeah. What happened?"

The washcloth was removed from her hands only to smack semi-harshly against her nose, "You got sick, is what happened! Kyoya-senpai walked into the club room with you passed out in his arms! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Sick? No… I was probably just tir-aCHOO!" The force behind the sneeze forced her to double over, almost sent Jin's head into her knees. She fell backwards onto the pillow and sniffed miserably. "Okay… I'm sick."

"No kidding." Haruhi dipped the washcloth into a bowl of water set down by the couch, swished it around the small handful of ice cubes for a moment before wringing it out and patting at her sister's face, "Look, we're going to stay here until hosting activities are over, then one of the boys are going to take us home. This way you don't have to suffer through another train ride and I can look after you for the next two hours. As for right now, I've got soup on the way from Kokuwagata, because I  _ know _ that you won't be able to stomach anything else in the club room right now."

Jin went quiet for a moment before murmuring, "Udon?"

"What else?"

"Love you, Haru."

"Love you, too, Nēchan."

* * *

"Tamaki? Where's Jin today? I haven't seen her since class got out."

The blond let out a deep sigh, pressing a hand to his chest, "My dears, it is a painful subject to speak about, but... I regret to inform you that our beloved Jin… is sick with the flu. She will not be joining us for the next few days."

His three guests stared at him for another couple seconds before letting out sighs of relief, "Oh, thank  _ goodness! _ "

"I thought you were about to say that she left the host club!"

"Me too! Oh, but we're sorry she's sick! Is she going to be alright?"

Tamaki nodded, "She should be alright in a few days according to Kyoya, it is just the flu. Actually, she's in the back room right now."

"Really? Is that why we haven't seen much of Honey-senpai or Mori-senpai? I thought Haruhi would be the one to take care of his older sister…"

"Yes, but it would seem that where Haruhi decides that Jin will be fine being left on her own, her old friends aren't quite willing to take the chance. It is a little strange."  _ Especially when I thought someone  _ else  _ would be the one not to leave her side for any reason… am I wrong? _

"Can we see her? Just for a second?"

Each of the girls deflated as their host shook his head, "I'm afraid Jin has requested that none of our guests see her today. She doesn't want to risk getting you all sick. In fact, she didn't really want any of the hosts around her either, but we wouldn't let her suffer on her own." Tamaki glanced over his shoulder at the doorway to the dressing room. Maybe once this group left in a minute he'd go check on Jin himself. Haruhi was scheduled to be completely book for the next half an hour, so perhaps he could step in for her?

"Tamaki?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Princess. What did you say?"

"We just wanted you to know that… well…"

"We're really happy seeing you boys so close to Jin. She's a really nice girl and you're such great friends for her. I don't think any of  _ my _ friends would dote over me if I caught the flu!"

"Yeah, it's super sweet how much you all care about each other!"

Tamaki smiled, "That's very kind of you ladies. It warms my heart to hear how-"

"But it would be even greater if one of you started  _ dating _ her!"

"And everyone else suddenly turned into her protective big brothers!"

"Which of you do you think is the most likely to-"

" _ Okay! _ It looks like our time is up, ladies! Please visit again tomorrow!" Tamaki was positive that his face was a little pink as his three guests walked away, still giggling amongst themselves. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed at his forehead. Having the guests thinking things like that was potentially dangerous, especially if 'shipping wars' started to break out. This wasn't exactly the kind of publicity the Host Club needed. Contrary to popular belief, Tamaki did  _ not _ in fact want his club to turn into Ourans' Soap Opera.

The guests all left the room, and no one else walked in, but the boys weren't concerned considering they had asked their guests to give them two minutes between each shift to care for Jin. As it was, Honey-senpai reappeared at the doorway to the changing rooms and started barking out orders.

"Kyo-chan, I need to know if we have any more blankets! Haru-chan, we need a new washrag! And, uh, Hika-chan! Can you put more ice in this bowl? The water's too warm now!"

The hosts that were called out by name stood up and quickly began to do their indicated chores. Tamaki just sat back in his couch and watched them. Who would've thought that Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai were such Mother Hens? The two third years had almost forced Kyoya to cancel all of their requests for the day so they could take care of Jin, but Haruhi had stepped in and offered to take a few shifts now and again so Kyoya wouldn't have a stroke at the age of 17. But even so, when the two third years were back there, it was like Jin was under quarantine.

"Hika-chan?"

Tamaki zoned back into reality to see the redhead standing a good 10 feet away from his senpai, "Uh… couldn't someone  _ else _ do that, Honey-senpai?"

Honey's face twisted into a scowl as he marched over to the 1st year, shoving the bowl into his hands and almost dousing the both of them with the now lukewarm water, "You're not gonna get sick from touching the stupid bowl, Hika-chan! Jin-chan needs your help because she's sick, and this is the least you can do since you and Kao-chan refuse to be in the same room as her! Now get more ice!"

The blond stalked back to Haruhi, who was holding a brand new washcloth, and gently accepted it before disappearing back into the changing room. Hikaru remained frozen in place for a heartbeat, holding the bowl a little ways away from his body. Kaoru was standing away from his twin as well, watching him with concern.

Tamaki couldn't help but feel the need to tease them.

"What's wrong, Hikaru? Afraid of germs?"

The eldest twin shot the taller blond a glare of pure steel, "You would be too if you had been born prematurely and had a million and one doctor visits when you were small and have a very poor immune system!

His brother nodded, "Being twins isn't all shits and giggles, Boss. There are a lot of health problems that are attached to it."

"Oh." Well, now he felt like a jerk...

Thankfully, the twins didn't seem to want to continue the conversation either. Hikaru slowly started making his way across the room, bowl held out at arms length. "What I don't get is why Honey-senpai is acting so uptight about all this. He acted like I'd disrespected his grandmother's memory or something."

"Yeah, it's a little weird. He seems really upset about Jin getting sick. Almost like he blames someone for it happening."

"You don't think that's it, do you?"

"Is my water ready yet?"

Hikaru quickly shut up and started jogging across the room, "Just a second, Honey-senpai!"

* Timeskip *

"Haruhi? It's your turn to look after Ji-"

The brunette was quick to stand up and walk towards the back of the room before I even finished. I followed after her, not only because I had to ensure that Honey-senpai came out of the back room in exchange, but also to check on Jin myself. There was no doubt in my mind that her old friends had taken exceptional care of her, but I still wished to see if she had made any progress.

The two of us walked into the room and stopped. Mori-senpai was crouched by Jin's head, lightly dabbing at her forehead as she slept on, peacefully. Honey-senpai was perched on the back of the couch like a watchful hawk, eyes fixating on us the moment we stepped into view. But neither of these were surprising. Seeing the absolute  _ mountain _ of fluffy blankets piled on top of Jin's sleeping form gave us pause however. Where did Honey-senpai even  _ find _ that many blankets? The supernatural abilities of my fellow club members never ceased to amaze me sometimes.

Haruhi was the first of us to step forwards, "Honey-senpai? I don't think Nēchan needs all those blankets…How many are there, ten? Fifteen?"

"She said she was cold."

"Yeah, uh, I don't think she meant  _ that _ cold." She slowly started peeling off the top couple layers until she claimed to finally be able to feel the warmth of Jin's body heat. As she began straightening out the remaining blankets, tucking them around Jin's feet and sides, I turned to the other males in the room.

"Well, it looks like Haruhi has this covered. You two should head back out to tend to your guests."

"But... but Kyo-chan..."

"Honey-senpai? Did you put him here?"

The three of us turned back to the sisters. Jin was still fast asleep, her breath puffing out from between her lips in small bursts, and Haruhi had the top left corner of her blanket pile lifted up to reveal-

"Yeah! I figured Usa-chan would want to help Jin-chan in any way he could, so he's making sure she doesn't get lonely."

Haruhi smiled sweetly at the small boy before gently laying the blankets down again, tucking them in such a way so only Jin's and Usa-chan's heads stuck out. It was an endearing sight to behold, yes, but I knew that the guests would soon be arriving and Honey-senpai didn't seem to be moving any time soon. Mori-senpai, at least, was already out in the central room, but his blond cousin seemed oddly frozen in place.

"Honey-senpai, your guests will be waiting for you. Haruhi can handle Jin for 20 minutes."

"But what if she needs extra help? Takashi and I could barely keep up with everything!" I shot a quick glance at the brunette girl lying down on the couch, fast asleep. There really wasn't much to do other than make sure the washcloth on her forehead was chilled, but clearly the cousin's weren't taking any chances.

"Oddly enough I don't feel as concerned as you do, Honey-senpai. But if you're so concerned, then perhaps  _ I _ -"

"Kyo-chan! The last time you tried to help, you were making her do her  _ homework! _ While she's  _ sick! _ "

At the accusation, I wanted to argue that Jin had  _ asked _ to work on our homework, and we had worked through the questions  _ together. _ We'd gotten through maybe half of our history work before Honey-senpai had come in and shooed me out. Besides, that had been while she was awake. I wouldn't interrupt the sleep that she so desperately needed for something as ridiculous as homework. What did my Senpai take me for anyways?

"Well, you need to attend to your guests, so who would  _ you _ recommend?"

Honey stuck his lower lip out before shrugging, "Tama-chan?"

Wow.

"Tamaki has guests."

He pouted once more, "Fine… Haru-chan, if you need  _ any _ help at all, you call out for me or Takashi!"

"Alright, Honey-senpai. I will. Now please go before Kyoya physically drags you out."

The blond giggled, finally showing his usual childishness before prancing out the door. I followed on his heels, still a little irritated that he thought Tamaki would do better than me with taking care of someone sick. My family  _ does _ run medical facilities around the world.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.  _ Why am I so upset about his comment? It doesn't matter. Honey-senpai is simply worried about his friend. He didn't mean to offend me... not that he did. _ Once we were out of the changing rooms, Honey-senpai quickly ran over to his guests. I watched as he belly flopped onto the couch beside his cousin, running his mouth at a mile a minute. Raking my gaze around the rest of the room, I noted how Tamaki was flirting with about five girls at once, somehow making sure that none of them felt ignored or short-handed. And the twins... were watching me with something akin to interest.

I raised an eyebrow at them and they turned around quickly, returning their full attention to their guests. A hum vibrated in the back of my throat before I walked over to my own two guests. If the twins were planning something, we were sure to learn of it in the near future.

Hopefully it didn't have anything to do with Jin. She was dealing with enough at the moment as it was.

* * *

"Honey? We've been told that you've been taking care of Jin while she's sick. That's so kind of you!"

"Aren't you worried you'll catch her flu?"

The small blond shook his head, swallowing his bite of lime cake, "I have a really strong immune system, and I've been washing my hands all day. I'll be just fine."

"That's a relief, Honey. I'm sure Jin will get better in no time with you helping her!"

He grinned broadly, "Really? I hope so! I can't wait for Jin-chan to go back to being our waitress! She's so much fun to have around!"

"Ah… Honey-senpai..?" The blonde girl right across from him giggled, "Do you think Jin needs some cake? I'd bet she'd feel much better if you shared some with her."

His response nearly flattened them.

"No… that's probably not a good idea. What Jin-chan needs is lots of sleep, water, and fruits and veggies. She doesn't need sugar right now, but I bet she'd like some tea when she wakes up!" The three girls gape at him. Even Takashi looked surprised. Honey stuck another forkful of cake into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed, "I'm sure she'd like some once she gets better, but until then she has to stay as healthy as possible."

The girls blinked before smiling, "Yeah, you're probably right, Honey."

"You're so smart! We didn't think about it like that!"

"It's so sweet how much you care about Jin!"

Something tightened in his chest at their praise, but he ate some more cake to cover it up. No need to dump his guilt on his guests. They didn't deserve it. For the following fifteen minutes, the five of them continued with polite conversation. (Or, rather  _ four _ of them. Takashi just watched, as per usual.) However, Honey's mind was constantly falling back to the brunette girl who was sleeping in the back room... because of him. Another wave of guilt rushed through his gut, making his lime cake churn unpleasantly as Kyoya called time for the group.

Suddenly anxious to get back to his sick friend, Honey very nearly tossed his dirty glass plate onto the table as he jumped to his feet, "Come on, Takashi! Jin-chan might be awake-"

"Mitsukuni. Wait."

At his cousin's deep voice, Honey paused and looked around, "Takashi? Is something wrong?"

"Why are you so upset that Jin is sick?"

The two looked at each other for a few heartbeats before the shorter one looked away, "I don't like seeing Jin-chan unhappy. I wanna make her smile again."

"...No. That's not the reason."

"Just drop it, Takashi. It's stupid."

"Then let's be stupid together. Tell me."

The blond sat back down, crossing his legs on top of the cushion, wondering how to breach the subject. Deciding to just come out and say it, considering they were on a schedule, Honey whimpered, "It's all my fault she's sick. I broke her wrist, and she had to go to the hospital. She probably caught the flu from someone else while she was there. It's my fault."

His cousin raised his eyebrows at the explanation, "Mitsukuni... she was in the hospital days ago. If that's where she caught it, it would've shown up sooner. But-" he held up a hand to stem Honey's rebuke, "-I understand. So I'll tell you what Jin told me when I thought I was to blame for your cavity." Honey tilted his head, curious as to why Takashi thought his cavity had been his fault, but didn't attempt to interrupt again.

"It's not your responsibility to keep Jin safe. I know she means a lot to you, and me, and everyone else, but it wasn't your fault she got sick. And it's not fair to anyone if you try to punish yourself for something as common as this. Jin doesn't blame you, nor does anyone else, and if you do then you're only going to hurt others in the process. This whole mess will blow over soon, and everything will be back to normal, and soon you'll be wondering why you were ever upset about it."

Honey was quiet, tossing the words around in his head while the other hosts gathered around, making small remarks on how Takashi had never spoken that much before, probably in his life, but he ignored them. What his cousin had said was true. And that did make a lot of sense considering he was borrowing words from Jin.

"I guess you're right, Takashi. Thanks."

The cousins hugged tightly just as Haruhi poked her head out of the back room, "Hey, guys? My Dad just called to tell us he got out of work early, and once I told him Nēchan was sick he said he'd come right over. He should be here in another three minutes or so, and I need some help getting Nēchan ready to go home."

The boys leaped into action, scurrying around the room collecting her school bag, fancy tea for the next few days she'd be spending at home, and (in Kyoya's case), updating the club's website to announce their waitress would be indisposed for the next few days. Haruhi watched them for a few seconds before allowing herself a smile. Sometimes, meaning very few times, the hosts proved that while they may be idiots, at least they were idiots who  _ cared _ . And if Nēchan liked 'em? Then Haruhi could deal with them by herself for the next few days.

 


	25. Haruhi in Wonderland!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! I had so much fun writing this chapter! Please don't hate me for making it all a dream! I hope you like it!

 

"Oh, Jin-chan! Can you come over here for a second?"

The brunette looked away from the bag in front of her, spotting her friend waving frantically from the windows, "Coming, Honey-senpai!" Jin set her bag of cosplay clothes down and walked around the various couches between her and the small blond. It took her only one glance to see why he had called her over.

"Isn't Haru-chan so cute when she's asleep?"

"Yeah."

"But the host club's going to start in a while… should we wake her up?"

Jin shook her head, reaching out to stroke her sister's short hair, "Nah. Let's leave her be for a little longer. I bet she's having a good dream." She bent down close to her sister just as the Ouran clock tower struck 3.

_ Bong... _

Jin pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

_ Bong... _

" _ Sweet dreams, Haru… _ "

_ Bong... _

* * *

_ Falling down the rabbit hole… _

_ Let's see what awaits us down below... _

* * *

Haruhi felt like something was wrong. Her head felt unusually heavy, like someone was pressing down on it. That wasn't to say the feeling was uncomfortable or anything, but it passed in a matter of seconds. Deciding to ignore the odd feeling for the time being, she refocused in on her father's words.

He and a brunette man were chatting at a table placed strategically by a window, giving them a shadow-like appearance from her spot by the door. She rolled her eyes as he brought up how she'd gone through the entire application process by herself, without asking for help. Didn't he realize that he didn't have the free time? Even now he should be sleeping and taking care of his health instead of rambling on with the Dean of her new school.

"Ms. Fujioka?"

"Mm?"

Said dean was now staring at her, glasses glinted in such a way she couldn't see his eyes, "Would you mind terribly if your father and I talked in private for a while? You're free to explore the school as you please."

"Alright."

Quickly making her way out of the Dean's office, Haruhi decided she'd try to find her classroom for next year. The last thing she needed to do as an Honor Student was get lost on the first day of school.

_ You'd think huge schools like these would provide maps for their students. But then again, _ she thought as she rounded the corner,  _ Hogwarts students don't get them either. _

Passing through a hallway that had a full side dedicated to large bay windows, Haruhi took a moment to enjoy the view. The manicured lawn and hedges a story down from her vantage point nearly glistened in the sunlight, like someone had doused them with glitter.

_ Bong... _

_ Bong... _

_ Bong... _

Her brown eyes flickered up towards the clock tower standing proud in the center of the commons, just as grand and pink as the rest of the building surrounding it. Haruhi was just starting to wonder why the architects of the school had decided on making the prestigious campus pink, of all the colors, when another subtle noise reached her ears.

_ Creeeeeak! _

"Huh?"

The double doors at the very end of the hallway were cracked open, a bright light shining out onto the tiled floors.  _ Weren't those closed just a moment ago? _

Given that there was no one else in the hallway with her, Haruhi had to assume that whoever had opened the door was on the inside on the room. She watched with interest, wondering what kind of rich kid would be at school over spring break, but no one came out of the room.

Briefly reminding herself of the multiple horror movies she'd seen on television, Haruhi walked closer.  _ Is it a janitor? Or is it another student who wants to play a prank on the new kid… The 'new kid' being me? _

She made it to the door without any problems and, after taking in a deep breath, peeked her head inside.

What she saw made her jaw drop.

It was… a stuffed bunny rabbit. A light pink,  _ stuffed _ bunny! And it was  _ walking around on its own! _ Her brain struggled to find some sort of reasoning, like a Puppeteer club or something, but there didn't seem to be anyone else in the room. She was all alone.

With the stuffed rabbit.

Said rabbit that suddenly turned around and  _ waved at her. _

"Eeeh?"

It beckoned her closer and, against her better judgement, she obeyed. The rabbit stayed right where it was, its stitched smile trained on her as she slowly inched closer. "Oooookay. Weird. This is  _ really weird. _ " Taking another hesitant step forward, so she was no less than another shuffle away, Haruhi shot her arm out in a cutting motion, attempting to swat at whatever wires were making the doll move.

Her hand swished through the air.

"B-b-but th-that's not possible! How-?"

Her question was cut short as the sound of a powerful motor started up from somewhere beneath her feet. The ground shook and a circular section of the floor dropped an inch. Screaming in a blind panic, Haruhi crawled out of the circle and onto relatively stable ground. She spun back around just in time to see the pink rabbit disappear into the now gaping hole in the ground.

Scrambling to her feet, the girl warily leaned herself a little over the pit, "H-hello? Is somebody down thEERRRRRRRREEEEEEE!"

As Haruhi tumbles down into the black nothingness, she faintly recalls feeling something hard strike the middle of her back. And if she could think at all, that spot would probably be hurting a lot. However, she was currently free falling down a seemingly never ending hole that had just appeared in the ground of a high school music room with an animated stuffed bunny rabbit. Her mind was a  _ little _ preoccupied.

"Oof!"

Before she could blink, Haruhi found herself stopping. Her butt was now wedged into a bowl of some sort, but miraculously she didn't seem to be harmed. The small of her back hurt still, however, and a second later she discovered why. A red racquetball dropped from the ceiling, bouncing beside her. Only it didn't lose energy the more times it hit the floor. Instead it bounced higher. Haruhi watched in amazement as the ball bounced behind her before reeling back and striking her back again.

Another scream fell from her throat as she fell face first on the tiles. The red ball bounced to a stop beside her head, looking far too innocent for an inanimate object.

"Owowowowowwww…"

Haruhi scowled at the ball for a moment before swatting at it, sending it rolling across the floor before bumping into a…  _ what's a grand piano doing in a place like this? And is that a  _ banana tree _ next to it? _

Before Haruhi could fully grasp just how mental this whole situation was, a boy wearing a monkey tail and ears climbed out of the piano, propping the lid open as he did so. He nodded at his work before jumping down from the instrument. As if it was a magnet, the boy turned to see the red ball. He tilted his head and reached out for it.

"No! That thing is  _ evil! _ Don't  _ touch _ it!"

The boy jumped at the sound of Haruhi's voice, shouting and scrambling up the banana tree, shaking a few of the fruits down as he did so. Then he disappeared into the leaves and the tree was still.

"Uh… sorry?"

The top of the tree exploded, the boy sailing out of the leaves with a newly peeled banana in hand. He shot a fearful look at the brunette girl before racing past her. As he ran, he wolfed down about half of the banana in one go. Tossing the rest of the uneaten fruit behind him, he disappeared into a cloud of pink smoke. Haruhi gaped as, before her eyes, a smaller version of the boy ran out of the smoke _. _ He had the same monkey attachments, same hair, heck even his clothes had shrunk down!

"H-hey! How'd you-"

_ Slam! _

The boy was gone, disappearing behind a smaller version of the doors Haruhi herself had walked through not three minutes ago.

_ Needing _ to see it for herself, Haruhi attempted to stand up. She was getting tired of lying on the floor. But… she couldn't. The vase she'd fallen into was stuck on her butt.  _ Wonderful. Freaking… wonderful. _

Well, before finding out why any of these freaky things were happening, Haruhi needed to get unstuck first. Reaching back, she tried to pry the stupid thing off of her, but it was suctioned on.

"Oh… come on…"

Sighing, the brunette tucked her arms under her chin, looking around to see if there was anything that could help her out.  _ I could smash it against something… but I don't want to get cut up in the process. That… boy-monkey whatever might've been some help if I hadn't made him flip out. _

Her eyes roamed the room. There were no other exits other than the small door, even the ceiling looked completely normal, like Haruhi hadn't just fallen through a gaping black hole in it earlier.

"Hmm…" her eyes fell on the multiple bananas now scattering the floor with her. Recalling what had happened to the boy earlier, she felt her interest peak.  _ I wonder... _

Inching her way forward, which was actually incredibly difficult with a glass vase suctioned around your butt, Haruhi pushed herself in front of a single banana. She eyed it with curiosity for a half a second before darting her hand out and devoured the fruit. The second she swallowed another cloud of smoke burst into existence, only this time it enveloped her.

Being small didn't actually feel that different from being big, Haruhi discovered. It was just… everything you used to be bigger than… was now bigger than you. Including the vase that now covered her in total darkness. Pushing it off, Haruhi ignored how crushingly big the room seemed to her now in favor of running towards the doors. Which now seemed to be sized like ordinary doors to her.

_ I hope I won't stay this small forever. This would make school a lot tougher... _

* * *

Pulling the doors open was easy.

Pushing down her nervousness and taking the first step through the utter blackness that awaited her on the other side was a little less easy.

Not regretting looking where her feet were going when Haruhi started plummeting down a long tunnel  _ again _ was impossible.

Thankfully, the second fall was noticeably shorter than the first one. And it had a softer landing, turning into a sort of water slide before she gently plopped into a pool of some sort. Kicking her feet frantically, Haruhi swam back up to the surface before she ran out of air.

Gasping, her face broke the surface of the pool. Rubbing the water droplets off her eyelashes, Haruhi blinked a few times before looking around where she had landed. Again, there was no indicator that Haruhi had come from up above. There was no tunnel, no doors, not even a slip n' slide.

As for where she was? She spun around in a circle, seeing nothing but blue sky and white columns surrounding a square reflection pool. It didn't look like, well,  _ anywhere _ . In fact, if Haruhi didn't know any better, she'd say that the pool she was in was somehow floating in the sky, because there didn't seem to be any land or real buildings anywhere around her.

Except for a gigantic clock tower peeking in through the columns, still showing the time 3 o'clock.

"You've cried quite a bit… haven't you?"

"Huh?" Spotting a large mass of colors over by one side of the pool, Haruhi swam over and hoisted herself over the side. She didn't care for grace at the moment, and flopped onto her back, feeling the water from her drenched uniform leaking out onto the pavement beneath her.

"What… did you mean… s-" Haruhi looked up at the colors, expecting to see a man sitting among them. The voice had sure sounded like a guy's. However, she instead saw a gigantic yellow caterpillar sitting atop a red mushroom. But this caterpillar didn't look like your normal, everyday caterpillar, even when you took out the fact that it was a lot bigger than Haruhi was used to. She chalked  _ that _ up to her still being small from the banana.

No… it was the fact that he had a human face sticking out of his chest area. A tuff of black hair stuck out of the top, glasses were perched on his thin nose, and he had a sharp face that didn't really seem fitting for that of a bug. But still, it was there.

The face quirked his lips before gesturing towards the pool Haruhi had just crawled out of with a stubby arm, "This pool… it's a collection of all the tears you've cried throughout your life. Quite impressive, given your age and the size of it. You must've gone through a lot of hardships… more than your fair share perhaps?"

Haruhi pursed her lips, "Um… I dunno if you can say fair share or not about anything. If someone else had gone through what I did… would they have cried the same amount?"

The boy, she was going to call him a boy from now on, hummed, "Interesting. There aren't many people who would say that. Most would just agree that they'd been treated unfairly in their life and demand a sort of refund or- ah! Customers, I presume?"

Confused, Haruhi looked around the mushrooms and saw a tall boy dressed in all black and a little girl in pigtails walking up to the boy's mushroom. The two were holding hands as they walked closer, and as Haruhi glanced up to him she saw an actual grin growing on the boy's face.

Somehow realizing she was watching him, the boy looked down at her, smile fading, "Is there something wrong, Miss?"

"Ah, no!" She quickly turned away, "It's just… I've never seen you smile like that before. It was strange."

"Hm… you certainly are interesting, Miss. How could you have ever seen me smile  _ before? _ We've only just met."

The question struck Haruhi dumb for a moment.  _ Why  _ did  _ I say that? I've never met this guy before! I would hope I'd remember meeting a caterpillar/boy before now! _

"I take it you wish to make a purchase?"

The boy and girl nodded their heads.

"Are you paying yourselves or…"

"I believe  _ I  _ will be paying for my subjects again."

Haruhi jumped at the disembodied voice, but not because it was unpleasant or anything. No… actually the voice felt like a warm cup of tea sliding down her throat, warming her up in the best of ways. The three others turned around to see a… a  _ something _ . It was like a cloud, but at the same time it wasn't. More like pure light had solidified just a little bit until it was a floating liquid, swirling around in the air but still moving with a purpose.

As it grew closer, the air warmed up. Haruhi felt her clothes grow warmer, the light or whatever it was seemingly drying her clothes. By the time it reached the dark boy and blonde girl, Haruhi felt completely warm and dry.

The light flashed brighter for a moment before condensing down into a teardrop shape that hung in midair. Haruhi watched in wonder as a  _ person _ seemed to grow from the light. Lean arms and legs and a head and even white clothes just developed out of nothing until a very beautiful woman stood before them all.

Her clothes were completely white. She was in a dress that looked more fit for a wedding than to walk around in, but that didn't seem to matter to her. It was tight against her torso, hugging her curves just right before loosely fluttering down her legs in shimmering ripples. Heels that looked to be made of diamonds sparkled on her feet, and had a similar floral pattern as her lace sleeves that went from her armpits to cover the backs of her hands. A diamond pendant hung just above her cleavage. And while some would expect for her skin to perhaps be pale and pasty white along with the rest of her outfit, it was actually a very light tan color, like she spent a good portion of her time outside. Haruhi could imagine this woman walking around a garden or reading a book in a bay window with the sun shining down on her.

Her hair and eyes were the only shock of color on her whole body, a deep chocolate brown that seemed to radiate warmth in the same way her light had done moments ago. She had a kind smile and kinder eyes that appeared to look deep within Haruhi's inner most secrets, only to tell her there was nothing to be ashamed of and she would be welcomed with open arms should she request it.

And the piece de resistance? An intricate and beautiful crown of diamonds, opals, and other white gemstones perched delicately atop her head.

"Who… what's your name?"

Suddenly mortified at speaking during the silence that had surrounded the group of five, Haruhi clapped her hands over her mouth. The woman merely smiled at her as the Caterpillar-boy leaned back on his mushroom.

"Miss, you are in the presence of the Princess of Light, overseer of the SouthEast corner, future Queen of all Ouraland and its subjects," he suddenly leaned forward, resting his chin on his left stub, "And, incidentally, the most beautiful creation in all the land."

The princess smiled, cheeks growing a light pink, "You flatter me with your words… but I always seem to find you here, don't I?"

The boy's smile faltered before looking down at his notebook, "I'm not entire sure what you mean by that."

"Mmm… I suppose you don't yet." There was a deep, cutting sadness in the way the princess spoke, but just then her teardrop pendant flashed brightly again, jumping on her chest. The woman laughed and pressed her right pointer finger against it, "Did you get stuck again, Sora? We need to work on your transformation."

With another chime-like laugh, she lifted her finger and a small white bird popped out of the pendant. It wobbled in the air before managing to perch itself on the princess's bare shoulder, feathers ruffled up unflatteringly. The princess stroked the bird's' head before returning her attention to the boy and girl who were standing behind her.

"Now, where were we?"

The two bowed, but they were smiling, "Two mushrooms, Princess!"

"Pretty please?"

The princess laughed, "Of course." The three approached the mushroom that the boy (caterpillar, boy-caterpillar, whatever) was seated on. Haruhi felt very confused. This beautiful princess kept referring to the boy and girl as her 'subjects', and while she could understand the blond girl being a part of her kingdom, Haruhi didn't see how the dark boy fit in with her look.

The two subjects released each other, the boy plucking a small mushroom from the caterpillar-boy's left side while the girl yanked at one from his right side. As they did so, the princess slowly walked up the other mushrooms until she was standing right in front of the boy. They smiled at each other as she gracefully knelt down in front of him.

"I shall have to place this transaction on credit… it would seem." The royal's tone was teasing, as if she and the boy were in the midst of sharing a joke with the other.

"Very well. I always look forward to sealing the deal with you."

She laughs again, her pendant sparkling with every movement her chest made, "You aren't the only one, my Dear. Why do you think I always volunteer to pay for my subjects?"

A sudden burst of light drew Haruhi's attention back towards the princess's subjects, who were both glowing just as brightly as she had been moments ago. The boy was crouching down, lower in lower as if his body was in pain.

Wait.

No… the boy was shrinking in size, just like Haruhi had before.

Oh, hold on. Scratch that. He was now an actual baby.

Haruhi looked at what  _ used _ to be the small blonde girl, only to see a blonde teenager happily prancing towards the pool to admire her reflection. She felt like her brain was in a blender set to puree. This place was starting to get  _ too _ strange for her.

_ Creak… _

Spinning around, Haruhi caught the sight of the baby crawling through an open door that hadn't been there a few seconds ago.

"H-Hey! He's crawling off on his own! We have to-" She stops short at the sight that awaits her when she turns back around.

The princess and caterpillar boy were locking lips.

"Uh…"

They paid her no mind, obviously enjoying themselves too much. The princess's bird flew around their heads a few times before perching on a nearby mushroom to preen. The boy and girl continued on, eyes shut as they slowly moved their lips together in sync, but Haruhi's were frozen open, unnecessarily shocked by this turn of events. Then something even  _ stranger _ happened, which she hadn't thought was possible a moment ago.

The caterpillar-boy flickered.

For a brief moment of time, the yellow, bulging insect part of the being was gone, replaced instead by a human boy. He looked to be in his late teens, body lean and somewhat angular like his face, but human nonetheless. His clothes were as black as his hair, a sharp contrast to the girl in pure white he was kissing, but they both seemed to have a similar fashion sense… the boy's clothes did have a fancy sort of look to them. Very regal looking.

But, just as quickly as it disappeared, the caterpillar was back.

Even so, the two parted from the kiss with smiles. The princess was blushing a little darker now, but her voice was even as she announced, "That was for the first payment."

They kissed again, both leaning in to meet in the middle. The caterpillar flickered again, longer this time.

"Second."

The boy sat backwards, but the princess followed him, planting another solid kiss to his lips. This time, the form blinked away completely, leaving just the boy for at least five solid seconds. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting this third kiss, but it didn't look like he minded either. Slowly, he brought his hands up, possibly to cup her face, but the moment they parted again his stub hands brushed against her cheeks.

"Was there a third payment I was unaware of?"

"No. That one was just because I wanted to kiss you again."

He chuckled deeply, form flickering as he did so. The princess didn't seem surprised by this, even as her eyes frantically roamed up and down his human shape before refocusing on his face as the insect part came back.

"Well, if that's how this works, then since  _ I _ want to…" They meet again for an even deeper kiss, his caterpillar form disappearing completely from view. The princess was drawn into the boy's lap, straddling him and reaching up to comb her fingers through his short, black hair.

Haruhi was still gaping at them, mouth unable to transform the stream of words and questions in her mind into actual sounds.  _ I don't think royalty is supposed to behave like this… especially with shrewd businessmen like him… But something else seems off here. What is it? _

It wasn't until the boy let out a low moan that she was able to recall what had been bothering her so much. "Wait a second… you guys haven't admitted your feelings for each other yet!"

Her outburst seemed to have ruined the mood, good and properly, as the two parted and looked down at her. The caterpillar form had yet to return, but neither of them seemed to notice. Haruhi tried not to stare at how kiss-swollen their lips were or exactly  _ where _ the boy was grabbing the princess on his lap.

"Hmmm… again, you interest me with your knowledge, miss."

"What makes you say that we haven't admitted to any feelings for each other? Or, a better question, what makes you say that the feelings we have are even  _ real? _ " The way the princess was looking at her made Haruhi get the idea that the princess  _ knew _ that she knew the answer, but was simply setting up her questions to help guide her in the right direction.

"Well… it is kind of obvious you care for each other a lot. The way you two always look at each other, it's pretty clear you like each other. And, sir, whenever you kiss her you look more human. Even now you're in human form."

"How we  _ always _ look at each other?"

" _ More _ human?"

Haruhi's mouth opened, but no words came out as the boy pulled the princess closer, her resting her head in the crook of his neck. The caterpillar form was still gone, and it was becoming harder and harder to remember how he'd looked with it.

"Hm, you'd better hurry, Haru. The little one's been gone for a long time."

"Oh no!" Haruhi turns and runs through the doorway.  _ How could I've been so careless? He could be hurt! Wait… did she just call me Haru? _ The brunette turned around at the last second, question on her lips right before she fell backwards through the doorway and darkness surrounded her.

"You may refer to me as  _ Duchess. _ To the High Queen, I'll have you know!"

Haruhi blinked and the dark was gone, replaced by a homely looking room. Everything else looked just as weird as the last place she'd been.

A girl wearing an overly poofy green dress was seated on top of a cake-looking pedestal, cradling the baby in her arms. The other furniture scattered around the room didn't match each other, and there was something pink and purple and orange staring at her from nearby couch.

"Oh, and my cat. Lazy little..."

Haruhi nodded, pretending like she even remotely understood, "Uh, yeah. So, um, are you the baby's mother? I wanted to make sure that he didn't get hurt on his own anywhere, so…"

"I see… you were concerned for his safety?"

"Yeah, a little. I'm glad he found his way home. A child's best place to be is with their mother."

The girl's face remained blank as she looked down at the child, "Well… as I don't have anyone else… would you look after him for me? I've been summoned to appear in court, and I don't know how long I will be away."

"O-Oh. Uh, okay. I guess."

Haruhi carefully cradled the child in her arms as the girl sunk down into the floor, chin held high until the floor closed up above her head.  _ What is it with these freaky modes of transportation? Can't anyone just  _ walk _ around here? _

"She's not coming back, you know."

"Huh?"

Haruhi turned towards the cat, who was smirking at her, "Why would she? That doll doesn't even belong to her. She'd have no reason to."

_ Doll? _ Sure enough, the baby in her hands was now a wooden cat doll. But by now, Haruhi's 'Weird-o-meter' had burst its banks, so she just rolled with it. Looking back up, the strange talking cat was gone too. Shrugging, she swaddled the doll and laid it on the couch, just in case it became a baby again.

Tentatively, she opened the doors at the end of the room and was pleased to see it was just a long hallway that awaited her. No pitfalls. No unknown darkness. No pool of tears. Just a normal, everyday sort of hallway. Sighing in relief, Haruhi started walking. If she was going to find a way out of here, and she couldn't go back the way she came, then forward was the only option.

The hall was pretty barren. Just a long row of pillars on either side of it and the end nowhere in sight.

"Took you long enough." It was the cat, leaning up against the pillar just ahead of her on her right side. "I've been waiting here forever."

With a playful smirk, he spun around the pillar, vanishing from sight.

"Waiting? For me? Hey, wait up, then! Mr. Cat!"

"Over here~" A different voice called out from behind her, and she turned to see… the same cat? He smirked at her again, "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Uh… what's neat?"

The cat slipped behind the pillar again, and the first voice sounded from behind her, "I can disappear and reappear."

"All the time."

"Any place."

"Okay, yeah, I suppose that's cool and all, but can you help me find the way out of here?"

"Hm… well perhaps I'd be able to help…"

"...if you tell me where you're trying to go."

Haruhi blinked, "I… I just wanna go home. Where I was before I fell down that first hole in the ground after that pink bunny."

The cat tilted his head, looking interested for the first time in their conversation, "So you're from Over, huh?"

"I don't think I've ever seen someone from up there."

Now it was the brunette's turn to be interested, "'Over?'"

"Yes, Over."

"That place that's above Ouraland, where you say you're from."

"Literally  _ over _ our heads."

"Ergo, we call that place Over."

"Huh. You guys sure have funny names around here. But, anyways, can you help me get back up there?"

The cat shrugged, "I'm afraid that's above my pay grade."

"You'd need an audience from the High Queen-"

"- _ and _ gain approval from the High King-"

"-the Princess of Light-"

"-and the missing Shadow Prince-"

"-to be allowed to leave Ouraland."

"But once you do that… I'll help you get home."

"Really? Well, I've already meet the Princess, but how do I find them all? And did you just say the Prince was missing?"

The cat pointed in the direction she'd been heading originally, ignoring her question, "Keep heading that way. If you get lost, I'm sure the others will help you find your way again."

"The High Queen should be holding court soon. Her King will be by her side, and the Prince and Princess should be in attendance."

Haruhi nodded, beginning to walk forwards again, "Thanks, you two. I really appreciate your help!" And with that, she went on her way. Unknown to her, two identical pink and purple cats stepped out into the open, sharing inquisitive looks with each other.  _ How had she known there are two of us? _

* * *

Haruhi didn't know how much longer she kept walking, but she came to the end of the hallway just as the clock struck 3 o'clock.

_ Bong... _

_ Bong... _

_ Bong... _

At the last hit of the bell, she pushed open the door that was in front of her and came into a huge dining hall. There had to be at least four stories of balconies above the first floor, all filled with tables covered by white tablecloths and clean glass plates.

Out off all the seats in the room, only three were taken. A young child wearing white rabbit ears, a blond boy in a large top hat, and what looked like a gigantic mouse who was snoozing on the table in between them. Haruhi looked left and right around the room, noticing more than one door out of this place, which was odd compared to the other rooms she'd been in previously. And while the cats had told to her to keep going straight… it wouldn't hurt to ask for directions again, right?

"Uh, excuse me-"

"No room. Please move along."

She blinked, not understand something  _ yet again. _ "What do you mean?"

"No room left for you, sorry. Gotta keep goin'."

Silence stretched between them. Haruhi's eyes drifted over the many empty seats. They were all pushed in so invisible people were out of the question. Which meant these people were just jerks. Not likely to give her proper directions either.  _ The cats said to go forwards… _

"Didn't you hear us?"

"There's no room le-"

"I got it, I'm going."

She got maybe a step out before one of the voices shouted after her, "Hey! Don't brush us off, how rude!"

"We were only kidding! You looked like you needed a good laugh! Please come back!"

Groaning, but wanting to ask her question anyways, Haruhi turned back around and sat down across from the sleeping mouse. No need to be any closer to the mean ones than she had to be.

"Look, I didn't really need to sit, I just wanted to ask a question."

"Your hair is pretty long today, isn't it?"

"Uh… yeah. It's been this long for some time now."

"You'll have to wear it shorter in the future, you know."

"... okay. It doesn't really matter to me, but can I ask my question now?"

"Only if you answer mine!"

She leveled an unamused stare at the small boy, "Oh really, and what would that be?"

"Do you want some cake?"

A blink later and there was a pile of cakes resting beside the bunny-boy. Haruhi didn't understand how they had gotten there, or what the small boy was planning to do with all of them (because there was no way, in fantasy or reality, that he could eat them all) but she didn't bother to ask anymore. It wasn't like she'd be given a straight answer anyways.

"No thanks. But a word to the wise, be careful eating that many sweets. You'll get a cavity."

The boy jerked in his seat, casting a fearful eye at the mouse beside him. Haruhi looked too, only to see his eyes were open. The mouse lifted his head from his arms and looked the blond dead in the eye.

"Don't forget to brush after you finish."

"O… kay." The two stared at each other for a moment longer before the mouse went back to sleep and the bunny ate another forkful, as if nothing had happened.

"Uh, can I ask my question now?"

"You just did, but I assume that you mean to ask why it's always 3 o'clock here."

"It is? I didn't even notice... but actually-"

"It's always snack-time! That's why I don't complain!"

"Ugh, I don't have time for your stupid games, Senpai! I just wanted to ask how to get to the courtroom!"

The tall blond tilted his head, "Sen-pai? How did you know I was older than you?"

"I...I'm not sure. Lucky guess maybe?"

"Hm."

"Whatever, that doesn't matter. I want an audience with the High Queen so I can go back home."

The three boys across from her shared glances (when had the mouse woken up again?) before facing her, "You truly are set on going home, then? Well…" A trumpet fanfare played from behind a pair of closed doors, the ones Haruhi had been about to go through when these boys had called her back. "That's your cue, then. The High Queen is now holding court."

"The Duchess is scheduled to be executed, so I bet once that's done you can seek audience."

"Wait… the Duchess is going to be executed? But what about her baby?"

"Calm down, Miss. No one can fight the High Queen's wishes,  _ believe me.  _ Many have tried."

"Well… well I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing like the rest of you! I have to  _ try! _ " Spinning around, Haruhi ran towards the doors the trumpet blasts had come from, hoping she wouldn't be too late.

Bursting through the doors, Haruhi found herself at the bottom of a gigantic indoor Colosseum. Thousands of people lined the rows of seats around the small arena-like area where the Duchess was standing, chained to the ground.

As Haruhi struggled to take in the sight, a loud, booming voice echoed across the room, "Duchess, you stand before the royal court to atone to your crimes." Haruhi peeked around the shaking woman and saw the Royal Family.

The only two thrones placed in the court were very large, plated in gold and silver for the masked King and Queen to sit upon. The way the eye holes were cut into their masks made it look like they were permanently glaring at the Duchess. Standing two steps down from the thrones on the Queen's side was the Princess of Light, who was watching the scene in front of her sadly, and…  _ the Caterpillar? _

Yup, it was the same boy who had flipped between insect and human body that she'd met on the edge of her Pool of Tears. Haruhi finally understood his royal clothes, he  _ was _ royalty. He must be the Shadow Prince… which meant he was the husband of the Princess.  _ And no longer missing, I see. _ Now standing up, Haruhi could see that he was taller than his wife and held himself with a great amount of pride and power. He was watching the Duchess with next to no emotion, but Haruhi could see him squeezing his Princess's hand tightly, in an effort to exchange comfort with her.

"Your crime," the King boomed out, "is attending Ouraland's annual Music Festival  _ by invitation. _ To you confess to your transgression?"

"Wait! Hold on, your Majesty!"

The entire room gasped as Haruhi marched around the Duchess, pressing her lips together to keep them from trembling. All these people were staring at her… and she had no idea how the court system down here worked. If she said the wrong thing,  _ her  _ head could be on the line next! But… there was something inside her that said she had to stand up. Had to help the Duchess. It was like a voice was calling out to her from the inside.

She met the Princess's eyes, and was instantly gifted with that warm feeling again. In her eyes Haruhi saw surprise, hope, pride, and concern. She could tell that the Princess of Light would be a wonderful Queen one day, taking care of her subjects to her last breath.

Next, her eyes fell to the Shadow Prince. He had on that same smirk she'd seen earlier, but now his glasses were un-glinted, showing off his grey eyes. She felt another rush of… something. It wasn't warm, like the Princess, but not freezing. Just sort of a chill that set her back straight. The cold cleared her head, but didn't overpower the warmth in her chest from his spouse. He didn't appear to be as concerned for her, but was watching with interest. Like he wasn't sure where this was going, but was expecting her to fight for what was right without any help and do exactly as well as she should.

No wonder they were together. It was the ultimate form of a 'Power Couple'.

"You dare speak in the presence of the Royal Court without permission?"

Haruhi steeled her nerve, pulling on the surges of power she'd just received, "Yes, I dare! I come here as legal counsel for the Accused!"

Another swoop of murmurs passed over the crowds, but Haruhi paid them no mind. She turned to face the Duchess, who was watching her with tears in her eyes. Haruhi nodded to her, "Duchess, your side of the accusation?"

Seeming to snap out of her funk, the brunette straightened up, leaning forwards despite her chains, "With all due respect, your Majesty's, it is my royal duty to attend the Music Festival!"

"But does that justify you leaving your child alone? The crime you are being accused of is the abandonment of your child, not your attendance of a festival. How do you plead for such an unforgivable crime, Duchess? Thrusting such loneliness on a child, one who has barely explored the world..."

"Your Majesty, with respect, the child wasn't abandoned. Leaving a child to provide for their family is the ultimate support and sacrifice for any parent to make. The child wouldn't be the only one to suffer from lost time, but the parents as well to leave their own child, whom they love most in the world. And the child knows that they are being left out of love. They understand, even if they get lonely from time to time. Besides, how is taking this mother away from this world permanently going to help the child in any way? If you take her, then you're forcing her child into  _ true _ abandonment, but not by his mother's hand!"

"Silence, young maiden! There is no room for your emotion in the court! Control yourself or be removed!"

"No! If you take emotion out of the legal system, then you might as well leave it to a machine!"

The princess smiled, "The lawyer is right, Father. Emotions are what allow us to see every side of a story. In fact, emotions are the reason you believe the Duchess is to be executed in the first place, isn't that right… Mother?"

"Hold your tongue, Daughter. It is not your place."

"Oh… but I believe it is."

"Really? How so?"

"Because she knows me as I know her, which can only mean that this brave young girl is one of my subjects. She is under my care, and it should fall to me to stand behind her. She's made a good case." The Princess's brown eyes seemed to dance with humor, "Even  _ if _ she interrupted my time with my husband."

"Oh, please, I wasn't about to wait around until you finished snogging Kyoya-senpai,  _ Nēchan _ ."

An even larger gasp rippled across the room, the lights flashing on until Haruhi could see the room at large.

"Now… how is it that you know our names, Miss?"

"Yes," the room chanted, "How is it you know their names? How ever do you know?"

"Uh… I…"

"Yeah, and you somehow knew there were two of us."

"Don't forget about my cavity~"

"Or how you knew I was older than you without being told."

"And, lest we forget-"

"-how did you know we had feelings for each other?"

"How is that?"

"How is that?"

That same question was repeated over and over across the room, and Haruhi was speechless. She didn't know how she knew those things… she just… did.

"Oh, Haruhi… hasn't it sunk in, yet?" The King stood, pulling his mask away to reveal-

"Dad?!"

"You've made a lot of wonderful friends here, Haruhi. You can't even forget them while you're dreaming."

"B-but…" Haruhi's eyes darted around the thrones in front of her. The princess... she'd called her  _ Nēchan. _ So... if she was her older sister... who'd called Haruhi's dad…  _ Father. _ Then the Queen… she'd called the Queen…

As if she could hear her thoughts, the Queen gracefully stood up from her chair, floating down the steps towards her. "You've grown so much, Haruhi. Where does the time go? I'm so proud of you… and also so sorry. I made life so difficult by leaving, for you and your sister. I know I have no right to ask anything of you… but please live your life as I have always wanted you to. Have fun, and be happy, okay?"

Haruhi's lower lip quivered, but not even she was able to hold back the tears. She ran forward, leaping into her mother's arms as the clock struck 3.

_ Bong... _

_ Bong… _

_ Bong… _

…

…

" _ Mom?" _

* * *

_ Looks like we've had our fun for now… _

_ So back up the hole we go... _

* * *

 

A gentle hand touched Haruhi's shoulder, slowly pulling her from her little nap.

"Mmm… what?"

Tamaki pulled away, pressing his hand against his hip, "Finally. The Host Club's going to open in a bit, Haruhi, and you need to get into costume. Your sister refused to let me wake you up sooner though. She said you've been needing the rest."

The brunette blinked hard, her contacts feeling too heavy in her eyes, "Yeah… okay, Tamaki-senpai. I'll go change in a moment."

Satisfied, the blond walked off. Haruhi stretched in her seat and looked around. The other hosts were milling around the room, already in their Alice in Wonderland cosplays or just finishing up the final touches.

_ Huh. That must be where my crazy dream came from. _ Yawning, the brunette attempted to remember as much of her dream as possible. She could only pull up a few fragments, like Nekozawa-senpai turning into a baby then into a doll, and her mom was at the end of it. Haruhi smiled, remembering the final words she'd said to her.

_ But there was something else that happened. Something… important. _

The memory snapped into place and Haruhi jerked.

_ Nēchan… and Kyoya-senpai… were  _ married  _ in my dream. They had  _ kissed!  _ Multiple times! _ Haruhi rubbed at her short hair, worried that those mental pictures would never leave her for the rest of her life.  _ What was all that? I mean, it's not like I think those two like each other! I… _ she looked over her shoulder, where her Nēchan was standing by none other than Kyoya.  _ I don't… do I? _

Jin tilted her head at the ravenet, then used her good hand to readjust the Cheshire cat ears on his head. The boy didn't appear to be too pleased about being the feline, but his frown cracked into a small smirk at whatever Jin said to him as she worked. He responded and the girl laughed lightly, stepping away and curtsying with her light blue 'Alice' dress.

Haruhi blinked.

_ Oh. _

 


	26. I'm A Bigger Fan Than You Are!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halfway over already? I didn't even notice... and all I give you is filler? Geez, I'm terrible. But I hope you like this chapter anyways. Here's to Jealous!Haruhi and Nerd!Jin.

 

Haruhi  _ knew _ something was coming. It had been too calm today. To normal of a week. Something had to happen.

Naturally, nothing else in the world seemed to agree with her. All of her teachers had interesting lessons, and she had understood each and every topic with ease. Her classmates were oddly calm through the day, a few harmless jokes exchanged during lunch but that being about it. Her sister was in a great mood, currently dancing around the club room to the most recent batch of music her American friends had sent her, humming along as she pushed the first teapots around to each table. The others watched in amusement as she spun around before placing one down in front of Haruhi.

Spotting the less-than-thrilled look on her sister, Jin paused the MP3 in her pocket, "Haru? Are you okay?"

"Yeah." The shorter brunette settled deeper into her seat, "I'm just being pessimistic."

"Oh really? How so?"

She shrugged, "I'm guess I've gotten so used to things being crazy around here I'm not used to… calm."

"What  _ is _ it with you jinxing these things?" Jin laughed and ruffled Haruhi's hair, "If it's bugging you that much, then maybe  _ you _ could create a problem around here? I do think it's your turn."

"Don't even joke about that, Nēchan." She shrugged and planted a quick kiss to Haruhi's forehead, walking off and pressing the 'Play' button again. As her sister moved away, Haruhi watched her go.

_ I could create a problem, easily, if I told you about my  _ entire  _ dream. _

It was true, Haruhi had told her sister about her weird Wonderland-esque dream. Mostly because of how her mother was in it and there were just some things that needed to be discussed between siblings. But she had left out a few things… like the many kisses Jin and Kyoya had shared, not to mention their apparent marital status. As far as Jin knew, Kyoya had remained as a caterpillar the whole time in the dream, and Jin herself hadn't shown up until the court scene.

Haruhi still wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. She had gotten the symbolism just fine on her own; Nēchan made Kyoya-senpai more human, and the two balanced each other very well, both complete opposites as well as equals. Still, pairing your sister with her classmate in your dreams? That was just… creepy.

What made it almost worse, however, was that not even a day before she'd had the dream Haruhi had been having what seemed like the 50th conversation with her own classmates about how 'Nēchan and Kyoya-senpai are just friends, why are we even still talking about this?' Only now  _ she _ was having second thoughts and this whole thing was now a big mess.

However, the biggest problem in all of this was that Haruhi couldn't even talk to her sister about it. Can you imagine? Her number one confident with  _ everything _ , no matter  _ what _ , was unavailable regarding her impending existential crisis. All Haruhi could do for the past 24 hours was watch her sister, watch Kyoya, watch their reactions when they were together, and  _ wonder. _

It was a miracle she hadn't started screaming in the middle of lunch when she realized that Jin and Kyoya apparently didn't seem to care which lunch they were sticking their chopsticks in as they went over the club's financials. Kyoya even swatted Jin's utensils away with his own in order to grab the last of her strawberries, losing his final mackerel slice as a result. Haruhi had looked up and down the table to see if anyone else was seeing this most blatant act of flirting, but she appeared to be the only one.

With all of the realizations she was suddenly having, Haruhi felt like her brain might actually melt out of her head.

Thankfully, it had yet to come to that, but at the same time she'd go crazy if she had no one to talk with about whatever was going on between her sister and the Shadow King. She was also worried that the next time she saw Jin sitting atop of Kyoya's school desk she might actually shout at them to just kiss already.

"Haru! Haru!"

The brunette jumped in her seat, nearly falling out of it in the process, as her sister ran over to her. For one moment of pure panic, she was worried that somehow Jin knew what she had been thinking even without eye contact.

Thankfully Jin just ran up to her, holding her phone out in front of her with an extremely large smile on her face, "Haru! Haru! It's Nathan Fillion! Nathan Fillion is 'Captain Hammer'! I  _ knew _ I recognized his voice!"

"What?"

Jin bounced on the balls of her feet, "From Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog! That's what I've been listening to all day and I just got it! Captain Hammer is played by Nathan Fillion!"

"Wait… are you serious?"

"Yes! Look, look look look!" She held her phone up, and on it was a google search for all the actors that had a part in Dr. Horrible, and sure enough Nathan Fillion's photograph was over the name 'Captain Hammer'."

"Oh… my… gosh! How did we miss that?"

"I don't know!"

"Ah… what are you two talking about?"

The girls faced the rest of the host club, who had gathered around with curious looks on their faces, "Nathan Fillion plays 'Captain Hammer' in this little play thing Nēchan's American friends sent her! We haven't watched it yet, but we have listened to the music, which is why it took so long for us to recognize him!"

The twins looked unimpressed, "Nathan Fillion?"

"Who's that?"

Jin gaped at the red heads, pressing a hand on her chest as if they'd personally offended her, "You  _ don't know Nathan Fillion? _ "

"No, who is he?"

"He's a very talented actor in America. Nēchan's in love with one of the shows he was in. She likes to quote it all the time. I think she has a thing for Nathan Fillion, too."

Jin rolled her eyes, "It's not a  _ thing _ ."

" _ Riiiiight. _ You've saved your  _ thing _ for-"

"Haru!"

The girls laughed, unaware of the tense silence just behind them.

"Well, we should probably get back to work, huh?"

"I feel like you just stole my line, Nēchan. You are the one who decided to have a Fangirl attack." As the brunettes laughed and parted ways again, they still managed to not notice the slow curiosity and slight irritation taking over their friends faces.

* * *

 

"Boss? We've got another game we'd like to play."

Tamaki jumped up out of his seat, briskly walking away from the twins with his hands flailing around above his head, "No! No no no, no matter what it is I won't! Last time we played one of your games Jin was knocked unconscious! And I  _ know _ what you want this game to be about! I say  _ no! _ "

"But Boss!"

"We know you're just as curious as us!"

"No!"

"Oh? So you're  _ not _ curious as to who Jin has a thing for?"

The blond gave pause, peeking over his shoulder, "I… no. W-well… why should I care about that? Why should  _ any _ of us care?"

Hikaru turned his head towards Mori and Honey while Kaoru faced Kyoya, "Because, after all-"

"-she's never really been all over us, and we're the best looking guys at this school."

"So why not figure out-"

"-what makes her tick?"

Tamaki's lips pursed, "I'm sure you meant that in a perverted way."

"Our point still stands!"

"As does mine! I will not play any stupid game you come up with!"

"Ah, really? But this was just starting to get interesting!" The six whipped around to see Jin leaning up against a nearby pillar. She smiled at them all before walking over, "A game where you try to figure out what I fangirl over? That sounds fairly entertaining if you ask me."

"Really, Jin-chan?" Honey bounced over from his couch, "You want us to play it?"

"Sure. Why not? It would keep you out of Haru's hair for a while."

The twins tilt their heads, "It would?"

"It will when I set the rules. You boys have a bad habit of not setting boundaries so people won't get hurt. Rule one, you can't harass Haru for any answers. Anyone in violation of that rule loses. If you make three incorrect guesses you're out, too. If you haven't guessed them all within the next hour, you get one clue. Winner is whoever gets all of them correct before hosting hours are done."

The six boys contemplated the rules. Simple, easy to remember, and probably a cut back on cheating.

"What's the reward?"

Jin smiled, "The photographs Kyoya showed you all when we went to the beach. Whoever wins gets both sets of pictures."

A few jaws drop.

"What if no one wins?"

"Well then, since Haru and I already know the answers, I suppose that means  _ we'll _ get the pictures."

Kyoya couldn't help but chuckle.  _ Is this her way of reclaiming those photos? Interesting. _ "Very well, we accept these conditions. Now, how many answers must we collect?"

"Nine."

" _ Nine?! _ "

"Is there an echo in here? Yes, nine answers. Don't forget that you already have one, so at least you have somewhere to start. Good luck~"

* Time Skip *

It didn't take long for the guests to learn of the game. After all, when you sit down across from a handsome boy and he looks like he'd just been told he couldn't use his family's helicopter for the weekend, you tend to ask about what was wrong.

Thank goodness for them all, the clients thought it was funny how the boys wanted to know who Jin Fujioka found just as interesting as they did the hosts. And they were all fairly curious, too.

"So… you already have one answer, right?"

"That is correct. She is a big fan of Nathan Fillion, and apparently a television show he was a part of."

The dirty blonde tilted her head in a cute gesture, "Is that what you were looking at on your laptop when I was walking over? The shows he was in?"

Kyoya nodded, fake smile in place, "Exactly. And I believed I got a match. I just have to confirm it." Out of the corner of his eye, a flicker of shimmering brown hair caught his attention and he turned. "Ah, just who I- oh, hello Haruhi. Where are your guests?"

"They had to leave early for their volleyball practice today. I was just getting some tea for my next clients so Nēchan wouldn't have too."

"How thoughtful. On a similar note, do you think you can call your sister over here? There's something I'd like to discuss with her."

"Why don't you call her yourself? Aren't you two, like, besties now?"

Kyoya's eyebrows rose a millimeter at the short girl's mildly harsh tone, "Is that so? My my my, Haruhi, it almost sounds like you're jealous."

"Not jealous. More cautious, really. Anyways, she's already on her way over so I think I'll take my leave." And she was gone. Kyoya was a little shocked at how clipped Haruhi's words had been, but was quickly distracted by the very girl he wished to see suddenly swooping in.

"I heard my name. What kind of trouble are you getting into now?"

Kyoya's guest giggled, "Your brother was being very overprotective of you. It was cute."

"Overprotective, hm? Well, Kyoya  _ has _ been borrowing a decent portion of my lunchtime with Haru. He probably thinks you're going to steal me from him."

The ravenet cleared his throat, trying to diverge from that particular topic and looked up with a smirk, "I looked up Nathan Fillion and the television shows he appeared in. There was one in particular I have a feeling is on your list."

"Do tell."

"Firefly."

The corner of Jin's lips twitched. She peered at him through her eyelashes as she gave his guest a slice of strawberry cake, "Now why would you say it was that one?"

"Because I happened to see a certain quote or two from the show I've heard you use before."

The brunette straightened up, shaking her head, "I  _ knew _ I'd slipped up somewhere! Oh well, congrats, Kyoya. You're now one ahead of the others."

"Nope!"

The three of them were suddenly eight as the other hosts popped out of their various hiding places around them, all of them with various levels of pride on their faces.

"Thanks for that, Kyoya-senpai!"

"Now we're all even again."

"Two down, seven to go!"

Tamaki, Hikaru, Kaoru, Mori, and Honey took off back to their guests at the look on Kyoya's face. Jin's jaw was dropped and she quickly moved along with her cake cart, honestly surprised by how serious these boys were taking this competition. Kyoya attempted to not be annoyed, but he really wasn't surprised. Especially not with those particular photographs involved.

_ Jin might be mistaken thinking this will be harmless. _

As the ravenet went back to entertaining his guest for the time being, the other black-haired boy and his blond counterpart were whispering to each other. Heads bent low, brows furrowed, the two looked equal parts confused and annoyed.

" _ Come on, Takashi! We know Jin-chan better than the others! We should be ahead of them! How did Kyo-chan get something before us?! _ "

" _ Mmm. _ "

" _ Wasn't there something she was a real big fan of when we were kids? _ "

" _ Books. _ "

" _ Oh yeah! Jin-chan loved to read during breaktime, remember! She was so cute curled up in the corner of the dojo! _ "

" _ Mitsukuni. Focus. _ "

" _ Right! But… books isn't going to help. She's probably lookin for a specific series or something. Wasn't there one series she really liked? She started reading them when we were in middle school. What was the name?" _

" _ Can't remember." _

Honey's mouth pinched as the poked at his forehead, " _ Come on… stupid brain… _ " Memories flickered through the two boy's heads like a fast forwarding movie. A much shorter Jin Fujioka smiling at the two of them whenever they asked her how the story was doing before she launched into a long-winded attempt to get them interested in the series themselves. The way she would either sit completely still when she read or she'd be flopping all over the window alcove trying to get comfortable. How she'd hold her breath if the character was underwater. That one series she got  _ way _ too into when the three of them were in middle school with books that were almost too thick for her hands to hold.

And an oddly vivid memory they both recalled at the same time of a newly teenaged Jin chucking a green hardcover book away from her, tears slowly trickling down her face. Said book coming to a stop in front of the boy's feet -thankfully undamaged, as it was a library book- and them looking down at the title.

A flash of the book's cover appeared in Honey's mind, of a black-haired boy with glasses and a very old looking man with a long beard, everything tinted green except the letters that were risen from the rest of the cover so Jin could trace them while her eyes were closed.

Jumping up to his feet, Honey shouted the name at the top of his lungs.

"Harry Potter!"

The other sounds from around the room faltered to a stop. The blond looked around from his spot on the couch to see everyone staring at him. A strange bashfulness colored his cheeks as he slid off the furniture and walked over to Jin, who was attempting to reign in a smile.

"Harry Potter… that's my first guess."

"And why do you choose that?"

"'Cause Takashi and I remember how you used to read it all the time when we were younger. You read through the series twice all the way through before you even finished middle school."

The brunette smiled fully and presented a slice of lime-flavored cake with a frosting rose in the middle of it to her friend, "You'd be correct, Honey-senpai. Congratulations."

The blond smiled, but then he saw the smirks on the other boy's faces. They  _ all _ had three answers now. But as he sat back down on his couch, cake in hand, and their next guests complimenting him on remembering something from all those years ago, he decided it would be okay.

After all. It was still anyone's game.

* Time Skip *

Jin was calmly sitting across from a small group of girls when the clocks struck 4 o'clock. She closed her eyes as she sipped her green tea, and when she opened them they were surrounded by the other hosts (save for Haruhi).

"Yes? Is there something I can help you with, boys?"

"Cute. Real cute, Jin-senpai."

"What's the hint?"

The brunette shrugged, set her cup down, then smiled around at her friends, "You're looking for five series and four people."

"...That's it?" Tamaki sounded nearly offended, so Jin rolled her eyes.

"Fine, if that's not enough for you, all the people are male and two of them are actors. The three series you haven't named are often grouped together by their viewers even though they've never made a crossover. Also, none of them are from Japan."

Kyoya propped open his black journal and made a few marks in the back of his book, "So… we still need to find two actors, one other male, and three series that are an unofficial group."

The girl nodded, "Correct. Now, begone so I can continue to entertain these lovely ladies." The boys did as they were asked, offering their apologies to Jin's guests before moving away. She smiled at them, "Sorry about that, where were we?"

"O-Oh. I had a question." Jin nodded her head and the short blonde blushed, "I… I remember Haruhi once said you could sing. Have you ever been in a group or a choir or in a musical?"

"Actually, yes. All three of those, incidentally. The musical and choir were both one time things, but I made a lot of music videos with my best friend. We specialized in making our own acapella renditions and small little blurbs of popular pop songs."

The four girls across from her looked like they might explode with excitement, "Can we hear some of those videos?"

"Of course! I have some on my phone-" Jin paused, her face freezing. She rummaged in her jacket's pockets a few times, expression slowly changing from concern to panic. "U-um, if you ladies could excuse me for a moment." The elder Fujioka quickly ran from her seat to her school bag, throwing the books inside onto the tile beside her, ripping open pockets. Haruhi ran over and stopped her just before she went to shake the bag upside down.

"Nēchan! What's wrong?"

"My phone, Haru! I can't find my phone!"

"Hey, Nēchan, calm down! We'll find it! Did you have it when you came into the club room?"

"Yeah. It was in my right side pocket. But it's not in there any more!"

Haruhi's eyes narrowed, then she frowned, stood up, and called out, "Hikaru! Kaoru! I know you took Nēchan's phone! Give it back!"

From behind a nearby pillar, the two boys slipped into view. The brunette felt her eyelid twitch, reminded of the Cheshire cats from her dream, which lead to less necessary memories.

"Why do you think  _ we _ took it? We're not just thieves or pickpockets!"

"Yeah, Haruhi! Where's the trust?"

She cocked her eyebrow.

"Fine."

Kaoru fished the iPhone out of his pants pocket and started messing with it, flicking through the three 'pages' she had, "We just wanted to use it for clues, since Jin ruled  _ you _ out for questioning."

Haruhi tilted her head, "Of course you would. But how'd you even get into her phone in the first place? Isn't it password protected?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't hard to guess the four digit combo."

"4-2-7-8. That's the English spelling for 'Haru'."

Jin shrugged, "I figured no one who knew my nickname for Haru would _pickpocket_ _my phone from my pocket!_ "

"Eh… pickpocketing is still a really strong word."

"We prefer the term 'borrow'," Kaoru tossed the device back to its owner, who caught it easily, "Besides, we got enough from it anyways."

"You did?"

The redheads grinned, "We both get three guesses… but even if one of us gets out, we're going to share the pictures anyways, so we have 6 guesses technically."

"So, to start off, Vincent Marcus."

Jin clenched her jaw, obviously upset at the loophole the 1st years were using, but answered anyways. "You found my Vine account, huh? And no, not him."

"Brandon Calvillo."

"Nope."

"Chris Melberger."

She shook her head. The twin's eyebrows narrowed in confusion.

"Meechonmars."

"No."

"Alx James"

"Again, it's a no. And you're  _ out _ Kaoru." The brunette turned to the only remaining twin, "One last guess."

Hikaru frowned, shared a glance with his brother before sticking his chin out, "Thomas Sanders."

"...Yes."

The twins grinned and high-fived, "Yes! We got one!"

"And now that we have the guy who's not an actor… I'm going to guess Percy Jackson for one of the series."

"You're both out."

Their smiles fell away faster than in Jin had smacked them off, "Wait, what?!"

"But you… like… you're super into Greek Mythology! And you got Haruhi to start reading them in class too!"

"I might really like the series and the characters, but it's not one of the nine."

The twins gaped at the girl, but they were ignored when Jin realized the rest of the hosts were listening in. "You know, you guys are pretty terrible at this. You're all listening in on each other's guesses. Are you making this a team effort on purpose?"

Tamaki was quick to shake his head frantically, exclaiming how important it was to them all that they play the game fairly but it was too easy to overhear something in the music room. Realizing they weren't going to reclaim the Fujioka's attention any time soon, Hikaru frowned deeply and turned around. How could he and Kaoru already be out of the game? He wanted to complain, but the rules were the rules. Not that he was happy about it. Kaoru turned as well, feeling very similarly to his brother, but grabbed Hikaru's hand to keep him from running straight into Kyoya.

Their glasses-wearing Senpai gave them a smug smile, "Hikaru? Kaoru? By any chance does Jin have a phone case?"

"Yeah…"

"...why?"

"What did it say?"

The twins shared a glance before grinning wickedly at their Senpai, "Why would we tell you?"

"Yeah… what would we get out of it?"

The ravenet's smile twisted into a smirk, "If I win, then I will give you Haruhi's photos."

The 1st years gave each other another significant look, similarly to the Fujioka's 'mind-reading' before turning back to Kyoya.

"What was it you wanted to know again?"

* * *

 

As the final half hour began ticking away, the remaining four boys in the competition were starting to worry. They still needed two people and three series. This contest was a lot harder than they thought it would be…

Tamaki personally was having a mild panic attack. He'd been dealt the worse hand of them all, and it was starting to show. He didn't have the history with Jin like Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai did, and while he  _ was _ her classmate, she and Kyoya were significantly closer. Besides, Kyoya was possibly the most motivated out of them all to win.

He peeked over his couch at his best friend who was frantically jabbing away at his laptop. Even if he was the only one who believed it -the twins had been majorly skeptical when he'd asked them about the actual possibility of Jin and Kyoya- he knew that his closest classmates had a  _ thing _ for each other. Despite everyone else being blind to it.

Across the room, Honey-senpai was making his desperation a little obvious, "You're still looking for actors, right Jin-chan? I guess Emma Watson!"

"...Honey-senpai. Male actors."

"Oh… then Rupert Grint!"

"Still no."

"Daniel Radcliff!"

"No. You're out, Honey-senpai."

The blond pouted and sat back down on his couch as Jin moved towards the twin's table. Tamaki pressed his lips together.  _ So… even being her friend for a long time doesn't guarantee that you know her all that well. Then Mori-senpai might be an easy out, too. This means she hides her obsessions well… so Kyoya might not find them either. In fact… the only person in this room who might have the slightest idea would be... _

The blond's eyes slowly drifted towards the only other brunette in the room. He shifted in his seat. He really wanted to win… but he didn't wait to cheat. However, there was no way he'd get through this on his own. And didn't Jin make her rule about Haruhi not  _ bothering _ her about it? What if he could convince Haruhi to help him on her own terms?

Without a second thought, Tamaki jumped to his feet and started walking towards Haruhi. He glanced around the room, making sure no one was paying him much attention. Sure, it was a little difficult when you're as handsome as he was, but at the moment the other hosts seemed to be absorbed in their current activities. Kyoya was intently reading his computer screen, Honey-senpai was eating cake with a big smile again while his cousin watched, and the twins were chatting kindly with their guests.  _ Odd… I thought they'd be much more upset about losing the game first. I wonder why they're so calm about it... _

"Senpai? What is it?"

Tamaki jumped back a step, so lost in his thoughts he hadn't noticed that he was now standing directly beside the short-haired brunette, "Oh, nothing! I mean, I just wanted to know about a few things you and your sister do together. Like… do you go out to watch movies? Play games? Attend festivals? Comic Con?"

"You're out, Tamaki."

The blond whipped around to see Jin standing right behind him, "What? Why?"

"No bugging Haru, remember?"

"I wasn't asking about-"

"You're not as sneaky as you think, Hun. I'm sorry."

Tamaki's mouth fell open. He was out. He  _ lost. _

Noticing in the impending sulk-fest, Jin laid a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Listen, Tamaki, it's not that big of a deal, okay? It's just a game."

"Jin?"

Tamaki fell into a ball at her feet the moment Jin turned away from him. She cast him one last concerned look before returning her attention to the ravenet, "Yes, do you have a guess, Kyoya?"

"I do believe so."

Kyoya was smirking, so Jin was preparing herself to say yes when Haruhi spoke up from behind her, "You didn't cheat like Tamaki-senpai almost did, right?"

Haruhi wasn't looking at the two 2nd years, casually swirling some milk into her new cup of tea, but her tone had been slightly clipped. That was like a huge red neon sign to her sister, but she was interrupted again before she could speak.

"Actually, I caught a glimpse of her phone case when Hikaru and Kaoru stole it-"

" _ Borrowed _ ." The twins called out from the other side of the room.

"-and I looked up the quote that was on the back. I wish to make a guess on the three series. Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock… from BBC, of course."

Jin smiled, "You would be correct, Kyoya. Well done.

"Nēchan, fifteen minutes left."

Jin looked up at the clock. 4:45. Fifteen minutes, two players left in the game, and two more correct guesses that need to be made. When she looked back, she found herself surrounded by guests. They had created a ring around her and Kyoya, whispering among themselves. Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged at the boy in front of her before shouting out, "Looks like we've got ourselves a showdown!"

The girls cheered and pushed Mori-senpai into the ring. He stumbled a bit before straightening out and walking over to stand beside Kyoya. Haruhi took one look around before slipping over to the inside of the ring, dragging Tamaki's limp body along behind her. She ended up facing her sister from where she was, watching with a strange curiosity and stepping on the blond's fingers whenever he tried to cuddle her legs.

Jin smiled at the two boys in front of her, "Alright you two. Neither of you have a single strike against you. In the next thirteen minutes, do you think you can correctly guess the two remaining actors?"

"Mmm."

"I believe so."

"Very well, then we'll just have a little tennis match then. We'll start with… Mori-senpai. Your first guess?"

The tall male remained stoic looking as ever, but inside his head his mind was running frantically. Mitsukuni had ruled out all the actors from Harry Potter… but she did have both Nathan Fillion and his television show on her list. So perhaps she was looking for an actor from one of the three shows Kyoya had mentioned…

"Benedict Cumberbatch."

Jin smiled, but shook her head, "No. Great actor, but unfortunately no. Kyoya?"

"David Tennant."

"Oooohh, good one. But no."

"Martin Freeman."

"Again, it's a no…"

"Jared Padalecki."

"Close… but no."

The guests were pressing in even closer now. Not a single pair of eyes could tear itself from the tension in front of them. The two boys had one strike left for the both of them, and they were no closer to guessing the actors. It looked like Jin had this one in the bag.

Mori's eyes narrowed slightly.  _ Close? _ "...Jensen Ackles." He stared at his friend's surprisingly blank face. It didn't even look like she was breathing as they met for an impromptu staring contest.

"Yes."

The girls let out a cheer, which grew louder when Kyoya smirked and correctly guessed Misha Collins. Jin smiled at the two boys, "Well, now it's really getting interesting. You both know all of my fangirl-inducing shows and actors and even the one Viner… but who wins, hm? Time to play a 'Sudden Death' round."

The group let out a gasping breath, drawing nearer to each other. Everyone in the room was surrounding the three hosts, watching with baited breath as the brunette began to explain.

"Considering this game began because you boys wanted to know who I have a 'thing' for, that will be your final round. Between Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins… which one of them do I have a 'thing' for? Kyoya? Since you've made more correct guesses than Mori-senpai, you'll be the one to make the guess. Take your time with it. If your guess is correct, then you win the pictures. If not, they go to Mori-senpai."

The ravenet nodded, bringing his hand up to his chin. He appeared to freeze like that, eyes glazing over behind his glasses. As he did so, Haruhi studied him and her sister.  _ Kyoya-senpai is actually getting into this. You know, I'd always assumed that if he liked someone, he'd be very calm and cool about it, treating the relationship in almost a business sense. But… he's doing things I never would've imagined him doing. He jokes around with Nēchan, allows physical contact, and actually shows emotion. It's strange… but at the same time a really nice change in his character. Oh... ick, what am I thinking? He's all over my  _ sister!

"Misha Collins."

Jin stared blankly at the two boys in front of her for the longest time. The circle of students around them leaned in closer, each of them feeling as though the seconds were stretching longer and longer as the brunette kept putting off her answer.

"Why?"

The boy shrugged, but the way his right foot shuffled backwards told of his slight nervousness, "I can't give you a very valid reason this time. He just seems more like your type." The brunette nodded, her face giving away nothing to anyone.

Except Haruhi, who felt the corner of her mouth twitch in amusement.

"Correct! You won, Kyoya!"

The room erupted into cheers. A few of Mori's fangirls cooed over the runner-up, but he didn't look too upset by it. In fact, there was a small hint of confusion in his face as he watched Kyoya's shoulders draw back, smirk taking it's usual spot on his lips. Painstakingly slow, the winner drew six photographs out of his jacket's pocket, where he must've placed them once the competition started so no one would try to steal them away.

He turned around to face Haruhi with a  _ very _ smug look that she nearly marched over to smack off. Thankfully she realized he was looking at Tamaki before she made a move.

"Well, it looks like the best man wi-"

A hand appeared over Kyoya's left shoulder and plucked the photos out of his grip. His fingers fluttered in the air for a moment, confused as to why they weren't holding anything anymore. Turning around, everyone's eyes returned to Jin, who was looking at the pictures in what looked like honest curiosity.

"Jin?"

"I'm really sorry, Kyoya… but I believe you  _ all _ lost today."

"...What?"

"Look at the time."

As one, the room faced the clock tower standing outside the window.

5:13. Hosting hours were over.

"Game over. You didn't answer in time."

The girls began to laugh, walking away from the circle to leave the room, leaving only the hosts. Once the others came to realize that no one had won and the pictures were now in the Fujioka's hands, the thrill of the competition decreased, replaced with slightly disgruntled contentment.

All except for one of them.

"You  _ cheated. _ "

"I did no such thing."

"You drew the game out until we ran out of time! That qualifies as cheating!"

"Kyoya, 'Sudden Death' started after hosting hours were already done. The only reason I kept the game going was because I wanted to know who would've won if you hadn't run out of time."

In all their years of knowing one another, even if from a distance, not one person in the room could ever recall a time when Kyoya looked so shocked and outraged at the same time. The glasses wearing boy appeared to be stuck between shouting out death threats or calling in his police force to demolish the establishment. As his jaw muscles twitched dangerously, Jin smiled happily in front of him, looking through the photos in her hands one by one.

Once she verified that she had all six of them, the brunette looked back up at the angry boy and winked, "It was a pleasure playing with you all."

She walked away, prompting the others to do the same, if only to escape the impending disaster zone. They were each half impressed with Jin's cool head when facing an angry Kyoya, while also wondered if the next time they'd be seeing their female friend she'd be in a coffin.

The last boy standing still could hardly think. He tried to go through his memories of the past 20 or so minutes, curious as to how he missed the clock ringing at the hour or if Jin had given any hints when she knew she had won. Not finding any, the boy walked over to his table, fuming.

Most of the others were starting to head out the doors as he began packing away his things. Tucking his laptop roughly against his textbooks, Kyoya attempted to calm himself down. There was no reason for him to be so worked up over this. If their roles had been switched, he would've done something similar. Except  _ he _ wouldn't have lead anyone on. He would've claimed victory as soon as the clock struck 5.

_ Did she want to make sure I'd hand the photos over? Is that why she waited? Because she didn't trust me to admit defeat? _

The thought made him angrier still and he snatched his journal up off his table, nearly knocking a tea cup off its plate and sending a small paper flying out from between the leather covers. Groaning in frustration, he bent down to scoop up the page, but stopped just short of touching it.

His eyes widened as he looked at it.

It was a photograph. One of Jin.

Surprised hardly covered what he felt as Kyoya opened his journal. Placed on top of his many papers were the two other photos that had been in his possession less than five minutes ago. He looked back at the one on the floor and picked it up. Noticing a small indent showing from the back, right at the bottom, he turned it over. In hurried, but a surprisingly neat scrawl, was a note.

'Since they are now mine to give to whomever I please, I think you deserve a little reward for knowing me the best. Take good care of these. I mean it. If I see these on our auction page I will hunt you down.'

The ravenet lifted his head just in time to see Jin and Haruhi walking out the door. The taller brunette met his eyes over top of her sister's head and gave him a wink, the doors falling shut behind her.

He looked back down at the photos, given to him out of free will, and couldn't help but wonder if there had been another, personal reason Jin had wanted to win. So she could  _ give _ someone her photos instead of making them  _ win _ it. She got to chose who got them.

He smirked, slipping the third picture into his journal and carefully tucking it into his bag.

_ She certainly is a fascinating woman... _

* In the Hallway *

"Here you go, Haru."

The shorter of the two girls took her photographs from her sister's hands quickly, "Dad has copies of these, right?"

"Yup."

"Good." Haruhi nodded before she quickly ripped the photos in half. It was a little hard, but she did it pretty well. After a few more rips, she tossed the confetti into a trashcan. Jin just smiled down at her.

"Satisfied?"

"Very. I'm just glad that we got those pictures back. Want to rip yours up, too? Like you said, Dad has his own copies, we don't really need them." Haruhi had made the offer in good faith, but the blush on Jin's face told of a very different story. When she didn't receive an answer right away, Haruhi's eyes narrowed.

"Nēchan… you  _ do _ have your photos… right?"

"Ahhh…"

"Nēchan, what have you done?"

The taller girl blushed harder, her face twitching as she tried to school her features into a 'non-caring' sort of look, "I was just being fair. I mean, we don't have a real need for them, but Kyoya  _ did _ win… sort of."

"You gave them to  _ Kyoya-senpai? _ "

"He won them."

"He ran out of time."

"Which made them mine to give to him. You have to admit he did very well in a short amount of time with very little to go on. I felt it was fair, and I only gave him mine, if you forgot.  _ You _ tore  _ yours _ up."

Haruhi looked away, staring out the windows they were passing in an attempt to clear her head. She could see Jin's reasoning, sure, but now she was stuck.  _ It doesn't seem like Nēchan is unaware of her feelings for Kyoya-senpai… but she's not admitting to it. She's coming up with these excuses, and so is he. It's almost like Kanako Kasugazaki and Toru Suzushima again, so why haven't I said anything? I know that if this was going on between Nēchan and some other boy, or Kyoya-senpai and… I dunno, a guest of his, I'd tell them flat out to stop being so stupid and get together. What makes  _ them  _ being in a relationship  _ together  _ so difficult for me? Is it because… if it ends well Kyoya-senpai will be my brother-in-law, and if it doesn't it could ruin the club? Is that it? _

"Haru? You okay?"

Haruhi jumped, train of thought going wild as she regained her bearings. The two of them were standing outside of the school by the bike rack. When had they gotten there?

"Haru?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm okay, Nēchan."

"Are you sure? I think you were zoned out the entire walk down here."

"Just lost in thought."

Jin nodded, crouching a little to be eye to eye with her, "Do you need to talk about it?"

The short-haired brunette entertained the thought. If she could have a conversation with her sister about Kyoya-senpai, then maybe she could make some sense out of it all. Or get Jin to figure her own feelings out. That would be a help to everyone, right?

But at the same time…. Maybe Haruhi didn't need to say anything. Jin and Kyoya were two of the most sensible and intelligent people she'd ever met. There really wasn't much doubt that the two would figure each other out, but in their own time.

"Actually, Nēchan, I think I just figured it out myself. Thanks, though."

Jin tilted her head, "If you're sure…"

"I am."

"Alright! I'll get the bike!"

Haruhi watched as Jin ran over to unlock her bike from the rack, a random smile and blush appearing on her face before she could stifle them. Haruhi smiled to herself, too.  _ What exactly to I have to worry about? After all, my subconscious seems to think the two of them will be good for each other. So… let's just see how this goes. _

 


	27. Covering the Famous Host Club!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha! All caught up now! From now on updates for this story will be brand new chapters in time with Fanfiction.net. Also, I threw in some Badass!Jin into this chapter again, because I could. I hope you like it!

 

"Who's ready for summer vacation?!" Without waiting for a response, Hikaru and Kaoru simultaneously chucked two water balloons across the courtyard. Before they struck their target, Jin shot her hand out and caught the blue and red balloons. Intact. With only one hand.

The twins groaned as the girl withdrew her hand that wasn't encased in a cast into her long sleeves, hiding their summer weapons within the multiple layers, "Jin-senpai…"

"You're ruining our summer…"

"Hm, well, considering summer break doesn't start for another two days, I think I can live with that. Besides, the guests will be arriving soon. Do you really think Kyoya would go easy on you knowing you made me miss the welcoming because I had to change?"

The redheads sighed in defeat, but continued to follow the 2nd year student across the grass, "Hey, Jin-senpai?"

"We have a question for you."

The brunette nodded, prompting them to continue as she pulled the balloons back out of her sleeve. She threw the wet things at the base of a cherry tree, finally breaking them open over the bark.

"Do you and Haruhi have any plans for the summer?"

"Uh…" the girl hummed, her brow furrowing, "Not at the moment, but I have a feeling our dad has something planned for us. He's been awfully quiet at dinner for the past few nights… So I suppose I should say yes, we do."

"Awww…"

"But we wanted you to come with us on  _ our _ vacation!"

"Really? And would this place happen to be within Japan considering Haru still lacks a passport?"

"...No."

"But Jin-chaaaan!" Honey jumped out of nowhere and pulled on the top layer of Jin's Juni-hitoe, "Takashi and I want you to come on our vacation!"

"Let me guess. Out of the country? No can do, Sweetie."

"Well then, why don't you join me at one of my family's resorts?"

Jin really hoped her cheeks weren't red as she turned to Kyoya, "While I appreciate all of your offers, I really think my dad already has something planned. Besides, I've already spent a whole year away from my family, I'd like to spend as much of this summer with them as I can."  _ Even  _ if  _ the thought of spending the whole summer with Kyoya  _ does  _ sound rather appealing… _

"Gentlemen! What are you doing over there?! The guests will be here any moment!" At Tamaki's shout, the five of them hurried back across the grass to the front doors of the courtyard. Jin eyed them with curiosity as she ran.  _ Why are there a pair of doors outside? I mean, I could understand a gate, but why doo-  _ "Waaah!"

Her right foot snagged at her robe and she stumbled, barely being caught by the twins who grabbed her arms, Hikaru being delicate around her broken wrist. Pulling her foot back out so she could stand on her own two feet, the brunette scowled and harshly yanked at the green and red fabric surrounding her, "I hate this thing!"

"Understood, but it's the best fit for today's cosplay."

"I don't care! It's hot as Hell in here and I can barely walk! I'm gonna trip and fall on my face before today's over, mark my words!"

Kyoya smirked as he took his spot beside Tamaki, "Strange. You're usually so graceful, Ms. Fujioka…"

"Har-de-har-har. I'm pretty sure  _ you _ aren't always at the top of your game  _ either _ , Mr. Ootori." Jin tucked her hair behind her ear, standing on Tamaki's other side so she was behind her sister. Haruhi looked behind her and smiled tugging at a strand of Jin's hair. She smacked the hand away and playfully glared at the small girl.

_ I know it's getting long! I think it looks fine! _

_ I didn't say it didn't, but maybe you should consider getting a haircut before the summer. _

_ Hm… maybe. _

"Alright men, smiles on!"

The doors creaked open in front of the group, forcing them all to quickly abandon their conversations and grin towards the slowly growing crack between the double doors.

"Welcome back, ladies!"

* * *

 

"Oh, it's Jin!"

"Jin-senpai! Over here!"

"Hm?" Jin sat back on her heels, pulling away from the Iris flowers she had knelt down in front of. Four girls were waving over to her from further down the yamamizu channel, which was running along Jin's left side. She smiled and waved back, smiling at them and the host they were with.

One of the girls stood up and ran over. It was Arisu Nijo, a 1st year. She was one of Kyoya's usual customers who sat with Jin perhaps once a week. She was on the other side of the channel, but she didn't seem to mind.

"What are you doing over here all by yourself, Jin-senpai?"

"Just admiring these Irises… they're so lovely. And since only Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai have a table for tea and cake serving, I had some free time."

Arisu nodded, shifting over for the other three girls who had come to join them, "Wow, you must really like flowers, huh, Jin?"

"Yeah! It's like every other time I see you you're staring at the host club's roses or the flowers growing in the commons!"

Jin smiled softly, gently tracing one of the flower petals, "I've always appreciated nature. It's very peaceful here, just watching the flowers bloom in different colors and patterns. Oh…" She carefully moved two of the plants aside, revealing a dead Iris that had been ripped out of the ground. It must've died recently, because the petals were still soft and a bright purple color as she scooped it up.

"Oh no… it must've be pulled up by something. Perhaps a squirrel…"

The girls gasped sadly, watching as Jin slowly plucked petal by petal off the dead plant and placing them in the water. They watched them drift down with the current. It was a very pretty sight.

"You know, it is said that these channels would help those who wished to experience the seasons better by them watching the flower petals or autumn leaves drifting along in its waters. Usually during this time of year you see neither of those, so it would be hard to understand. Thank you for this opportunity, Jin."

The brunette looked up at her friend, smiling, "I just wanted to give it a proper send-off. And weren't you the one who had this made?"

Kyoya smirked, bowing his head, "That I did. I was hoping that it would help show how I wish to spend every season with you wonderful young ladies. Speaking of, we will be having an Autumn Leaves tea party soon after school resumes. There are limited invitations..."

The girls gasped, clutching at their hearts, "Sign us up!"

"Jin-senpai? You'll be there too, right? I'm sure Kyoya meant that he wanted to spend all four seasons with you as well!"

The brunette laughed, "Of course! And I already know he included me, too. After all, he  _ did _ just invite me to spend the summer with him. Right, Glasses?"

Kyoya turned away as the four guests squealed, clearing his throat into his fist, "Well, perhaps. And what about your current pastime? Are you particularly fond of purple flowers?"

His guests were now rapidly fanning themselves, unable to not see the symbolism Kyoya was heavily implying in his question. Jin, however, merely grinned again, "So it would seem. I may be particularly partial towards cherry blossoms, but my next two favorites would have to be the Iris and Wisteria. I love the color schemes nature comes up with. Where purple and green anywhere else might not make so much sense, it is nothing but completely beautiful."

Three of the girls were fanning Arisu, who was laying backwards in a blonde's arms as the two hosts smiled at each other for a moment longer. Jin suddenly stood up, her cheeks a light pink.

"I, um, should probably go check up on Haru or Honey-senpai. Who knows what kind of trouble they're getting into, right?" She quickly left, sneakily holding up the fabric around her legs so she wouldn't trip during her retreat.  _ This is getting to be almost too much. What if he realizes I'm actually flirting with him and not just for show in front of the guests? What then? _

A whooshing sound passed by her ear just as Tamaki's unmistakable voice called out, "HARUHI! DUCK!"

Jin watched as the blond pretty much tackled her little sister into the grass. She went to run forward but a hand caught her upper arm before she could move. The grip pulled her backwards into a strong chest.

"Jin, are you alright? You weren't hit, were you?"

The brunette hoped her cheeks weren't bright red, "I'm fine, Kyoya. It didn't hit me. What  _ was _ it, though?"

The ravenet released the girl, looking over to the mounting argument between Tamaki and the twins, "The usual, it would seem. Hikaru thought it would be a brilliant idea to start a Kamari game to entertain their guests and roped Tamaki into it as well."

Jin sighed and ran over to her sister, dusting her off, "You alright, Haru?"

"Yeah… it's just not a day at the host club until I'm being tackled into the ground. How about you, Nēchan? I saw it pass by your head pretty close. It didn't clip you at all?"

"No. I guess I was just lucky."

"Tamaki-senpai didn't try to smash you flat?"

"No. But Kyoya gave me a quick medical examination."

"Mm-hm. Well, what are they shouting about now?"

The girls watched as the blond began screaming about 'proving himself' before grabbing the ball that nearly took their heads off and pretty much  _ punting _ it out of the courtyard. Jin's mouth fell open.

"I've never seen someone kick that hard before!  _ Che cazzo! _ "

"That was… really impressive actually!"

The hosts stared off after the ball before Kyoya sighed, "I suppose we should go track it down and make sure no one was hit with it. Ladies, it would seem as though the host club will be closing now. Have a lovely rest of your day."

The girls left without complain, gossiping about Tamaki's strong kick all the way out the doors. The hosts grouped up, heading towards the other end of the courtyard in the direction Tamaki had kicked.

Jin took a few steps forward and stopped, looking around the courtyard, "Actually, you go on ahead. I'm going to quickly pack up all the food and drinks so no insects or animals get into them."

"Nēchan? Are you sure?"

She patted Haruhi's head, "There wasn't much stuff out in the first place. Just send me a text when you find the ball and I'll get there as soon as I can, okay?"

Haruhi nodded and continued walking after the others. It didn't take long for someone to realize they were short a certain girl.

"Haruhi? Where's your sister?"

"Nēchan's going to pack away the food and tea so they don't attract animals or bugs. She'll be with us shortly."

Kyoya looked behind them, his steps slowing, "Perhaps someone should stay and help…" Thankfully -in Haruhi's opinion- Tamaki came up and got his friend moving along again.

"No time, Kyoya! If our mari ball hit someone we'll need your medical expertise to save them!"

"You realize my family simply owns hospitals and that we're not actual doctors, correct?" Despite his dry tone, Kyoya kept walking. Haruhi sighed.  _ I need to stop acting so jealous around Kyoya-senpai. I thought I finally put that behind me… but I guess knowing that there's someone else who's vying for Nēchan's time still bothers me a bit. Maybe I  _ should  _ talk to her about it... _

"Hey, Boss."

"Take a look."

Haruhi looked over in the direction the twins were pointing. There was a window on the second story of the nearest building that was completely shattered. A few shouts and screams were coming from that direction as well.

"Oh… guess we found it."

* Time Skip *

Tamaki's lower lip was trembling as he bowed to the Newspaper president, "Really, I'm so sorry about what happened." He couldn't see the slight lip curl the boy had before he smiled calmly. However, after years and years of reading certain people like a book, both Kyoya and Haruhi noticed the gleam in the Newspaper Club president's eyes as he watched Tamaki bow to him. The brunette leveled a glare at the boy before returning to her chore of sweeping up the glass shards that had fallen into the room.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. It's not  _ that _ big of a deal, right? Just your mari ball flying through the air, shattering a window and hitting me directly on the head. It could happen to  _ anyone _ I'm  _ sure. _ "

"Please, accept our apology!"

The president hummed lightly, "Actually, this works out in our favor. I was thinking about approaching the host club for a cover story for our next edition. I don't suppose you'd be… interested?"

Haruhi looked up from the glass again, "Ouran has a newspaper club?"

"Eh, it's more gossip than anything."

"Nothing fact based at all. Basically it's a poorly done tabloid and no one bothers with it anymore."

"It  _ used _ to be extremely popular until about a year ago, then it suddenly declined because of all these trashy stories."

The brunet boy jerked in his seat, "Now listen here!"

"Hey, I'm back! Was anyone hur-Woah!" Jin took one step into the room and tripped over her robe  _ again. _ Kyoya darted forward and caught her.

"Jin, you alright?"

"I'm fine, Glasses. Just this stupid…"

"Excuse me, but who is that?"

Tamaki returned his attention to the person he was supposed to be apologizing to, but the words got caught in his throat. Haruhi was pouting. And while it  _ was _ the cutest thing he'd ever seen in his life, he  _ did _ happen to notice the direction she was aiming her unhappy face.  _ Hm... _

"Oh, sorry about that." Jin was back on her own two feet and walked around Kyoya to wave at the Newspaper club, "I'm Jin Fujioka, Haru's older sister and the Host Club's waitress. Haru told me someone got hit in the head with our mari ball, is everyone okay?"

"I-uh… um, well, I was, erm, I was the one who -ahem- who was hit. I'm fine, Ms. Fujioka. Ah, allow me to introduce myself: Akira Komatsuzawa, 3rd year." Akira frantically introduced his fellow club mates, unaware that he was now receiving a fairly powerful death glare.

"So! You were going say something to us before Jin-senpai came in, right Komatsuzawa- senpai?"

The 3rd year jumped in his seat, "Oh, was I? Right! I wanted to, um," his eyes flicked up to Jin and back down at his desk, "I realize that in our attempt to reach more viewers our newspaper has lost sight of what the truth is. Which is why I'm glad our paths crossed today. If we do not reach more readers with our last edition before the semester ends, our club will be shut down."

He stood up and lead his club members in a bow, "Please help us. Let us do our cover story on the Ouran Host Club!"

Jin slipped to the side, quickly sweeping up the last of the glass while keeping an eye on the president and vice president of her own club. Tamaki was smiling… but so was Kyoya. And those spoke of very different answers.

"You can count on us-augh!"

"Unfortunately, we must decline your offer. Apologies, but we have a very strict policy regarding our personal lives and the general public. I'm afraid that all personal information can only be shared with our guests and must remain in the club room. Otherwise what would be the point of our club? Terribly sorry, again, but we would be more than willing to pay for any medical expenses regarding your injury that we caused… within reason."

Jin cocked an eyebrow as the twins chipped in their two cents, talking about drama and gossip. Her lips pressed closer together. There was something she was missing here, and she didn't like it.

"I… I understand. I suppose you  _ can't _ erase the sins of the past, especially when no one will give you a second chance! I... _ ooooohhh, my head is killing me… _ "

"President!"

"I'm okay, I just… oof… need to keep my head down. Well, I suppose we should just disband with grace. It would save you two the humiliation of being a part of a failed club. Perhaps… once I am gone you two can restart the Newspaper Club with a new purpose, to inform the school of important events and remain true. But I'm just a lost cause…"

"No! Don't think like that!" Tamaki clenched his fist, that crazy sparkle in his eyes, "We will rally our club to help you stay active!"

The twins grabbed Haruhi under her armpits and started walking away, "Count us out then."

"You're too trusting, and for once we're not going down with you  _ and _ the ship."

Jin felt an arm slip around her waist and start steering her out of the room, "We're leaving too, Tamaki. If you need us we'll be holding an evaluation meeting, mostly about you."

"But have fun with the Newspaper Club, Tama-chan."

"Hold it  _ right _ there." They stopped, and by the looks on their faces Jin assumed it was against their better judgement. "How could you all be so  _ heartless? _ So  _ cold _ ? These men are about to lose their club. Wouldn't  _ you _ do anything for  _ your _ club? Such hypocrisy! Their family is breaking up, and none of you  _ care? _ "

Kyoya, Hikaru, and Kaoru turned their heads.

" _ We're not going to do it. _ "

They left him alone in the room, screams echoing down the hallway even though the doors were closed. Jin finally had enough and pulled Kyoya's arm off of her, "That was mean, you guys. What did they do to deserve that?"

The brunette tried to walk away but Kyoya quickly grabbed her unbroken wrist, "Jin, you don't understand."

"Then explain it to me! Don't expect me or Haru to go along with everything you guys say all the time, because in case you've forgotten; sometimes Tamaki's plans do pan out. He's not as dumb as you all think he is."

"Of course he's not, Jin-chan!"

"We weren't saying that!"

"Yeah! It's just the Newspaper Club we don't trust!"

"And why is that? Is it some sort of rivalry?"

Kyoya sighed and released the girl, pushing his glasses up, "I suppose you could say that. In the past, Komatsuzawa-senpai has made it clear that he is not the Host Club's biggest fan, or Tamaki's. In fact, he appears to have a certain vendetta against him."

Honey climbed up his cousin's shoulders, "Aki-chan became the club's president last year when the eldest member went away to study abroad in Italy. That was when the paper became more of a tabloid. I'd heard that he was always getting pressured by his father, who runs the Komatsuzawa publishing firm in Tokyo, to make the Ouran paper even more popular to prove he could run the paper when he graduated college."

"But when he failed and he was passed over for his younger brother…"

"And some else grew in popularity at Ouran…"

"He thought he found his reason."

Jin tapped her toes, "So… it was a 'correlation not causation' thing? And now Komatsuzawa-senpai hates the Host Club? And Tamaki?"

* * *

 

"Tamaki? Don't you want to change out of that outfit? We could all go home early." The blond didn't look away from his ball, lower lip sticking out. Jin rolled her eyes, "Fine, be that way." She ignored the whimpers coming from behind her as she went to stand by Kyoya.

"Any luck?"

"He's being stubborn."

"Hm. He must've learned it from you."

"Watch it, Glasses."

They watched him for another moment or two, but he didn't even look at them. Haruhi was the first one of them to sigh, "Look, as much as I hate to give in first, how bad could it be to help the Newspaper club with one story? Besides, even if they write something bad about us, no one's going to read it, remember?"

"Hey!"

"Since when are you taking his side?"

"Since never."

Jin shrugged, "I agree with Haru. There's a very slim possibility anything negative will happen to our club if we go along with this. Besides, they know they've only got one shot to keep their club open, so maybe they'll actually try."

"Oh, not you, too. I thought you'd be the voice of reason."

"Who says I'm not?"

"Nēchan, as much as I enjoy watching your unintentional flirting with the guy who controls our debt, I feel like we should make a decision pretty soon or else Tamaki-senpai is going to start using his 'Puppy-dog' eyes. And Nēchan, if you're already on board with helping the Newspaper club then there isn't anyone here he can't convince with them."

The twins rolled their eyes, "Yeah, right. We'd like to see him tr-" Tamaki flashed his eyes over to their group for a split second, effectively cutting them off. Everyone in the room was now staring at the blond by the window.

He looked over at them again, eyes somehow wider and more 'begging' looking than usual.

_ That's them right there…. _

Tamaki went back to staring at the ball. Back again.

_ Puppy-dog eyes… _

"Mm?"

…

"There will be some conditions."

Jin giggled at Tamaki's cute bark, gently leaning against Kyoya's side, " _ There. Giving in isn't so bad after all, hm? _ " The soft pinch to her side was answer enough.

"The outline for their story will be submitted by us, and Jin will be our representative during the final edit. One on one interviews are strictly prohibited and are only allowed if I am present for overviewing. And the identities and information of our clients remains confidential. Do you all agree to these terms?"

The twins sighed, "Well, if Kyoya-senpai  _ and _ Jin-senpai both agree-"

"-then I guess we can't really argue."

"I'll do it if Kyo-chan says it's okay! And if Jin-chan thinks we can trust them then we might as well give 'em a shot!"

Haruhi looked over at her sister who was slipping Kyoya's journal out of his hands to go over how they'd present their terms to the Newspaper club without sounding offensive.  _ Huh. The Shadow King and his Queen. My dream really wasn't that far off then. They  _ are  _ a power couple. I wonder what will happen when everyone else realizes it. _

* Time Skip *

"Do you agree to our terms?"

"Absolutely. If you allow us to cover you we will follow your rules to the letter! Thank you for this opportunity."

"Very well. You may start tomorrow. We have prepared our events for the evening to coexist with your presence."

"Excellent."

Kyoya regarded the boy seated in front of him, "Have you gone to the nurse's office for that bump on your forehead, yet?"

"No. The headaches receded and I didn't feel the need."

"Hm. Well, we are still truly sorry that it happened. Here," he pushed a small medical kit onto the desk, "this is a first-aid kit made by my family's company. Think of it as an apology for the nasty way our clubs came together."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"That's good to hear. Please excuse me, I must head home now."

Kyoya turned back towards the door, pleased that the exchange had gone well when a voice stopped him, "Hold on, Ootori-san, I have one quick question before you leave."

"Yes?"

"Why is Ms. Fujioka in charge of our final edit? I would've assumed you would have taken that position."

The ravenet allowed for a genuine smile to appear on his face, "Because while our classes have enhanced our professional writing skills, Ms. Fujioka is quite talented in creative writing. She won third place in a national essay contest when she was merely twelve years old and her brother has claimed that she is a 'walking spell-check'. I imagine that these skills would be more help to you than mine."

"Hm, I see. She does sound like a true interesting specimen… I can't wait to work with her. I do hope that we get along well." Akira couldn't help but notice how Kyoya's shoulders had tensed up and smiled, "Oh, don't mistake my friendliness for flirtation like your guests do. Ms. Jin simply seems like a very fascinating person, very beautiful too… but I highly doubt such an amazing young woman has been at Ouran for this long without finding  _ someone _ ."

Kyoya slowly turned back to face the club president, "That is where you'd be wrong. Jin is quite unattached, and it would appear she wishes to remain that way."

"Hm… and would you be speaking from experience?"

The boy turned and started walking away, "No, I just know my friends very well. Please excuse me."

_ Slam! _

"...Sir? Were you attempting to anger Ootori-san just now?"

"Mr. President, that might not have been a wise move."

Akira scoffed, "This is why  _ I'm _ the president of the club and  _ you  _ are my underlings. Clearly Ootori has a thing for Ms. Fujioka, but he's been shot down. Now that he knows I know, he won't say a word to Suoh in fear I'll let his secret out."

"But Sir, why would Suoh care?"

"Be _ cause _ Jin Fujioka is the most beautiful girl on campus. Tamaki Suoh has probably had his eyes set on her since she set foot here. After all, he believes he is entitled to the best of everything, so he would believe that the two most popular students should be together. And if he found out that his number 2 man was making doe-eyes at  _ his _ claim? We wouldn't  _ need _ to print out the story for it to become a school-wide scandal. And just so we're clear… the next time either of you two wish to question my methods, please remember that it would only take one phone call from me to eliminate all ties between our family's publishing firms.  _ Have I made myself clear? _ "

Chikage and Tomochika bowed their heads, "Yes… Mr. President."

* * *

 

"The Daruma doll fell o...ver! The Da-ru-ma doll fell o-ver! The Daruma doll fell over!"

Tamaki groaned in frustration and started repeating the sentence faster and faster, whipping his head around trying to catch some sort of movement. Finally he saw an arm twitch.

"I saw you move Hikaru and Kaoru! I saw you! I saw you!"

"No you didn't! No you didn't!"

Jin was trying her hardest not to laugh, which was really hard with Kyoya standing right behind her skillfully poking at her back in such a way that the parts of him visible to Tamaki were still. Her hips shifted just as Tamaki pranced off to talk with the newspaper club boys.

"You're a jerk, Glasses."

"Can you blame me for trying to win?"

"This is che-EEating! Stop it!"

Kyoya's grey eyes glinted with humor, "Hm… are you ticklish, Jin?"

"Kyoya… don't you dAH! KYOYA!" Giving up all pretenses of playing the game, the ravenet shot his hands forward and started tickling the brunette girl in earnest, who shrieked with laughter. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered exactly when in his life had he started indulging in such ridiculous activities because he  _ wanted _ to and not because someone (read: Tamaki) had worn him down. And he was actually enjoying himself.

"Kyoya! You moved first! That means you have to stand up with me now!"

The boy sighed, his wriggling fingers stopping just long enough for the giggling girl to escape his grasp, "Fine."

Jin was crouched behind her sister, still giggling as she slowly recovered from the surprise attack. Despite herself, Haruhi smiled. While she was still on the fence about the whole Jin and Kyoya thing, it was nice seeing her sister so happy and having fun.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Ms. Fujioka? Would you mind if I asked you two a few questions?" Akira smiled in what he probably thought was a winning fashion, but the sisters could see the annoyance and desperation hiding beneath those white teeth.

Jin frowned, "If I recall correctly, I believe that all interviews without Kyoya around to monitor are prohibited?"

"Oh? They are? I apologize, I must've misunderstood. I was under the impression that only one-on-one interviews were forbidden, and that I would be able to conduct a joint-interview of the most popular siblings on campus."

"Well, glad to clarify. Now, if you'll excuse us, I think our next game is about to begin."

The two began walking away as Akira called out, "I'm surprised that the two of you are so into this kind of stuff. After all, they are children's games. You two seem far too intelligent to indulge in such… senselessness. It seems like Suoh must've done something drastic to get you two to agree to such mindless games." He quietly pressed the record button on the tape recorder behind his back as the siblings stopped.

"Well, I am a little bored right now, but at the same time it's fun being here with these guys. I didn't think I would ever play these games again, but how about it?"

"Uh huh. And what about you, Jin? I bet Suoh took a long time getting you to agree to this?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I'm having a really fun time right now! I didn't play a lot of these games when I was younger, I was always too busy with other things, so I'm glad to have the opportunity to play them now. Especially with Haru."

The tall brunette looped her arm over Haruhi's shoulders and lead her away to where the boys were still playing. Kyoya raised a questioning eyebrow, but Jin waved away his worry. Even though their answers had probably been recorded, they hadn't given away anything that would reflect badly on the club or Tamaki. She just wished that she could've told Haruhi what was  _ really _ going on…

"Next we're playing what Americans call, 'Kick the Can'! And you're 'it', okay, Kyoya?"

"If I must be."

"Staaaaaarliiiiiight KICK!"

The poor blue can went streaming past Akira, making him let out a rather embarrassing high pitched scream. Jin laughed as she raced across the courtyard. She knew where she was supposed to 'hide', she just had to wait for the can to stop moving. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tamaki take her sister's hand and pull her through an opening in the hedges and she smiled.

Kyoya crouched down by the can and began counting. That was her cue, so Jin began running down the path that lead back to the building the newspaper club was in. About halfway between the two places, she stopped beside a large Wisteria tree. The hanging purple, pink, white, and blue flowers were so lovely she just stared for a moment.

_ That's enough admiration for now. Let's get to work. _

* With Tamaki and Haruhi *

"It's a good thing you made Kyoya-senpai 'it', Tamaki-senpai, or else there's no way anyone would find us."

"Bark! Bark!"

"Okay, now you're just messing with me. But, since we have some time on our hands, I wanted to say thank you."

Tamaki dropped the dog act immediately at Haruhi's somber tone, "Really? Why?"

"Because… you made Nēchan really happy today. She never got to really play these types of games when she was a kid."

"Oh? Did her friends live too far away?"

"Not really. Nēchan didn't have many friends in grade school, at least none who were in her own grade. And that was mostly my fault."

"Your… fault?"

The brunette nodded, "When my mom died, Nēchan really took on a mother-like role in my life. She cooked for me when Dad was working late. She and I went shopping together. She helped me with my homework. She made sure that I had the childhood she believed I deserved… but that meant she never really allowed herself to enjoy it herself. It was because of me that Nēchan never got to be a kid. But now she has friends that she sees every day, everyone likes her, no one is bullying her for being intelligent, and she even has the opportunity to play these simple games. I don't think you can comprehend how much this means to her… and me. So, thank you."

Tamaki smiled softly, "Wow… I guess me and your sister have more in common than we knew."

"Hm?"

"My mom… when I was growing up she was always really sick. I'd stay inside most days, playing the piano for her or reading or just staying by her side. I didn't have many friends in grade school either, and some of the crueler children would make fun of me because I was a halfer or because I didn't have any parents for 'Bring your parent to school' day. It wasn't easy, but I'm here now with all of you… and, as it turns out, there's also someone who can understand what I went through unlike anyone else. Do you think that Jin would mind talking about it with me?"

Haruhi had gaped at the blond during his whole story. This sunshine-and-ice-cream-world boy had gone through that? She hadn't known that could be possible.  _ So, he's not an idiot… he's just doing his best to see the world as a brighter place than he knows it to be. _

"You know, I think she'd like that. We sometimes talk about it, but I always feel like we just scratch the surface. And we always break the conversation whenever a certain question comes up… and it's not like we can avoid it during that kind of talk."

"... What question?"

Haruhi sighed, leaning over the stone to rest her chin on her arms, "How different would my life have been if my mom had lived?"

Tamaki leaned back in his seat, "That is a fairly loaded question. But… speaking of loaded questions I have one for you."

"Hm?"

"You've been a little… short with Kyoya lately. Is something wrong?"

"Ah!" The girl turned away, pulling her hands back into her lap, "There's nothing wrong! I just… he's just been… how do I… uh…"

"Do you think Kyoya and Jin have fallen for each other?"

"..."

* With Jin *

Jin shifted on her perch, the rough bark digging into the soft skin behind her knees. Sighing, she leaned slightly to her left, pulling her skirt up and under her leg.  _ Where is he? _

_ Click. Click. Click. _

Freezing in place, Jin looked down from her tree branch. Standing beneath her on the sidewalk, Kyoya stared up at her.

"Found you."

"Seems you have."

Inching her way forward, Jin slid off the branch and fell back down to the ground. She brushed her skirt off, picking away at the few slivers of bark that had lodged themselves into the fabric. The boy beside her watched with curiosity.

"While I commend you for your choice of hiding spot, I must ask how you managed to get yourself up there with only one hand."

"Are you kidding? I've been climbing trees for years. With branches so close to the ground, it was really easy, even with only one hand to help me out. Let's go." The two continue on their way, spotting a pair of boys with red hair a ways ahead of them. "Want to run your plan by me again?"

"We will confront the Newspaper Club in a private location and set the record straight regarding Tamaki and his reasons behind creating the Host Club. If Komatsuzawa-senpai does not see reason, then we shall, how do the American's put it, 'hustle' them?"

Jin snorted, "I feel like I should've recorded you saying that."

"I'm glad I amuse you. And what do you think of the plan?"

"It's solid. But I think you should also try to be clear with them that even though you  _ could _ ruin their names, you wouldn't. And neither would Tamaki. But…" the brunette reached up to tug at a lock of hair, "I wish we could've involved Haru in this."

"It's not your fault Tamaki dragged her away."

"Fair." The two had entered the building and were now walking up a flight of stairs. The room they were heading for was on the 2nd floor. Kyoya held the door open for his companion before continuing down the hallway.

"Jin, I want you to be on your guard when we're talking to Komatsuzawa-senpai. I think he fancies you."

"I was afraid of that… why do the weird ones always want  _ me? _ Ukyo-san or Sakyo-san I could've handled, at least  _ they're _ nice. But Komatsuzawa-senpai? Ugh!"

"You really think the other two are nice?"

"Well, yeah. They seem less shifty than their 'President'. I have a feeling they're only following along with him because of their family's companies. Didn't you write down in your journal that their families are employed by the Komatsuzawa printing firm?"

"Yes… but I still believe that you are far too kind to people, Jin. Sometimes there is no good beneath the surface."

They stop just outside a pair of double doors. 'Newspaper Club' is written on the sign hanging above them.

"There was with you."

Kyoya's eyes widened as Jin pushed open the doors, walking inside to find a perch on the newspapers stacked to her right. In front of them were the twins, already settled in on the desk and just waiting for them to show up. They stared at their Vice-president who remained frozen out in the hallway until their 3rd-year club members popped up behind him, bringing all three of them into the room and shutting the doors behind them.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked across the room where Jin was sitting with her legs crossed and her eyes trained on the doors.

" _ Did you hear that? _ "

" _ Yeah… no wonder Boss thinks there's something going on. _ "

" _ You don't think… _ "

" _...that he's right… _ "

" _...do you? _ "

" _ Everyone be quiet! They're coming! _ "

The six of them quickly shut up, turning to face the door. From somewhere down the hallway a bit, three distinct voices were shouting at each other. There was one that was clearly angrier than the others.  _ Komatsuzawa. _

"I will expose Tamaki Suoh for the twit he is!" The doors burst open. The twins smirked at the looks of shock they were faced with.

"So…"

"We were right all along…"

The 3rd year gritted his teeth, "You two… how'd you get up here so quick?"

"Oh, that's not the question you should be concerned with."

"Yeah, you should be asking what will happen if you threaten Tamaki."

"Because if you do… there  _ will _ be consequences."

"I… you… how  _ dare _ -"

"Did you  _ really _ think that having the Hitachiin, Morinozuka, Haninozuka, and Ootori families as you enemy would be a good idea?"

Akira stumbled backwards at the threat, "I…  _ knew it! _ Suoh is holding his family name over your heads! You're nothing but his protection service!"

"No _ , _ you've got it all wrong." He spun to his left, where Honey, Mori, and Kyoya were standing in the shadows, "We hang out with Tama-chan because he's our friend! We all love him and enjoy being around him."

Kyoya smirked and leaned back against the newspapers piled up behind him, "After all… he may be a hopeless idiot, but even so..."

Jin tilted her head, "He's  _ our _ idiot." The boys all smile, remembering the very first time they'd met the spastic blond.  _ Who would've thought... _

"I can't believe it. I can understand how  _ they _ would want to be close to the Suoh family… and all the  _ power _ that comes with that name, but  _ you _ , Fujioka? I expected better from you!"

"Better?" Jin gracefully jumped down from her seat and walked out of the shadows a little bit, "I fail to see how I could find anything better than this. All I've seen and heard all day were a couple of friends having a good time and standing by each other. I may not have known Tamaki for as long as the others, but I do know that he is a good person. He's kind, thoughtful, and is always looking out for others, especially if they need someone. I think it takes a special person to be able to touch all the lives he's made an impact on, idiot or not, and you need to stop trying to hurt someone who's done nothing but love and accept people since he's arrived at this school!"

For a split second, the host club and two thirds of the newspaper club think she finally struck a chord with Akira. His face is blanketed with surprise and he doesn't speak for a moment.

Then his expression turns thunderous, "I can't believe it… he's tricked you, too! You know, I actually had some hope that you hadn't fallen for that moron like every other shallow girl at this school, but I suppose finding a host club regular with actual intelligence was a little too much to-"

He doesn't get to finish his thought, because Jin decided to punch him in the nose.

As the boy shouts out curses from behind his cupped hands, Jin shakes out her right hand, "One, never insult my intelligence like that ever again. Two, I am not in the host club because the boys are cute. And three, pull that selfish, ego-inflated head of yours out of your ass, turn your attitude  _ way down _ , and please realize that the world doesn't revolve around you and your problems. Just because things haven't gone the way you planned doesn't mean the universe owes you an apology."

Akira screamed once more, pulling his hands away and checking for blood. Finding that there wasn't any, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'LL RUIN ALL OF YOU! YOU'LL RUE THIS DAY!" Jin rolled her eyes, noticing that the two 2nd years of the newspaper club had yet to rush to their president's aid.

"Go ahead, if you want to." Kyoya walked over to the first aid kit that was between the twins, "But, what do you think we should do about this little recording? You know... the one that's been here since yesterday?" He pulled a small disk out from the bottom of the kit, turning it in different ways to catch the light shining through the window.

Akira finally fell to his knees, staring up at the other glasses wearing boy who suddenly bared down on him, "Let me explain this to you. While the Ootori group and Hitachiin family  _ alone _ could remove your father from his position as president from the Komatsuzawa printing firm, we would never do such a thing. We are not like you. You would do well to remember this." He looked up at the two other boys, "As for you two… I have a feeling you have some very different ideas about the stories a school newspaper should print. Please clean up his mess."

Chikage and Tomochika nodded firmly, shoulders set and backs straight, "Ootori-san, we would like to request permission to still print off an edition starring the Host Club… using your outline, of course."

Kyoya smirked, "We'd be honored."

The host left quickly after that, heading back down to the courtyard to find the other two members.

"Nice job with punching him in the face, Jin-senpai."

"Yeah, that was great."

"Eh. He had it coming. Maybe I knocked the stupid part out."

Kyoya notices her still shaking out her hand, "Did you injure yourself  _ again? _ "

"No, I stayed away from the bone. His nose may bruise but I didn't break anything. My hand just aches a bit. They say 'Never hit a man with a closed fist' but it is, on occasion, hilarious."

" _ So~ _ "

" _ You think we're cute~ _ "

Jin closes her eyes in a suffering way, pushing the twins arms off of her, "No, not all of you."

Her eyes flickered across the face of the boy walking beside her and thought with a small blush,  _ Some of you are  _ hot _. _

* Time Skip *

"I found you~"

Tamaki and Haruhi's heads jerked up, seeing the rest of the club standing in front of the gazebo they'd been hiding in. The blond ran out of the cement structure and looked around.

"Hey, where'd the Newspaper club go?"

"They said they got enough information to write their article, so they left."

"Oh, really? Well, I'm glad they got what they came for! That's good news!"

"Yeah. Aki-chan's even going to let Tomo-chan and Chi-chan write the article all by themselves! I bet their families are going to be proud of all of them! Let's celebrate with some Victory Cake!"

Jin chuckled as the club glossed over the rougher details for Tamaki's sake, looking at the many different rose colors they were passing by. Clearly a few of their guests had come through and moved some of the colors closer through the hedges. There was a light blue and orange pairing for the twins, a dark blue and pink for the cousins, red and white for Haru and Tamaki, and… a green and purple rose twinned together. She blushed and looked forward again.

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Yes?"

"Is the Suoh family a really big deal around here? I got a feeling that Komatsuzawa-senpai wasn't a really big fan of Tamaki and his family…"

"Well, they mainly deal in corporate financing, but they do own much of the high-class real estate in Japan. And they've had a hand in school management. Ouran Academy, incidentally."

"Woah, really?"

Jin leaned in to their conversation, "Didn't you read your scholarship form? Tamaki's father signed off on it. Mine too. He's the chairman of the board here at Ouran. And it's because of their family's money that we're getting any financial aid at all."

Haruhi froze, "W-wait… so Tamaki-senpai… is the chairman's  _ son? _ "

"Haruhi~ hurry it up or you're going to get lost again~"

The brunette whined, but was cut off when her sister gave her a smile, "Want a piggyback ride back in?"

She tilted her head. Her sister was thinking about something that pleased her.  _ Does it have something to do with the green and purple roses we just passed by? I wonder if Kyoya found her first during this game? Well... if Tamaki thought they'd be a good couple even before I did... then how bad would it be for me to share her from time to time? Of course, as long as Kyoya remembers who she belonged to first... _

"Of course I do, Nēchan. You always know exactly what I need."

 


	28. I Wish I'd Never Been Born!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! So, not my best, I'll be honest. I had hoping to go more in-depth with this chapter but I just couldn't do it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

 

The first thing she was aware of was the rocking motion of her body. Jin moaned, having been shaken from a pretty decent sleep. Last night a fire had started in one of the apartments at their complex. No one had been hurt, but the Fujioka girls had lost out on good portion of sleep. It had been all Jin could do that day to stay awake enough in class to write down all the homework she would have to do over break. Now she was trying to squeeze in a little bit before hosting hours started and  _ who dareth awaken the beast? _

Groaning, the brunette swatted at the hand touching her, "Alright…  _ alright _ I'm up!" The hand quickly withdrew and she sat up, her long hair falling in front of her face. Jin rubbed at her eyes, trying to get her contacts to stop feeling so uncomfortable, "Is the hosting about to start?"

"Um… yes. Might I ask you, Miss… where did you come from?"

Jin sighed and rolled her shoulders, not really in the proper mood to go along with whatever game Tamaki was playing, "Hey, look, Tamaki… I'm not really in the mood right now, okay? Thanks for waking me up, but please wait until I'm actually awake to start cracking jokes."

"Jokes? Wait a second, how do you know my name?"

Jin's eyes cracked open to peer between her fingers, huffing an un-amused breath into her palms, "Really, Tamaki?"

"Boss? What's the hold up?"

"Wait… who's that?"

Groaning, because of  _ course _ the twins were behind this, Jin raked her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle it but still not bothering to pull it away from her face, "You guys, too? Isn't there anything I can say to get you to not involve me in whatever game you've recently cooked up?"

"Game?"

"Boss, who is this? Do you know her?"

"No! I don't! I just came around to double check my table and she was sleeping here! She wasn't here two minutes ago and I didn't see her come in!"

"What's going on over there now?"

The brunette's shoulders sagged in relief.  _ Finally. If anyone could make the twins see sense it's Kyoya… _

"Oh… who is this?"

Jin's head snapped up, her hair falling away from her face a bit. The four boys were standing in front of her, watching her with confusion. Behind them she could see Honey, Mori, and Haruhi making their way over.

"You guys… are joking, right? I mean, this is some sort of… elaborate prank that you somehow managed to get Kyoya to go along with? Right?"

The hosts looked at each other with rising levels of concern. Jin could pretty much hear her pulse pick up. A stupid but frankly horrific ' _ What if' _ began circling in her head, eyes falling almost helplessly on her sister as she joined them.

"Haru?"

The other brunette stopped walking forward, her head tilting in curiosity, "Haru? Wait, do I… know you?"

Okay, now this wasn't funny any more. Jin felt her knees begin to shake under her skirt. There was no way that Haruhi would  _ ever _ agree to a stupid joke like this one.

"Miss? Are you alright? You're looking pale. Would you please tell us your name?" That was the final straw. Seeing Kyoya bent down a little, smiling understandably at her with that  _ freaking fake grin _ instead of the sincere one she had grown so used to. Nope. She wanted  _ out _ .

Whipping herself off the couch Jin raced for the door. Behind her the boys screamed 'Hey' and 'Come back' but she ignored them. Tears of panic welled up in her eyes as she ran, hearing the sound of large shoes hitting the tiles behind her. Mori-senpai had given chase.

_ But I'm fast, too. _

She raced around the corner to the nearest staircase, taking two steps at a time on her way down until she was at the halfway point. Just as Mori and Honey appeared at the top of the steps, she had hoisted herself up over the railing and dropped down to the floor. She would've done it from higher up, but she was still wearing her high-heel wedges. Not good for jumping.

Jin reached the front door before she came to the conclusion that she had nowhere to run too. If Haru didn't recognize her, Dad wouldn't either. Neither would anyone at the dojo or the animal shelter or anywhere at all for that matter. So, until she figured out how to get back home, she needed a place to hide.

_ Hide… _

_ Hide! _

Taking the hedge maze so she wouldn't be easily followed, Jin took the same path she and  _ her _ host club had taken after the newspaper club snafu. She saw the same rose pairings too… except the green rose was gone.

Tears were falling freely down her cheeks now. Her chest heaved, and not from the run. She reached her destination just as the faint sound of the host club's calls began reaching over the hedge. Not daring to take a break, she started climbing the Wisteria tree. It took some extra work finding a spot that was actually hidden from sight, unlike the last time she'd climbed this tree, but she was satisfied with the end product. Jin ended up perhaps three-fourths of the way up the tree, her legs tuck up to her chest, and completely hidden from the sidewalk unless someone were to walk right underneath it and look up.

Finally alone, she began to cry in earnest. She was scared. Sad. Confused. And greatly hurt by the lack of recognition in her sister and friend's faces. Why was everyone acting like they didn't know her? This was way too similar to those stupid episodes where the character is thrown into an alternate reality where they'd never been born and everything was different.

Jin sniffled and pressed her cheek against her knees.  _ Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I wanna go home. I wanna go home… Haru… Mom, please help... _

"Where'd she go?"

"Yeah! She was in heels! How could she possibly run that fast?"

"I still think I should call for backup."

"No! You'll just frighten her, Kyoya! We need to find her before she hurts herself!"

"Hold up, Boss, have you ever considered that she might be a danger to us, too? I mean, how did she know our names?"

"Yeah, she acted like we should know her or something."

"I'd be tempted to suggest that she was a guest of ours considering the way she reacted when we didn't recognize her, but I've never seen her around Ouran Academy before."

"But… she  _ was _ wearing our uniform." The boys slowed down in their search, and Jin found herself letting loose a string of Italian swears under her breath as Mori and Honey stopped  _ right _ beneath her.  _ Of. Freaking. Course. _

"Well, that's true."

"And there's no way for someone to get a hold of an Ouran Academy uniform unless they're a student here."

"Do you think she's a new student?"

"I highly doubt that. It's very unlikely that any schools are accepting new students so late into the school year. After all, summer break does start tomorrow."

Jin watched in silence as Honey pushed himself up a little higher on his cousin's shoulders, ready to toss in his own two cents. But she knew he wouldn't. His knee hadn't gone far enough forward, and as he quickly threw his weight onto the knee the blond slipped backwards with a yell. Mori was quick to reach behind him and support his cousin's back, but now Honey was staring straight up.

"Hey! It's you! Guys, I found her!"

The other hosts let out sounds of surprise and raced to the bottom of the tree. Jin couldn't hold back the whimper as she scrambled backwards on the branches, crawling to the other side of the tree. Another small whimper escaped when, in her haste, she smacked her cast against a branch. Ducking behind the trunk, she held the plaster close to her chest and shook, willing the pain away enough to climb back down and keep running.

Unfortunately, she felt the tree shake in a manner that could only mean someone else was climbing the tree. In the space of three seconds, she'd figured out who it was. Haru -er,  _ her _ Haru- was terrible at tree climbing, and it was a stretch even with her imagination for either the twins or Kyoya or even Tamaki to have spent any portion of their lives scaling the trees around the parks. Unlike two other boys, who had -incidentally- taught  _ her _ the joys of seeing the world from a distant view. And with the way the tree was shaking, only one person was crawling towards her.

"Hey silly! Why'd you run?"

Honey was smiling as he drew closer, gracefully jumping from one branch to another before coming to a stop two branches away. Jin felt like her heart was crumbling to dust inside her chest cavity as his happy-go-lucky face changed once he saw her.

"Honey-senpai?"

"Everything okay up there?"

The blond's mouth flapped, a few random syllable falling out before he tilted his head in a downward side-angle, wide eyes still watching Jin, "Haru-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a… cousin... or something?"

There's a brief period of silence.

"No. Neither of my parents had siblings."

Despite everything else going on, Jin couldn't help but feel a quick pain in her stomach at the loss of her uncle, aunt, and even Eiko. There went three more ties she had with her world. What else didn't exist here!?

Honey was still staring at Jin, brown eyes flicking around her face, "...What's your name?"

"Jin."

"That's pretty… what about your  _ last _ name?"

The brunette looked away, " _ You wouldn't believe me. _ "

"Try me."

She contemplated her options. This whole idea was just really, really  _ dumb _ . Like, really? She appeared in some wack-job universe where she doesn't exist? Stupid. But… if it were real, then the person most likely to believe her would have to be…

Tamaki.

But she supposed Honey-senpai was a pretty close second.

"Fujioka."

Honey just looked even more confused, "Are you sure?"

"Really? Of course I'm sure! Look, I know this is going to sound crazy to everyone except Tamaki down there, but I'm not from here. Where I'm from, my name is Jin Fujioka and Haruhi Fujioka is my little sister. I don't know  _ why _ I'm here and I just want to go home."

"Uh…"

"Hey, Honey-senpai!"

"What's going on up there?"

The third-year didn't respond right away, staring at Jin instead as if he could see in her face whether she was lying or not. He must've decided she was telling the truth though, because he gave her a firm nod before calling out to the others that they were coming down.

Jin swallowed nervously before following.

"Oh, thank goodness, Princess! We thought we'd lost you! I apologize for frighten… ing… you…" Tamaki's smile slipped away just like Honey's as the rest of the Host Club got their first proper look at Jin's face. Haruhi was the only one who didn't look shocked.

She noticed the other's though. "What? Why are you all staring at her?"

"Haruhi… she looks like you."

"Huh?"

"Yeah! She's got your hair and eye color… actually your eyes look almost completely alike! And your noses are the same!"

"She seems to also share a few characteristics with your father, Haruhi."

"That's because she's Haru-chan's sister from another universe." The hosts stared at Honey, who didn't look at all ashamed by what he'd just said, "We need to help her get back home."

"Mitsukuni… how much cake have you-"

"It's the truth, Takashi! I saw it in her face!"

"Look, Honey-senpai…"

"...just because she  _ looks _ like Haruhi doesn't mean she has to be  _ related _ to her."

Jin shuffled her feet, "But I am… where I'm from. I'm not sure if  _ universe _ is the right term, but I do know I'm Jin Fujioka and my little sister is Haruhi."

"I see…" Kyoya shifted his glasses further up his nose, "Miss, would you mind accompanying us back inside? I'm sure we can find someone to help you back home."

"I don't think calling the psych ward would do me much help, Kyoya Ootori."

The ravenet blinked, "You know my name?"

"Okay, so we're going to do this the cliché way. Fine, I have proof." Digging into her pocket, the brunette closed her fingers around the rectangle object they found there. She pulled her phone out and began tapping at the screen.

"What's that?"

"My phone."

" _ That's _ a  _ phone? _ "

Jin's eyebrow lifted, "What do your phones look like?" The twins were the ones to pull theirs out, a blue and orange pair of flip phones. Jin nearly laughed aloud. "You all use  _ flip phones? _ Wow! Where exactly did I land again? The Dark Ages?"

The boys looked affronted, "What's so bad about flip phones? These are the best phones around!"

"*Snort* Whatever you say. This is an iPhone. Unlike your flip phones this has touch screen, 16GB of storage, and front and back facing cameras. But that's enough bragging, you'll all get there eventually, just look at this."

The seven hosts managed to stop looking so offended by their phone choice to slowly lean in towards the picture Jin was showing them. It was clearly taken with that front-facing camera she had just mentioned, and it showed the entire host club. Hikaru and Kaoru were front and center of the photo, grinning cheekily at the camera with Haruhi unhappily squished between them. Honey was waving at the phone with Mori's face beside him, just behind Kaoru's head. Behind Hikaru in the background Tamaki looked to be in another one of his "rage moods", Kyoya beside him smirking in amusement. And right beside Mori, her head perched atop of Haruhi's, was Jin. She was smiling broadly, seemingly not bothered that her phone had been hijacked.

Jin watched their faces,  _ aching _ to find a hint of belief in them. And she almost did… until-

"Wow, those are some excellent photoshopping skills."

"Yeah, you can't even tell!"

Her mouth flapped, "It's not altered!"

The twins looked at her, unimpressed, "Look, you might be one of our more  _ devoted _ fans, but we never took this photo, so…"

Jin's free hand came up to her head, forgetting it was in a cast but not really caring. She ran her fingers through her hair, really ripping it out.  _ If they're not going to believe this, then- _

"Jin. Your hand." The brunette froze and looked up at Mori. He was holding out his own hand, asking for something. Normally this was when Jin would read his expression and know instantly what he wanted. But this Mori was different. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and it unsettled her greatly.

"What?"

"Takashi wants to see your cast, Jin-chan."

Despite everything, Jin slowly laid her cast into Mori's large hand. Gently, the tall boy rolled her wrist around, looking at the cast with curiosity and a little surprise.

"Mitsukuni, look."

The blond leaned in and gasped, "Those are our names! Our signatures! Guys, we  _ signed _ her cast!"

"What?!"

They all rushed forward to spot their own signatures, spot the fakes. But one by one, Jin saw the distrust fall away into shock. The boy's different signatures (and occasional drawing) were simply too diverse and intricate for her to mimic perfectly. A few were also in spots that would've been incredibly difficult for her to reach herself.

Eventually, Tamaki looked up at her.

"Maybe… we should go inside."

* * *

Jin slowly stirred her tea, watching as the milk she'd just poured in slowly billow out within the otherwise golden colored liquid. For some reason she'd always liked watching things like this. Whether it was mixing paints or tea and milk, it was oddly calming and mentally stimulating at the same time. Both of which she really needed at the moment.

"And you're  _ sure? _ "

"Yes, Tamaki, I'm very sure I don't have any memory of running into a witch, or a cursed object, or anyone particularly Divine."

"Hm… what if we-"

"We're not making an offering to any Gods to send me home."

The blond slumped, "Well, I'm out of ideas."

Jin rolled her eyes and removed the small silver spoon from her cup, taking a small drink before cupping the warm porcelain in her hands, "I think we should just wait it out. Somehow I ended up here with no warning, I'll end up back home in no time."

"You're really okay with waiting?"

"Won't your family be worried sick about you?"

The brunette held the teacup a little tighter, "I… I hope not. If I could have it my way, time would stop until I got back to them. But if it doesn't… I just hope I get back as soon as possible. I don't even want to consider what Dad and Haru would think if I just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Let alone the boys… oh my God if they all think I'm missing they're probably going ballistic right now."

The redheads leaned in closer, butts nearly sliding off the couch they were resting on, "So Jin-senpai, what are the Hikaru and Kaoru in your world like?"

"Uh… not much different from here, I guess. Or at least nothing physical. Personality wise you also seem pretty similar. You've got the Jokester positions down back in my world, too, but I've gotta ask; did you also have that fake fight a few months back?"

The twins nodded.

"Huh. I wonder what else is the same…"

"I don't think much would've changed, Jin-senpai," Haruhi tapped her fingers against her own teacup, brow furrowing, "From what you've described, the only difference between where you're from and here is-"

"Me."

Jin didn't realize she'd done something weird until Kyoya cleared his throat.

"Hm? Oh!" The others were watching her in surprise as she ducked her head, "It's… it's something Haru and I do. We're a bit like the twins, I guess… we can tell what the other is thinking really easily. Tamaki calls it mind-reading. We finish each other's sentences a lot."

The twins leaned forward, eyes narrowing in curiosity, "You and Haruhi are pretty alike, then, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Can you tell us apart, too?"

"Definitely."

"Hm." The two stood up, whipping a pair of green caps out from behind them, "Then let's play the 'Which one of us is Hikaru' game!" Quickly slapping the hats on and spinning around the brunette multiple times, the two came to a stop in front of her.

"Hikaru's on my left."

The two froze, gaping, "You really  _ can _ tell…"

Jin shrugged, sipping at her tea again but with a small smile, "I've had a lot of practice. I was actually childhood friends with Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai, so I learned how to read Mori-senpai's face for conversation purposes. And then Haru and I have always been able to read each other's thoughts, so it's easy to tell one twin from the other."

As the others processed, Jin's eyes passed over what  _ should _ be her little sister. What she actually saw was confusing as Hell. Because, she  _ looked _ like Haru and talked like her and probably smelled like her and Jin could still read the girl's face like a book, as she'd always been able too. But what she saw there wasn't her sister. She saw a much more withdrawn girl in her place, closed off from everyone. Jin's Haru had  _ nothing _ on this one in regards to dismissal of the Host Club, and then there was the unnerving blank expression this Haru had when looking at her.

Back home, Jin would never, ever, ever, ever again think to herself that her life would be easier if she didn't have someone who could read her secrets with just a glance. Because now she had it and it was actually really freaking uncomfortable. It sounded cheesy and so overused, but Jin now understood why authors use 'losing a limb' to describe their splitting of two close characters. That's exactly how it felt looking at her sister and not having a 2-way internal conversation.

"Jin-senpai? You still there?"

The girl jumped, "Yeah! Sorry, Haru. Zoned out. What were you saying?"

Haruhi seemed to hesitate, "I… I'm sorry, Jin-senpai. I know you're going through alot right now and I'm going to sound really insensitive but… could you maybe not call me Haru?"

It would've been kinder to kick her in the stomach with a metal-toed boot.

"...Oh. Sure."

"I'm sorry. It just makes me uncomfortable."

"No, no, I get it. Some random girl calling you 'Haru'. Too familiar. It's a little weird for me, too, I guess. Because, you know, I see my sister… but you're not my sister."

"It's weird to call your own sister by her full name?"

"Well, normally when I use her full name, it means she's in trouble."

"In trouble?"

"Yeah, like when I found out about the 8 million yen debt through Tamaki, because she didn't want to make me worry about it. Called her by her first name then. Oh, or that day when the host club went to the beach and those drunks showed up. I was already up there keeping them away from the girls when Haru showed up and threw sea urchins on the guys. Called her Haruhi when I told her to run, and then again later at dinner when we were explaining to her that she should apologize."

"Wait a minute…did you say you dealt with  _ drunks? _ "

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"Um… Haru got pushed off the cliff and Tamaki dove in after her. I headbutted one guy, kicked the other in the chest so he flew backwards, and then I roundhouse kicked the third guy who'd been hiding in the shadows… after he smashed his beer bottle on my head."

The others gaped.

"...I guess we have some things to talk about while I'm here?"

* Time Skip *

"Oh my go-No!"

"You're making that up, I know you are!"

Jin was cracking up, holding her stomach, "Haruhi, be very grateful that you do not have Eiko in this world. I'm sure that if I wasn't here  _ all _ of that anger would be focused on you."

The shorter brunette shook her head, "I just don't understand how you could even  _ deal _ with something like that. She really tried to get you both drunk?"

"Yup."

"Please don't tell me that all the young children you know behave like brats."

Jin snorted, "Other than Eiko and Shido, I get along really well with children. I babysit most of the kids that live in my apartment building and… oh, yeah! Did Kirimi-chan show up here for you guys, too?"

"Yeah!"

"And she called you a Reverse-Harem, right?"

Tamaki nodded, "That she did."

Jin laughed again, "I nearly had a heartattack when she asked if I ran it! Thank goodness for Ume-kun coming in when he did."

"Ume… kun?"

"Uh… Umehito Nekozawa? He's still here, right?"

The tall blond screamed and fell off the couch, the twins leaned in to take up the newly vacant couch-space, "You call Nekozawa-senpai, Ume-kun?"

"How?!"

"Because of Kirimi-chan." Jin tilted her head, "I babysat her and became friends with Ume-kun in the process. I taught him music and we decided to… wait a second." The brunette leaned forward, "I'm not in this universe... then that means no one taught Ume-kun how to play guitar. How'd he and Kirimi-chan make up then?"

"It was really great, Jin-chan! He conquered his fear of sunlight, jumping out the window and chasing a cat away from Kirimi-chan!"

She nodded slowly, "Sure… naturally. So, to make sure I heard you right… you said he jumped out a window?"

"Uh huh."

"...It was on the first floor, right?"

"Nope. Second floor."

"Hm. Were there bushes to cushion his fall? Just a little bit?"

"No, I think he jumped straight to the cement."

"...Oh... okay, you're probably going to think I'm crazy for asking this, but the window was  _ open _ when he jumped through it… right?"

No one answered her.

"Ah. So you mean to tell me that Ume-kun jumped out of a  _ second story, closed window, onto cement _ , and  _ none of you were concerned for his safety? _ "

This time around no one even looked at her, except for one.

"He jumped out on his own accord before any of us could stop him. He didn't appear to be harmed from the jump at all, in fact it was the sun that was more damaging than anything. Do not mistake our calm for lack of caring."

Jin sighed, rubbing at her eyes, "Yeah, I know, I know. But give me a little credit, Glasses, I just learned that my friend apparently has a tendency for jumping out of second-story windows without even bothering to open them."

"...Terribly sorry… were you referring to me just now?"

The brunette jolted, looking up at the boy and back down again, not liking the calculated look in his eyes, "Sorry. Slipped out."

"The other me has a nickname?"

"Only from me. You almost keel-hauled Tamaki when he used it, so…"

"Is the other me… accepting of this nickname?"

"Seems like. The other you doesn't get mad or look uncomfortable when I use it. In fact, I think he likes it."

"He does? Are you sure you aren't assuming? Personally, I'm not all that comfortable with nicknames myself, so if we are the same person perhaps you should  _ ask _ ."

Jin frowned, not really needing this at the moment, "Are you sure that  _ you _ aren't assuming either? I've been friends with my Kyoya for a lot longer than we've known each other. And I must say, you two are actually very different, if I do say so myself."

Kyoya didn't seem to have a response, merely pulling out his usual black journal and starting to scribble in it. The brunette frowned again. She was not enjoying herself  _ at all. _ These people might be her friends, they weren't at the same time. And it was much more than just their memory of her, their personalities were different as well.

The twins were decently more withdrawn than their counterparts in Jin's world, actually sitting a small distance away from the rest of the group. Same could be said for Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai. The two were acting like they were taking a backseat to whatever was happening in the club, content to just watch and not necessarily interfere. Tamaki was, if possibly, even more spastic than usual. Jin knew he was capable of a deeper thought process at times, but she still had yet to see it in this guy. Haruhi… she didn't want to think about it any more, actually. And then there was Kyoya. Jin almost wanted to bang her head against the table, because the way he was acting now reminded her of when they had first met. In fact, they all were. It was like starting from the bottom again, which would be incredibly tedious.

"Jin-senpai? You're glaring at your tea. Is it too cold?"

"I need to get home. Sooner rather than later."

"But didn't you just say we should wait?"

"Well, what's the harm in trying?"

The hosts shifted in their chairs, not knowing where to start. The elder Fujioka almost screamed ' _ You're all friends here! Just brainstorm together! Come on! Talk to each other! _ '

Instead, she tapped her toes and mused, "Maybe I need to fall asleep again? I mean, the last thing I remember is settling down for a nap and when I woke up here-" Jin faltered. Unconsciously she had started reaching for Kyoya's journal, only to have it quickly moved out of her reach. Everyone was staring.

"Miss Jin?"

"Sorry. Force of habit…"

"The other me lets you see the contents of this journal?"

The brunette shrugged, "I plan to become an accountant, and I like numbers. I help a lot with the financials of this club."

"Well, you don't here. Please do not touch this journal." Receiving a nod, he stood, "I'm going to brainstorm for a bit. Why don't you all… entertain yourselves. Excuse me."

Watching Kyoya walk away, Jin felt a strange emotion bubble up inside of her that she hadn't felt in a long time. Resentment.

"Jin-chan?"

"Why do I care so much about an asshole who wears glasses?" Not wanting an answer, she looked back at the others, "Wanna keep comparing universes?"

* * *

" _ Send my love to your new lo-over~ _

_ Treat her be-e-e-etter~ _

_ Gotta let go, of all of our goals… _

_ We both know we a'int kids no more… _

_ If you're ready _

_ If you're ready _

_ If you're ready _

_ I'm ready _ "

"Miss Jin?"

"AH!" The girl jumped in place, teacup nearly flying out of her hands and sending sprays of soap everywhere, "Yes! What? Hi! Who?" She turned to see Kyoya standing at the entrance of the kitchen and sighed, "Sorry, it's disorienting here."

"Understandable. I was wondering where you had disappeared off to."

Jin gestured to the soap-filled sink, "Washing the dishes. It's something I do for my club. I know you probably let the janitors do it here but I needed something to occupy my time."

"Smart. But then again, any sister of Haruhi would no doubt be incredibly intelligent." The ravenet walked closer, his earlier dismissal of her presence now gone, replaced with intentional flattery, "At first I wasn't sure if you were telling the truth about being related to Haruhi, but clearly you've proven me wrong."

"Skip the fake flattery and tell me why you went looking for me." If he was taken aback by the sharp statement, he didn't show it, which kind of pissed Jin off. Instead Kyoya kept his expression completely neutral, even as he thumbed the back cover of his now opened journal. The move was so casual and typical Jin almost felt physically sick.

"I've been cataloging a few facts and traits you've been showing for the past hour, Miss Jin, to try and get a handle on your personality. Perhaps the reason you are here is to help us with something. As nothing terrible has happened recently or in the time you've been here, I must assume is has something to do with us as a club, rather than any physical calamity."

Jin nodded, rubbing the clean (and not broken) teacup with a soft towel, "And you found..?"

"The way you address, treat, and react with our host club speaks of a very close bond between you and your club members. You trust them, which bleeds over to us. And as you seem surprised whenever they don't return that same amount of trust, I have to assume that they are just as open with you. Additionally, you are incredibly close to your sister, Haruhi. Perhaps more so than the twins are close to each other, but not in the same fashion. You don't depend on each other, but you  _ can _ always rely on having her by your side."

"Good work. I see you're both a workaholic here  _ and _ in my universe." He hesitated, which was more like the Kyoya Jin knew, and she felt the small cavern in her chest shrink.

"I've also thrown together a small hypothesis, but I can not tell for certain if it's the truth."

"A hypothesis? Wow, way to be  _ scientific. _ Go on then, test it out."

"Miss Jin… in your world, are you and I in a relationship?"

This time she did drop the dish in her hands.

Thankfully it was only a spoon.  _ Un _ fortunately she had been rinsing it at the time and the water running out of the faucet was now hitting the curve of the spoon, sending water  _ everywhere. _ Jin grappled for the utensil as she tried to answer.

"No! No, no, we're just friends!" She turned the water off and pulled the spoon out, cheeks a little flushed.

"Very close friends it would seem, if you have a 'cute' nickname for me and I share the information in this journal with you."

Jin groaned, "Like I  _ told _ you, I help with financials! You're the one who asked for my help in the first place! Unlike in my world,  _ you _ and I don't have any history yet! I can't expect you to understand, but we  _ are _ friends and you trust me! Heck, you're the one who carried me across a beach and waited for me to wake up after that drunk broke a bottle over my head! In my world, we actually  _ get along _ ! It took some time, because you  _ used _ to be like this, but now you're actually really cool to hang around! When we played those kid games for the Newspaper Club to write about, you tried to cheat by tickling me when I was supposed to be still!"

She stopped to breath and was pleased to see Kyoya looking quite shocked. He had some trouble collecting the words for his next sentence.

"You say that… and you tell me about everything the other me partakes in… yet we are not-"

"No, you're not tied down or anything, Mr. Ootori."

"Hm."

Jin wasn't expecting him to move, so when he was suddenly way too close and pecking her cheek she hadn't been ready. Of course, by the time she was, he was too far away for her to quickly punch his shoulder.

"What was that?! Why'd you-"

"To test my hypothesis."

" _ What?! _ "

"You say that we are not in a relationship where you are from, but it would seem as though  _ you _ aren't too keen on that statement."

Jin couldn't think of a single thing to say. But, as it so happened, she didn't need to.

" _ Nēchan… Nēchan…" _

"Did you hear that?"

Without waiting for an answer, Jin brushed past the boy and tore out of the kitchen, glad to get away. Her hands were still a little wet from the water, but she couldn't even feel it. The other boys were scattered around the room and staring at the ceiling or the doors.

"You heard it, too?!"

"Yeah…"

"Who was that?"

The twins looked over at the shorter brunette, who was the only one still seated, "It sounded a bit like Haruhi."

"Haru!" Jin grinned. For the first time since she'd taken off after her nap, she felt like her body was whole again, "It's my sister! She calling for me! I can go home!"

" _ Nēchan… Nēchan…" _

"I need to go!"

The brunette started running through the room, ducking around pillars and couches. It sounded like the voice was coming from the doors, so she kept following it.

"Wait!"

Jin skidded to a halt. For a moment she wonders why her body automatically stopped when she could still hear her baby sister's voice calling out for her. Then she realized it was because it heard Haruhi telling her to stop and wait.

The small girl in question was still on the couch, hands in her lap, but staring straight at Jin. All eyes were on her and she looked back down at her woven fingers, "Do you… really have to go?"

Jin tilted her head. Around them she could still faintly hear her real sister calling her name. It was driving her crazy, but something about Haruhi's tone made her pause. "What do you mean?"

Haruhi looked embarrassed, ducking her head.

"Haruhi?"

"I want a sister!" She had stood up very suddenly, hands jumping down to her sides in tightly clenched fists, "I… I-I want someone who will hold me when I'm scared! Someone to share my secrets with! Someone who will always be there to keep me on the right track! And… someone who won't leave me all alone…"

Jin could feel her heart crack, and all she could do was reach out and collect the small girl into a hug, where Haruhi promptly burst into tears, "I'm sorry! This is so stupid of me when you need to go home and I know I told you to not call me Haru but I just… I knew you'd have to leave! I've always wanted a sibling, y'know with being alone all the time! Now… now you're going and I  _ still _ don't want you too!"

"Oh Haruhi… I'm so sorry I'm hurting you like this, but I've already got a sister than I have to get back to. You're wonderful, but I want my Haru… my Host Club… my Glasses. They're important to me. And I'm important to them in ways that I'd never have here."

The small girl nodded, hugging Jin tighter, "I should've enjoyed have a sister when I had one. Before you go, can… can you at least…"

Jin smiled, still able to read her sister like a book. She pressed a lingering kiss to Haruhi's forehead, " _ I love you, Haru. _ "

The little brunette sniffled, finally releasing the taller girl, who ruffled her hair once before turning back towards the door. Lifting her right foot into a half-skip, she ran towards the double doors and pushed them open harshly. Without even a backwards glance, she dove through the darkness.

Behind her the Host Club watched with mixed emotions as she left, probably for good. She hadn't been around long, but there was just  _ something _ there when she spoke to them. Or even looked at them. It was a security most of them didn't really have. And now she was gone after only a short hour.

Kyoya was the first to break the silence, sighing aloud.

"The other me is an idiot… but he definitely is a lucky idiot."

* * *

"Nēchan! Nēchan, wake up already!"

Jin jerked awake, launching herself forward and falling off the seat. Looking around frantically, she saw the inside of an oddly vacant train car. There was only one other occupant, an elderly lady at the far opposite end who was reading a newspaper, ignoring the two teenage girls she was sharing a car with. One of whom was now on the floor, her right hand caked in dirt from other traveler's shoes.

Steadying her breathing, Jin slowly push herself back up into a chair, wiping her dirty hand on her jean shorts, "Haru?"

Haruhi was sitting beside her, eyes wide with concern and a hand gripping her arm tightly, "Nēchan, what happened? I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes!"

Jin didn't know how to answer, her clean hand coming up to her forehead, only to pull her fingers away with a light sheen of sweat.  _ Geez, people actually wake up in cold sweats? Huh. _

"Woah, Nēchan… are you okay? We're almost at Karuizawa, maybe we should stop at a hospital-"

"No… no, I'm fine, Haru."

Turning to stare at her little sister, Jin saw the recognition and the way Haruhi's eyes roamed her own face for nonverbal cues to have a silent conversation. She smiled and leaned back.

_ I'm just fine. _

_ If you're sure… _

At the response, Jin grinned and shut her eyes.  _ It was just a bad dream. Nothing more, nothing less. My stupid imagination… I must really need this vacation more than I thought. _

"So, how long until we get there?"

"Two minutes until we get to the station. Misuzu-chi said he'd be there to walk us the last couple blocks. But Nēchan are you  _ sure _ -"

"Haru? Po-si-tive."

Finally her sister relaxed, "Good. If you're sure, I won't ask any more." Jin smiled again, throwing her left arm over Haruhi's shoulder and pulling her close, but still making sure not to smack her in the face with her cast. With Haruhi happily resting her head on her sister's shoulder, she didn't realize Jin had pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

Jin quickly and quietly went through her photos. She came across the one she had used from her dream. Now that she was awake, she could see the few little bits and pieces she had forgotten while asleep, not to mention the clarity of it all.

Then she swiped right.

It was when Hikaru and Kaoru had taken her phone in the first place for the photo. In the picture was her and Kyoya. She had yet to realize that her phone had been taken, but Kyoya was the one facing the camera. He was smirking kindly, but whether or not it was at the twins holding the phone or how Jin looked to be in a deep, hands-flailing sort of talk with him remains a mystery.

_ You say that we are not in a relationship where you are from, but it would seem as though  _ you _ aren't too keen on that statement. _

Smiling, she pressed the power button just as the train came to a stop.

" _ Karuizawa station. _ "

"Ready for summer vacation, Haru?"

"Definitely."

 


	29. The Refreshing Battle in Karuizawa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just... just so much KyoJin. But it's not canon yet.  
> *Avoids rotten tomatoes*  
> I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I do have a plan for when they DO become canon, I promise!  
> Hope you enjoy!

"Thank you! Have a nice day!" Haruhi smiled and waved as a mother and daughter walked out of Pension Misuzu. Turning back to the table she was wiping down, she rubbed at a particularly stubborn syrup spill, "Who'd have thought working at a Bed and Breakfast would be the ideal way to spend summer vacation, Nēchan?"

Jin smirked from her own table, "Dad, apparently." The bell hanging above the door rang again, prompting both girls to greet the newcomers, three best friends it looked like. Jin moved away from the table she'd just finished clearing off, offering it to the new customers.

"Misuzu-chi will be with you in a moment. Would you like some green tea while you wait?"

The three boys nodded and Jin walked away towards the kitchen. As she passed behind Haruhi, she stopped, "Hey, while I'm getting their tea do you want to hang the sheets out to dry? The washer should be done by now."

"Sounds good, Nēchan."

Jin smiled and slipped behind the bar and into the kitchen, "Misuzu-chi! Guests at table 9! I'm grabbing their tea now!"

Their tall employer and pseudo-uncle suddenly appeared out from around a corner, "Perfect! I swear, Jin, you run Pension Misuzu better than I do!"

"Oh, I highly doubt that!"

"Aww! You're too sweet, dear! How is everything else out there?"

"Just fine! Haru's hanging sheets out back right now, and the other three occupants are still eating. But I think we should be prepared to switch to our lunch menu for this group."

"That sounds just fine, dear. You can do that once you finish serving the tea." Jin nodded and grabbed a spare serving tray, quickly piling three clean teacups and saucers and a fresh pot of tea onto it. "Oh… I do wish you would wear the bandana like your sister… you'd look so cute it in! And I can't believe you two won't wear a skirt with your aprons. But I do suppose your skinny jeans accentuate your butt anyways, Jin."

"H-hey!" The two laughed at the banter. Misuzu-chi had always pretended to fuss about Jin and Haruhi's 'lack of femininity', but since the two of them always looked good in whatever they wore he never put any heat behind the words.

Jin paused mid-laugh, ears catching a strange sound that seemed to be coming closer.

"Do you hear that?"

Her employer stopped laughing as well, hearing the sound as it continued to grow. Frowning, Jin walked back out into the café area. The other occupants were looking around in curiosity. Setting the items on the tray down in front of the boys, Jin walked over to the back door and peered outside.

Just then a very loud voice over an intercom system blares out. The words are a little garbled, not to mention it was hard to hear anything over the sound of the helicopter blades, but judging by the look on Haru's face as she stared up into the sky, there was little argument over who was screaming.

Besides, that voice was unmistakable.

Not even two minutes later the noise was gone and Haruhi was walking back into Pension Misuzu with the entire host club trailing behind her. Jin was waiting for them, her arms crossed but her lips curled in an amused smirk.

"Jin-chan!" Honey runs up to her and delivers a big hug around the middle, "We were so worried about you! Tama-chan said you and Haru-chan became indentured servants because your family went bankrupt!"

Amusement gone, Jin stares at the small boy before she looks at her sister, unimpressed, "You told me you'd tell the boys where we were going for summer vacation so they wouldn't flip out."

"I said I'd think about it. Besides, if you were so concerned why didn't you do it?"

"Because I had to tell Aki that I wouldn't be able to come into the Animal Shelter all summer!"

"Oh, yeah."

Haruhi collapses against her sister's shoulder and mutters an apology as Misuzu-chi ran from the kitchen, "Oh my! You must be the  _ dashing _ boys Jin and Haruhi have told me about! The famous Ouran Highschool Host Club, correct? Just call me Misuzu-chi!"

" _ Kill me. _ " Haruhi groaned into Jin's skin.

"He's an old friend of Ranka's. They used to work at the same bar years ago before Misuzu-chi opened his own Bed and Breakfast."

" _ Kill me. _ "

Jin turned her flat expression to the bespectacled boy, "Let me guess, you've still been contacting our father?"

"Not at all. I had some time to kill during the ride here and did a little extra research." Kyoya couldn't help but recall how he actually  _ couldn't _ contact Ranka any longer, given that the man had told him they were no longer friends because of Kyoya's 'interest' in his daughter. He cleared his throat softly, deciding to not think about that at the moment.

"So, are Haru-chan and Jin-chan your indentured servants?"

" _ Kill me. _ "

"We're more like summertime employees, we just don't get paid."

"Ooooh."

" _ Just kill me. _ "

"I take it this is your father's way of tracking your actions while he's working over the summer?"

"You got it. It's almost as if he doesn't trust us."

Kyoya smirked at the girl before his eyes trailed downwards, taking in her outfit for the day. It wasn't often that he saw her in anything except the school uniform and whatever cosplay Tamaki had selected for them all, so it was always interesting to see how she dressed herself. Unlike her sister, Jin was only wearing a waist-length apron that covered the front of her legs and had pockets for menus, extra chopsticks, and a notepad and pen combo. Underneath the apron was a pair of black skinny jeans, paired with a bright red tank top, her red and green plaid converse, and what looked to be mismatched colorful ankle socks. She looked good.

" _ Kill. Me. _ "

At Haruhi's dark tone, Kyoya quickly averted his gaze. The small girl was already upset with him and the others, no need to make it seem like he was undressing her sister with his eyes. Of course, that spawned a brand new set of thoughts and actually caused his cheeks to flush a light pink. He covered it by adjusting his glasses.

"They're such model employee's, it's a crying shame I can't pay them for the magnificent jobs they do! I swear the only time of year this place runs smoothly is when I have Jin and Haruhi at my side! My only way of showing my appreciation is giving them these cute aprons to wear while they work! What do you think, boys? I made them myself!"

"You are quite the exquisite seamstress! And you made them different so they both feel special and unique!"

"Hm? Oh, you silly boy, that's not the reason their aprons are different at all! See, little Haruhi is so flat chested a full-body apron fits her body perfectly. But with Jin wearing a similar apron would just cause all kinds of problems because of her-"

"HEY! How about we all go out to the back and talk? I think Haru's mouth is about to catch up to her brain and we might not want to be inside when that happens. Misuzu-chi, will you be alright dealing with the guests by yourself?"

The man giggled, "I run this place by myself all year long, I'm sure I can handle fifteen minutes! I'll make you all some tea!"

"Thank you!" Jin quickly pushed her sister out onto the patio, positive the boys were right on her tail.

* * *

 

A few minutes later, they were all sitting down and sipping their green tea.

"So… this is what you meant by your father having plans for you two over the summer?"

"You turned down Bali for  _ this _ ?"

"Don't forget we invited you to Switzerland!"

Jin rolled her eyes, idly twirling her spoon in her drink and listening to the light tinkling as it hit the sides, "Haru? Passport? Or lack thereof? Remember?"

A throat was cleared behind the brunette, "Resort?"

"My dad was dead set on sending us here. We didn't even get a day off. The morning summer vacation started the two of us were packed up and on a train before 6 in the morning. Besides, it's not as though we could've afforded a summer-long stay at one of your family's resorts."

"I could've offered you two a discount."

"Sell that deal to my father and listen to what he has to say." Kyoya looked over his shoulder to shoot a small smile at the girl. Their banter was always entertaining. However, for a brief moment Kyoya saw something flicker in the girl's eyes. A wavering faith. It was gone as soon as it showed up, and the next instant Jin was drawing her drink up to her lips while Tamaki started shouting about 'loyalty' and 'traitors'.

_ What was that, I wonder? _

"So why were your cell phones turned off?"

"We've been calling you all day!"

"Really? What kind of employee's would we be if we talked on the phone while we worked?"

"Haruhi? You have a cell phone?"

Haruhi didn't comment on the leaves and sticks that were all over Tamaki's head, opting instead to pull her phone out of her pocket, "Yeah, Nēchan liked her iPhone so much that Dad decided I should have one too. It's used and doesn't hold as much storage as Nēchan's, but it gets the job done. It's actually  _ really _ nice."

"Do… do you want my number? Just so your Daddy can call you when he's worried?"

Haruhi shook her head, "I already have yours, Senpai. Kyoya sent it to Nēchan in a text, just like everyone else's. We just haven't had the time to tell you about it."

The blond's eyes slowly slid to pierce the back of his best friend's head, already constructing a lecture about _not_ _telling your best friend that you sent their number to a very important person and then not giving them their numbers in return._ But at this particular moment, he had other things to worry about.

"If you had my number then why haven't you ever called me?"

Haruhi shrugged, "I don't really use my phone all that much. Ask anyone. Actually… don't. Why are we even talking about this? I came out here to ask you to leave."

" _ Leave? _ "

"I have to see you guys pretty much everyday when school is in session, not to mention the following year. All I want to do for this summer is to spend it with my sister and no one else. You've already stepped in on our car trips, our days off at home, and where Nēchan volunteers. Is one summer too much to ask?"

"No, can't say that it is… however," Kyoya held the Ouran Academy handbook over his left shoulder for all to see, "According to the handbook, students are prohibited to have jobs while enrolled at Ouran. Paid or unpaid."

Haruhi pales, "I, uh, had no idea. N-Nēchan?"

"Nope."

Kyoya eyes Jin over his shoulder again. She didn't sound very concerned…

The other boys caught on and started "hinting" about how much nicer Karuizawa sounded compared to their planned vacations. Haruhi, of course, was screaming. Jin just leaned back in her chair and sipped her tea, lips curved upwards ever so slightly.

A whisper gently tickled Jin's left ear, " _ Are you not upset? _ "

"Not at all. Unlike Haru, I don't mind the Host Club's company. Maybe because I'm used to odd behaviour. My friends in America were anything but normal. Still, don't expect any special treatment from me." Jin turned her head and winked, "Haru would never forgive me if I did."

Her friend chuckled and went back to his chair as Misuzu-chi poked his head out the door, "Everything alright out here? I heard screams."

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Excuse us, Misuzu-chi…"

"...but would there be any empty rooms left at Pension Misuzu?"

"We'd like to spend our vacation with our friends."

"Oh dear… I'm so sorry boys, but I only have one vacant room for the rest of the summer!" Poor Misuzu-chi looked like he was about to cry, and he wasn't the only one. As soon as Tamaki heard of the one room, he announced he'd be the one to use it, prompting a wail from Honey-senpai. Next the twins turned the tall blonds own words against him, wringing out tears from their 'Boss' who "couldn't believe my own men would fight against me". Kyoya watched with vague amusement.

_ I wonder who will be the one to stay. If you look at it logically, the twins should be automatically ejected, because there's no way one of them would leave the other alone here. Honey-senpai might try to stay, but he'll eventually become fearful of staying someplace he's unfamiliar with. Mori-senpai wouldn't stay even if he wanted to due to Honey-senpai being away. As for Tamaki… I'm sure Haruhi could persuade either Misuzu-chi or Jin to not let him stay. Perhaps  _ I  _ should throw my name into the drawing as well. After all… _ his eyes trailed over the brunette girl sipping the last of her tea down.

"We've got an idea, Boss…"

"Let's hold a competition to see who gets the last room."

"It's a very simple game, we all just lend a hand around the Pension."

"And whoever impresses Misuzu-chi the most wins."

"THAT'S BRILLIANT! THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DELIGHTFUL IDEA! WHOEVER EARNS THE MOST 'REFRESHER POINTS' STAYS AT PENSION MISUZU!"

Kyoya turned back around, taking too big of a gulp from his cup.  _ God damn it. Can't one thing go right today? _

"Why are you sulking, Glasses?" He felt his chair list to the right and looked up at the girl now leaning against it.

"No reason, I just find the competition pointless."

"You're not even going to try?"

"I have no chance of winning, so what would be the point? Exactly what about me could be considered refreshing?"

Jin pressed a finger to her cheek, "Hm… Well, you're certainly honest, but that can go both ways. You're nice when you want to be, but I'm not exactly sure what would happen if someone got on your nerves. Not everyone who comes here is exactly in the best mood. You're very intelligent, and lots of girls find that attractive, and it certainly is refreshing with all the idiots people put up with everyday, but you flaunt your intelligence a bit too much. Um… how are you with household chores?"

He stares at her.

"Cooking?"

He stares some more.

She sighs and spins around, now leaning against the table, "Well… sorry, Kyoya. I wish I could help at least give you a chance. That is… if you even wanted the room in the first place."

"Are you saying you wish I'd stay here?"

Jin shrugs, but eyes him playfully, "Mmm… unclear. I've heard horror stories from Tamaki about you in the mornings."

Kyoya sets his cup down with a sharp  _ click _ , "Has he now?"

"Yeah, just a few. But I'm sure he over exaggerated a few points."

"...You're too kind."

"Ha! Does that mean I get a refresher point?"

"I don't think that's how the game works. Now, run along before your boss fires you for slacking on the job."

"He's not even paying me!"

The ravenet shook his head as the girl wandered back indoors to man the café. Haru was right behind her, clearly 'hosted' out at the moment. Deciding he wouldn't be needed out here any longer, Kyoya gathered his empty tea cup and saucer. He took a step towards the door before noticing Jin had forgotten her own dishes on the other table. Smirking, he grabbed hers as well and continued on his way.

Kyoya was completely unaware that, while Misuzu-chi continued listing all of the little chores he wanted completed by the end of the day, two 3rd years were staring at him. The way his whole body had relaxed whenever he spoke to their childhood friend. The lingering stares. And how he was very obviously following Jin around like some lost puppy.

Honey-senpai looked up at his cousin to see Takashi looking just as shocked as he felt.

"Takashi… are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

* Time Skip *

_ Well, that didn't take long. _

Kyoya watched as Misuzu-chi started tearing Tamaki a new one over the horribly done fence. At least the old rickety one had been set properly. And Honey's cuteness was quickly rejected too.

_ Perhaps this is where Jin learned how to withstand 'Puppy-dog eyes'? _

He hadn't felt the need to share the information, but Kyoya knew that Misuzu-chi and the girls had a closer bond than they let on. The transvestite was something akin to a relative to them, and they visited each other a few times a year. This wasn't the first time they had worked for him over the summer.

"So, how's the boss doing?"

"Have his charms worked like he thought they would?"

Kyoya smirked and moved away from the window, "You know that they haven't. And you have guests."

The twins skipped off happily to greet the two ladies who had just walked in and Haruhi moved to take their place, "So… I've noticed you're not really… trying to win, Kyoya-senpai."

"I don't need the room, and as I've already told your sister this isn't exactly a game I have the upper hand in, so why bother? On that particular note, where did Jin go? I swear she was out here just a moment ago, but I turned my head for one second and she vanished."

The short brunette pursed her lips, eyes narrowing thoughtfully, "I think… she went to the backroom. Just go through the kitchen doors and take a left. There should be a door there that reads 'Office'."

"Thank you."

He walked away, repeating the girls' directions in his head as Misuzu-chi started gawking over Mori-senpai.  _ Looks like we have a Dark Horse. _

Slipping through the swing doors and moving to the office quickly, Kyoya knocked on the door before pushing it open, "Anyone here?"

"Kyoya?" Jin's brown eyes peeked around the monitor of a laptop. Squirming in her seat to sit upright, the girl reached behind her with her right hand to pull a nearby chair to her side, "What are you doing back here?"

"It  _ is _ possible for me to become bored, you know. Haruhi gave me directions back here, because I assumed you'd be doing something a little more interesting."

The girl rolled her eyes, moving back to the laptop, "Eh, maybe you'll be of some help, but I can't promise entertainment. I'm just putting Misuzu-chi's financial statements online and double checking them with his online banking."

Kyoya cocked an eyebrow, lifting one of the many papers on the desk to read it, "He trusts you with his bank statements?"

"Looks like. I've been asked to handle the financials for the rest of the summer. With all the accounting classes I've taken both here and in America, plus the online class I'm starting in a few days,  _ and _ all the help I've given to you with the Host Club's budgeting, he figured I'd be able to handle this just fine. And besides…  _ I get to play with an adding machine! _ " The girl laughed maniacally, happily wiggling in her seat as Kyoya's eyes fell to what looked like an over exaggerated calculator.

He smiled, "Do you always geek out over math related items?"

"Sometimes. Okay, so I left off on last month's shipment of new bed sheets..."

* Time Skip *

"Next."

"That's it."

Jin felt her neck crick as she finally moved it. Blinking rapidly as her eyes left the bright computer screen, she used her cramping right hand to brush away the tears, "What? We're done already?"

"'Already?' We haven't moved from these chairs in over an hour." The ravenet watched in amusement as the girl blinked owlishly at the clock hanging above the office door. "And you have the gall to call  _ me _ the workaholic."

She rolled her neck, "Shut up, Glasses. Are we actually done or are you just saying that to make me take a break?"

Kyoya lifted his hands away from the desk, "Look, no papers. Everything else has been shredded already. Now will you please take a break for your own health?"

Jin stuck her lower lip out in a pout, but quickly agreed once her friend stood up and started wheeling her chair towards the door. Haruhi joined them not ten minutes later on the back deck, a bowl of chicken ramen and a single cup of tea cooling in front of them.

"Haru! Over here!"

"Hey, Nēchan. Taking a break?"

"Finished, actually."

Haruhi looked down at the tea, "Jasmine tea? I don't know how you do it, Kyoya-senpai, it's way to hot to be drinking hot tea outside." He shrugged, taking a small sip, so she continued, "Actually I've been wondering; since you're not planning on staying at the Pension, then where? Pension Misuzu is the largest in the area, so if it's booked for the rest of the summer I'm not sure what other available rooms you'll find…"

"I appreciate your concern, Haruhi, but I'll just stay at my family's cottage for the summer."

"Cottage?"

Jin blew gently on the bowl, "So your family has a place in the area, too? I remember Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai mentioning their family homes here once before. The other three as well?"

Kyoya nodded, "There's really no consequence for any of us to lose. And with that in mind, Haruhi, do you have a favorite to win? You must have someone in mind; care to bet?"

"Not really. I have no clue who Misuzu-chi will pick, he's a little flight-y."

Jin shakes her head, "Well, it's fairly obvious."

"Really?"

"Of course. First off, Honey-senpai may be cute, but Misuzu-chi is looking for the more 'attractive' kind of guy to stay here, so he's out. Which, in turn, pulls Mori-senpai out of the running, despite how many points he may receive; if Honey goes, he goes. Tamaki, while he has the looks Misuzu-chi wants, won't win unless he keeps his mouth shut. And we all know how probable that will be."

"Which means victory-"

"-is ours."

Haruhi jumped at the twins voices, turning around to see them looking very much like the cats who got the cream, "Well, that may be so, but didn't Misuzu-chi mention how the available room only has a single-person bed?"

"We'll work it out."

Not impressed, the brunette walked closer, "How, exactly? We can't take any beds out of the other rooms."

As the twins and Haruhi continued talking about solving the whole single-bed issue, Jin felt her left foot slide a little across the smoothed wood, "Hm?"

"Once again, you have impressed me."

She smirked around her bite of ramen and swallows, "Kyoya, I think we're at the point where you don't have to tell me, I'll just always assume I've impressed you with whatever I've just said."

He smirks and slides her his tea cup, "I noticed you didn't bring out a drink."

She raised an eyebrow, but took the ceramic in her hands anyways. Letting her eyes roam the grassy yard, she hummed lightly as the slightly sweet taste flooded over her tongue. Kyoya accepts both his cup back and the 'thank you' as the girl returned to her food. Both of them blissfully unaware of the shell-shocked expressions on the 1st years' faces.

_ Indirectly kissing… _

"So, Kyoya, do you think the contest is really decided?"

"Not necessarily… there are still any number of ways to make this game a little more interesting."

Kaoru was the first to shake himself out of his shock, "Oh yeah?"

"Thinking about helping the Boss, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Now, I never said that."

Jin chuckled, standing up with her empty ramen bowl in hand, " _ I wonder if Tamaki's aware that we have a piano? _ " Shooting a wink at the ravenet, she headed back in, humming softly.

Haruhi swore she could actually  _ hear _ Kyoya's heart pounding in his chest as he watched her go.

* * *

Mozart's Sonata in D Major peacefully drifted through the air, the wind gently pushing it around to reach the ears of those passing by. Jin swayed to the music as she roamed the backyard. Her eyes followed the poorly repaired fence, mentally tallying up all the new boards she'd need to order so she could properly fix it. She smiled, remembering once again that tomorrow she would finally get to take off the stupid cast around her wrist. It didn't hurt anymore, and it would be just in time for a summer with the Host Club!

Her grin falters as another memory pops up, of her hitting a branch and feeling that jolt of pain down her arm. Unknowingly, she rubbed the back of her cast-covered hand, her forefinger tracing the smiley face Honey had drawn there.  _ It was only a dream… so why am I still affected by it? _

She'd told Haruhi about her dream, just a little bit, and it was clear her sister wasn't taking it very seriously. To be fair, Jin hadn't taken Haruhi's Wonderland dream all that seriously either, but this one had been different. It had been deeply unsettling to look at some of the people she was closest too and receive nothing in return. Not only that, but her friends had been merely shells of themselves, not close to anyone else or even each other.

It sounded almost narcissistic, but Jin was very glad that she had been born.

"Look out!"

_ Crash! _

Jin jolted out of her thoughts, not even thinking as she bolted towards the sound of shattering glass. Rounding the corner she saw Kaoru's back, hunched over Haruhi on the porch. A broken vase was only a foot away from them.

She jumped up onto the wood, "Haru! Kaoru! Are you two alright?"

The redhead slowly uncurled himself, sitting back on his heels and smiling calmly, "Yeah, Jin-senpai. We're oka-"

Jin cut him off with a tight hug, pulling Haruhi in as well, "You didn't get cut, right? What happened?"

"Hey, don't worry, Jin-senpai! We're fine!"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know that vase was there!" A guest called down from the second floor. Kaoru smiled up at the girl reassuringly, but Jin's eyes zeroed in on his cheek.

"Kaoru, you're hurt!"

"What?!" Before Jin could do anything about it, Hikaru was pulling his brother from her grasp to take a look himself. Knowing Kaoru was in good hands, she turned to her own sibling.

"And you? That glass sprayed everywhere; you weren't nicked at all?" Jin continued to poke and prod at her sister, inspecting each of her fingers one by one as Haruhi tried to convince her she was completely fine. It wasn't until the younger girl grabbed at Jin's hands herself, forcing them to make eye contact.

"Nēchan! I promise you I'm completely fine. Kaoru pulled me out of the way just in time. I'm not hurt at all."

"Okay… okay, I trust you. Just... don't scare me like that ever again." Haruhi doesn't respond verbally, leaning forward instead to hug her sister tightly.

"BRAVO! BRAVO! 100 REFRESHER POINTS FOR BROTHERLY LOVE! A PERFECT SCORE! AND THE ROOM GOES TO THE HITACHIIN BROTHERS!"

The two jump apart and stare at their pseudo-uncle. For a split second… they had wondered if he had been talking about  _ them. _ Only to turn around and see the two redheads kneeling close to each other, smiling broadly with their arms slung over each other's shoulders.

"Huh, well I guess that's fair considering you got hurt and still remained 'refreshing'. Besides, you two really worked hard for that room. Nice work."

"Congratulations, you guys!"

Kaoru and Hikaru continue to look completely innocent for the following three seconds… before regressing into much darker expressions, "Oh… it was nothing…"

Haruhi's jaw dropped.

Jin stood, "You mean to say that you faked that? Really? After all this time, you still- gah!" Spinning around, the girl started marching off the porch, grumbling about stupid 1st years and trash bags. Kaoru felt something pinch in his chest as jumped up to follow her, finally managing to grab onto her shoulder.

"Jin-senpai?"

"What?"

"I… thank you. For worrying about me. That meant a lot. For what it's worth, you're like the older sister I never knew I wanted."

Jin's face softened, her hand coming up to gently squeeze the redheads, "I always worry about you boys, but I'm glad that you're okay. I'll grab a bandage for you when I get the garbage bags for the glass. Could you sweep the glass up while you wait?"

"Sure thing, Jin-senpai."

* The Next Morning *

"Come on, I've already said I was sorry, like, a  _ million _ times! You're the one who said we wouldn't need the bed from the cottage, remember? I didn't mean to kick you out of it last night. These little things called  _ accidents _ do tend to happen _. _ "

"Accident or not, my back is  _ killing _ me. Which means  _ you're _ paying for our breakfast."

"Fine!"

The twins threw themselves into an empty table and looked around. Haruhi was currently pouring a young couple a cup of tea and they waved her over, not seeing her sister.

"What's with the long faces?"

"We don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, can you just take our breakfast orders? Or maybe get Jin to take them so you can go back to… whatever it was you were doing before?"

The brunette rolled her eyes, flipping their tea cups over so she could fill them with tea, "Nēchan's at the hospital right now, getting her cast taken off. She should be back in about twenty minutes or so."

Despite the rough start to the morning, Kaoru found his mood perking, "She's finally getting it taken off? I bet she's happy about that! Why didn't she tell us?"

"I don't know. Maybe she wanted it to be a surprise? I do know she's keeping it, though. She likes looking at the silly pictures you guys drew all over it, especially your dinosaurs with laser beams, Hikaru. If it wasn't so uncomfortable I doubt she'd even  _ want _ to take it off."

And now, the twins were officially in better moods, waving over the other hosts as they walked through the doors, "Hey, guys! Over here!"

"Guess what? Jin-senpai's getting her cast off today!"

"Really?"

The four boys quickly grabbed a few more chairs to sit around the twin's table, Haruhi filling their tea cups before heading back to the kitchen. While it was great that Jin was getting her cast off, it also meant that Haruhi had double the amount of chores to do this morning, which meant waiting on  _ all  _ of the customers in the café. Even when Tamaki stepped into the kitchen to lend Misuzu-chi a helping hand, there was still a lot to do for one little waitress.

She was still running around when their morning delivery of fresh produce arrived.

"Good morning! Arai produce!"

"Ah, yes! Good morning! I'll be with you in a sec-"

She stopped, eyes going wide as the boy lifted his hat.

"Wait… Haruhi?"

"Hiroshi!" The brunette jogged over to him, "I can't believe it!"

The two smiled brightly at each other, totally missing the devastation going on behind them.

" _ HUH?! _ "


	30. Late Night Chats!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title sucks, sorry. And this is a really short chapter that's just fluffy filler work. Also, texting conversations. Bold text is the person sending the message, italics following is the message. Hope it's not too confusing! Enjoy!

"Hey, it's getting pretty dark out."

"Maybe we should turn in for the night. It'll take at least five minutes to drive to our cottage from here."

The twins shared a somber look before cracking up. The other six teenagers didn't outwardly react. The four boys continued to watch the card game the sisters were playing, trying to quell the urge to strangle the redheads.

Another fifteen seconds of hysterical laughter later, however, and Jin sighed aloud, "Yes, yes, you won the game, even though I'm sure that last bit was borderline cheating. What do you want, a medal?"

"Well, if you're offering."

Jin rolled her eyes, "You know, for 15 year olds, you're surprisingly immature." She returned her attention back to the game, laying down a 5 on one of the piles, then discarding, "Your turn, Haru."

Her sister nodded, picking up two cards from the deck. The name 'Skip-bo' was scrawled on the back of each blue card and Jin had to fight the urge to flip her sister's cards so they were all facing the right way up. It was such a pet peeve of hers; to avoid doing it Jin forced her gaze up to Haruhi's face instead. It was clear in the set of her eyebrows that she was still struggling a little to remember all the rules, but so far Haru looked like she was enjoying the game. Of course 'Phase 10' was still her favorite card game Jin had brought back from America.

"To be fair, we did  _ just _ turn 15 a few days ago."

Misuzu-chi looked up from where he was wiping the bar counter down, "Oh, you had a birthday a while ago? Did you have fun? I always love birthday… parties!" He gasped, washcloth falling from his fingers, "I completely forgot!" And with that, he bolted into the kitchen. Frowning, Jin set her cards down and went to follow him, but he was back out just as quickly as he'd left. This time he had a rather large package in his arms. It wasn't very solid, as it kept sagging over his arms, but he was beaming as he shoved the balloon wrapping paper into Jin's arms.

"Misuzu-chi?"

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Of course! I can't believe I forgot about it!"

The boys were leaning in, "Forgot what?"

"It's the present I bought for their last birthdays! I had to miss it because a sports team rented out most of the Pension before I could announce it was closed for the day! I can finally give it to them now!" Haruhi set her own cards down and went to help her sister tear at the wrapping. As they did so, the hosts began grilling them for answers.

"Misuzu-chi comes to your birthdays?"

"Hold on, do you two celebrate your birthdays on the same day?"

"Haruhi was born the day before my 1st birthday. Her date is February 4th, while mine is the 5th. And since we've always been so close, we just figured we'd hold one  _ big _ celebration every year, alternating the dates of course. And of  _ course _ Misuzu-chi comes to our birthdays! He's like an uncle to us!"

Finally the balloon paper was ripped in half and the two pulled their present out. Whatever it was, it was big and fluffy and a nice dark blue color.

"It's a little useless in the summertime, I know, but I hope you still like it."

The girls didn't respond. Their eyes were all but bugged as Jin held the top corners of the blanket high above her head, the bottom still trailing against the floor. Now that it was unfolded all the way, they could see the few spots of white and black and even a tiny little pinpoint of yellow, making a strange pattern across the fabric. The very top of it read, in English, 'Police Box' and 'Public Call'.

Before the boys could ask, Jin started jumping up and down, making the blanket shake, " _ It's the Tardis! It's a Tardis blanket! Oh my gosh! _ "

Haruhi didn't look any less excited, "Where did you  _ find _ this?"

" _ Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! _ " Jin began rubbing her face in the blanket as Haruhi pulled her pseudo-uncle in for a huge hug. The older Fujioka, head still buried in the blanket, reached out and hugged him as well. Honey was the first one brave enough to sneak forward and touch the edge of the blanket himself. Instantly he cuddled it close.

"It's so  _ sooooft! _ "

Jin pulled her head out, hair a rumpled mess, "I know, right? I just wanna-" She broke off the sentence by dropping to the floor and rolling herself over the blanket, effectively burritoing herself inside, only her feet and some of her hair sticking out of the ends. The lump that used to be Jin Fujioka wiggled twice before going still. A voice called out from inside, muffled from the many layers around her.

" _ Wake me if civilization ends. _ "

The others laugh, Kyoya throwing in his two cents, "If even Jin is growing tired, perhaps we should all go to bed. That is, if we all want to meet back here early tomorrow morning." Tamaki was quick to second the motion, and a few minutes later four of the boys were waving their goodbyes and the two sets of siblings disappeared into their rooms.

* * *

 

Hikaru and Kaoru were in the far corner of the Pension, completely opposite of the Fujioka siblings. Since they were technically "employees" they were in the room next to Misuzu-chi's on the ground floor. While there was also only one bed in their room, it was a double so the two girls fit on it just fine.

Jin hummed a random tune as she lay on her stomach, thumb lifting and falling on the 'channel up' button, eyes regarding each program for perhaps three seconds before moving on. Her brown eyes noted her sister as she exited their bathroom in pajamas.

"There is  _ nothing _ on."

Haruhi crawled onto her side of the bed, happily tucking her bare legs underneath the Tardis blanket, "Then put in one of the movies we brought."

The elder Fujioka pondered the suggestion for a moment before huffing and rolling off her half of the soft blanket. She pulled out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone out of one of their bags and stuck it into the DVD player, but she wasn't fast enough. Jin turned back around just in time to see Haruhi tucking the rest of the 7 foot blanket under her legs with a smug smile.

"Hey!"

The girls laughed as they pretended to fight over the blanket. It wasn't until Jin whapped her sister's arm with a pillow that she relented. Before the title screen was even up they had settled once more, Haruhi with half of the blanket over her legs and Jin laying on her stomach over the other half.

The taller sibling readjusted her glasses, which had slid down during their 'battle', "Do you think we should take a look at the Japanese Dub versions, Haru?"

"Why? I think the original English version would be better in my opinion. Besides, we both understand it just fine."

"True… but I'm still curious-"

_ Vvvp! Vvvp! _

"Haru, can you tell me who that is? Pretty please?"

Haruhi leaned across her sister's legs, scooping up the phone and taking a look at the screen, "Nēchan? Why does Kyoya-senpai have a  _ million _ emoji's next to his name?"

Jin quickly pushed herself up off her stomach, snatching the device from her sister, "I hardly think that  _ two _ emoji's counts as a million, Haru. Besides, I couldn't chose between the laptop or the glasses. Forgive me."

The short haired brunette watched as her sister quickly unlocked her phone to read the message. She waited until Jin was in the middle of typing out a response before speaking up.

"How come I only have one emoji by my name?"

"Because you only need a single red heart."

"What if I want two?"

"Haru…"

"Fine."

The girls settled down again and sit through the first twenty minutes of the movie in peace. Whenever Haruhi's eyes strayed from the screen to her sister, she was either texting or watching the movie while she waited for Kyoya to respond. Smiling, Haruhi leaned more comfortably against the headboard.

_ I never would've guessed that Kyoya would be the kind of person to text someone late at night when they saw each other not even ten minutes before. But then again, he doesn't seem like the person to share his teacup or let someone lay their legs over his lap or even flirt at all. Looks like Nēchan just… pulls out the sweeter side of him, without having him change anything about his personality. Huh. I guess everyone really does has someone. _

She grinned as Jin's shoulders bounced with silent laughter before responding to her latest text.

_ Ding ding! Ding ding! _

"Hm?" Haruhi turned her head to the left, seeing her own phone's screen light up from its spot on the nightstand. Swiping it off the table and flicking the volume off, she read the message.

**Kaoru:** _We need to talk_

"What?"

"What was that, Haru?"

"Oh, nothing. Just Kaoru being weird."

"Alright."

Nodding, even though she knew Jin couldn't see, Haruhi unlocked her phone and went straight for the message. She was quick to notice that she wasn't the only member of this chat. At the top of the screen she saw the names Hikaru, Tamaki-senpai, Mori-senpai, and Honey-senpai beside Kaoru's. The only two people not included…

Her eyes trailed over her sister's back and the phone that was still occasionally lighting up in her hands.

**Haruhi:** _Guys? What's going on?_

**Tamaki:** _ Haruhi? Is that you? _

The small brunette groaned.  _ Oh no... _

**Tamaki:** _Haruhi! Look, I now have your number!_

**Tamaki:** _ Daddy can text you whenever, now! _

**Tamaki:** _ I'm so happy Haruhi! I wish I could just give you a big virtual hug! _

**Hikaru:** _ Boss, focus. This is serious _

**Kaoru:** _Yeah, we didn't make this group chat just to give you Haruhi's number_

**Haruhi:** _ Then why? _

**Hikaru:** _Hold on, Haruhi. Just to make sure, is Jin-senpai going to_ _ask why your phone's blowing up all of the sudden?_

 **Haruhi:** _Nah, we've got Harry Potter in and I'm pretty sure she's still texting Kyoya-senpai_

The brunette looked away from her phone screen. Jin was in the exact same position she'd last seen her in: feet in the air, head at the foot of the bed, and face bright with the light of her screen. The movie was still playing on in front of them, but both girls pretty much knew it by heart. It was more the comfort they felt whenever Harry Potter was on the television screen than actually watching the movie.

**Haruhi:** _Yup_

 **Hikaru:** _Then we'd better get started_

 **Honey:** _Wait, what are we talking about?_

 **Hikaru:** _Isn't it obvious Honey-senpai?_

 **Kaoru:** _We need to talk about Kyoya-senpai and Jin-senpai and their feelings for each other_

Haruhi felt like she shouldn't feel  _ this _ amused at the knowledge that the twins texted just like they spoke. On the other hand-

**Honey:** _ YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT, TOO? _

**Kaoru:** _ WAIT, DID YOU FIGURE IT OUT? _

**Tamaki:** _ HOLD ON, HAS EVERYONE HERE DISCOVERED THAT THEY'VE FALLEN FOR EACH OTHER? HIKARU AND KAORU YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME WHEN I TOLD YOU! _

**Haruhi:** _ Everyone needs to stop text-screaming _

**Hikaru:** _ HOW WERE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE YOU, BOSS? _

**Kaoru:** _ WE NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN! _

**Haruhi:** _ Guys… _

**Tamaki:** _ THEY'RE SO CUTE! MY BEST FRIEND HAS FINALLY FOUND LOVE~ _

**Honey:** _ He'd better treat her right or else I'm not holding back… _

At Honey-senpai's threat the texts stopped. Haruhi took this as an omen that she could put in her two-cents.

**Haruhi:** _ Listen, you guys. I haven't known Kyoya-senpai for as long as you all, but I know Nēchan. She knows what she's doing when it comes to her life. If she's chosen Kyoya-senpai for whatever reason, then I trust her. And if Kyoya-senpai's 'fallen' for her, too… then I don't think we have anything to worry about. They'd be good for each other. _

**Kaoru:** _ Yeah… _

**Hikaru:** _ That's true… _

**Honey:** _ So should we tell them? _

**Mori:** _ No. _

**Hikaru:** _ Why not? _

**Tamaki:** _ Mori-senpai, if they've taken this long, then how much longer will we need to wait? _

**Haruhi:** _ Look, I'm glad that we all think that they should be with each other, but I agree with Mori-senpai. We should really just let them figure it all out themselves, when they're ready. We can't just… push them into a relationship. Neither of them have experienced this before, correct? They're going to be freaked out of their minds if we shove them at each other! So… let's just let it happen, in it's own time. _

**Tamaki:** _ WE'LL BE IN OUR THIRTIES BY THEN! THEY'RE SO OBLIVIOUS! _

**Haruhi:** _ Do you really think they'd be oblivious for that long? When Kyoya-senpai and Nēchan both keep turning down dates and not-so-subtly flirt with each other? No, I think they'll be together before they graduate. Most likely before this year is out. _

**Kaoru:** _ Well... _

**Hikaru:** _ If you're sure… _

**Honey:** _ Then we'll leave them alone! _

**Mori:** _ Agreed. _

**Tamaki:** _ Then that's settled! We'll just let them figure it out themselves. And on that note, I'm going to bed. Goodnight! _

**Hikaru:** _ Night, Boss. And we're turning in, too. _

**Kaoru:** _ Night, guys. _

**Honey:** _ Goodnight~ _

**Takashi:** _ See you tomorrow _

**Haruhi:** _ Night, boys. _

Sighing, the brunette set her phone back down on the nightstand and yawned. Her eyelids  _ were _ feeling a little heavy. It had been a long day. Maybe she could turn down the movie's volume and go to sleep while Jin continued to watch? Leaned forward, Haruhi grabbed the remote laying beside her sister, and paused. Jin was fast asleep, head resting in the crook of her elbow and her free hand still curled around her phone.

_ Cute. _

Smiling, Haruhi stopped the movie and turned the television off. The room fell into complete darkness, so she risked pulling the phone out of her sister's hand and moving her into a more proper sleeping position. Considering Jin was obviously exhausted from the day and the fact she slept like the dead for the first hour after she fell asleep (as Haruhi recalled from their train ride to the Pension a few days ago), she managed to do so without waking her sister.

Throwing half of the blankets over Jin's body, Haruhi grabbed her sister's glasses off her face and placed them on the nightstand. Just as she set them down, Jin's phone screen lit up.

Hesitating for a moment, but unable to withstand the curiosity, she picked it up.

**Kyoya:** _ Goodnight, Jin. _

Haruhi shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips.  _ Maybe this won't take as long as I thought it would... _

* * *

 

_ Vvvv! Vvvv! _

Groaning softly, Jin lifted her right hand and pressed the red button on her phone. Instantly the vibrations stopped. Shoving herself away from the warmth of her bed, she rubbed at her eyes. The final traces of sleep began bleeding out as Jin forced her eyes open and picked up her phone.

Now that the alarm was off, she could see the very last text message Kyoya had sent the night before. It pulled a giggle from her lips, which she stifled quickly as to not wake her sister. Rolling out of bed, Jin took only ten minutes to get ready for her day out. She didn't need to be 'dressed for work' until after she got home from the hospital, so she grabbed a random pair of tan shorts, a t-shirt, did some morning cleansing and she was ready to go.

Just before she walked out of the bathroom, a sparkle caught her eye. Her kudu klip. Jin only hesitated for a moment before grabbing it and started twisting her hair up. She didn't wear the clip often outside of summer vacation, as she mostly used it to keep her hair off her neck on hot days. It was very pretty, with it's brown beads that matched her hair, the silver accents, and the four long aquamarine stones in the center. It was her favorite accessory, mostly because it was easy to put in and also because her best friend had bought it for her while they were in America.

It was special.

She gave Haruhi a quick kiss to her forehead before grabbing her bag and slipping out the door.

* Time Skip *

"I'm free~!"

Jin happily sprang out of the hospital, grinning from ear to ear. A gentle breeze brushed past the girl and she sighed as her left wrist was exposed to fresh air once more. Her wrist was very pale, but looked better now than it did when she first got the cast off. It had been gross looking and flaky, and as soon as the doctor finished listing the Do's and Don't's, she had slipped into the first bathroom she'd come across and gently washed the area with some warm water and soap. After rubbing some cocoa butter lotion on the area (she had done a little research before coming here) her wrist now just looked like it had missed out on some tanning Jin had done.

She knew she'd have to take it easy with her wrist for the next few days, but she would be happy to do so now that the cast was off. After a month or two her wrist would be back in working order. Grinning, Jin began heading for the Pension, which was about a twenty minute walk from the hospital. The boys would be thrilled to see her cast gone, even though she still had it in her drawstring bag. What else could she say? The drawings and signatures were cute!

"WATCH OUT!"

"AH!"

Jin barely moved back in time to avoid being run down by a bicycle. The boy riding it swerved to his left, jumping off the seat and pulling the bike to a complete stop before it was sent into oncoming traffic. The tan box attached to the back of it nearly went sailing if it weren't for the boy's quick reflexes.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

The brunette's heart was pounding loudly in her chest, forcing her to breathe a little heavier than normal before replying.

"Yeah… I'm okay. You?"

"I'm fine. Really, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!"

Jin was about to respond again when something registered. That voice… Her eyes widened in surprise as the boy removed his helmet. He was using his right hand to unclip the strap, his left arm still holding the box. It had an orange painted on the side with the words 'Arai Produce' written beneath it.

A mess of ruffled dirty blond hair appeared when the helmet was gone. Two blue eyes widening comically behind a pair of golden glasses as they registered who exactly was in front of them.

"Jin?"

"Oh… my…"


	31. Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger. Hope you like how it pans out!

 

Hiroshi set his box of fruit down on a nearby table before pulling the small brunette girl in front of him into a tight hug, "I haven't seen you since we started high school! How've you been, Haruhi?"

"I'm alright! Nēchan came back from America."

"I know!"

"Oh, right! I forgot your older brother went too." She stepped back from the hug and began leading her friend towards a table. Just as they sat down, they were surrounded by the rest of the Host Club.

"Uh… are these your friends, Haruhi?"

"Oh, yeah. These are Hikaru and Kaoru, they're in my class. That's Tamaki-s… Um, Tamaki... and Kyoya-senpai, Nēchan's classmates. And those two are Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai, 3rd years. We're all in the same club together at Ouran."

"Your sister, too? Where is Jin, by the way? Is she working?" Before anyone could question the lack of a Senpai added to Jin's name, despite the boy clearly being younger than her, a familiar voice called out from behind them.

"Actually, Jin is right here."

The eight turned around to see Jin walking through the door, cast-free… but trailed by a very tall, blond, glasses-wearing boy who was smiling broadly. Haruhi brightened at the sight of Jin's find.

"Beni! You're here, too!"

The other boy laughed, walking to their table and ruffling Hiroshi's hair, "Did you really think I'd let my little brother out of my sight over summer vacation? He couldn't get rid of me if he tried!"

The brunet rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, Niichan."

"Wait! Wait, wait, hold on for  _ one _ second!" The four stopped moving and stared at Tamaki. The blond was pointing towards them with an accusing finger, "Who  _ are _ these people?"

Jin smiled apologetically, "Oops, sorry guys. This is Hiroshi and Beni Arai, our best friends from public school."

The blond and brunet boy give the hosts identical smiles, "Pleased to meet you!"

Silence.

Tamaki and the twins were staring at Hiroshi, wondered exactly how close these boys were to the girls. Mori and Honey were regarding Beni, remembering some of Jin's stories about him, but surprised as well because she had failed to mention that her best friend was just as tall as Mori. And Kyoya? He looked like his body had just been chiseled from a marble column.

Jin cleared her throat, "So… do you want to sit and chat?"

* Time Skip *

"Hold on, you're a year older than Jin-chan but you two are still best friends?"

Beni nodded, pulling away from his lemonade straw, "Of course. You two and Jin-chan became close friends when you were kids, didn't you? So you know it's possible. She told me all about you, by the way! Congrats on winning all those tournaments; I actually saw one or two a few years ago. You and Jin-chan are very closely matched, Honey-san. It was an honor to watch you spar."

The small blond blushed at the rush of compliments, "Thank you so much! And you can just call me Honey! We're the same age, after all!"

Jin drifted over with a small tray of dirty dishes. Misuzu-chi had let Haruhi take a little break from work so she could reconnect with her friend, but seeing as how Beni and Jin still talked often, he had asked the older sister to continue keeping the café tidy as she talked. Jin didn't complain, glad to be given some light activities for her weak wrist. So now Haruhi and Hiroshi were sitting at a two seater table a few feet away while the others were grouped up by the backyard windows.

"I see you're making friends, Ben-kun."

"Hey, any friend of yours is a friend of mine!" The blond boy lightly tugged a lock of the girl's' hair as she scooped up Honey's empty cake plate. She elbowed him away.

"Jin-chan? Why do you call him Ben-kun, but don't add the -kun suffix with us?"

The brunette blinked, "Oh… I just didn't think you'd want me to. I mean, you and Mori-senpai are older than me and I trained under you at the dojo, Tamaki would rather I call him my brother, I already have a nickname for Kyoya…"

"Well I don't know about them, but I'd love it if you called me Honey-kun!"

"Mmm."

"Tama-kun does have a nice ring to it."

Kaoru looked over from the bar seat, "We wouldn't mind it either."

Hikaru, who is sulking for some reason, merely grunts.

And Kyoya… remained silent. He was sitting at the table beside theirs, his back to Beni. If the others didn't know any better, they would say he was moping. It wasn't until Tamaki lightly kicked his chair that he moved at all, snatching up his teacup, "Why not? I wouldn't mind."

"Um, okay then!"

Haruhi turned away from the other table, shaking her head.  _ Nēchan needs to stop encouraging them. _

"Seems like you've been having a great time at Ouran, Haruhi. To be honest, a lot of our classmates were worried you might've overshot, going to a prestigious school and all. They'll be so happy when I tell them you're doing just fine!"

Honey called over, "What about Jin-chan's friends? Don't forget to tell them she's okay, too!"

He didn't seem to notice the way Jin flinched ever so slightly behind him, shoulders stiffening. Kyoya saw it, however. He remembered what the two had discussed over the phone last night and felt a small pang deep in his stomach.  _ Did she have that dream because she thinks her friends from the public school forgot about her already? Maybe I should ask her… _

The thought was cut short by Hikaru grumbling under his breath about Hiroshi trying to act 'innocent'. It would appear as though the redhead had forgotten that the other boy's older brother was sitting right behind him. Kyoya noted Beni's eyes narrowing, and while the anger within his stomach faded away to a pleased feeling, he was well aware that the blond boy had at least seventeen centimeters on the redhead.

"You're being unusually critical." He made sure to add the 'unusual' bit in, but that didn't seem to make Beni any less wary.

"I'm just saying it's  _ obvious _ this guy is trying to flirt with Haruhi! It's  _ disgusting _ how hard he's trying with those pitiful lines."

" _ Hikaru! _ " Jin snapped, practically throwing her dish tray down on the bar counter, "Watch your mouth!"

"What? It's the truth! Just like how  _ you _ have a thing for-"

"Hikaru!" Kaoru clapped his hand over his brother's mouth, "You're making things worse! Cut it out!"

Beni was actually standing up by the time Hiroshi called out, "Niichan! Don't! Besides, he's right… I did have a thing for Haruhi once upon a time."

"Wait, what?"

"But what's it matter? You turned me down politely, and we're still best friends!"

" _ Huuuuuh? _ "

Jin tilted her head, "When did this happen? Haru, you never told me about this."

"Uh…" the small girl looked a little pale, "Well, I didn't know it happened either..."

Hiroshi cleared his throat, "Last year, when you applied for Ouran, I might've… um… confessed to you." He painted the scene, leading all the way up to Haruhi suggesting they check the application deadline together. The small brunette found herself surrounded as he finished his story.

"Haruhi… you broke this young man's heart just for a laugh at some sick joke?" Kyoya was near snarling, acting far more upset about this discovery than was probably necessary. Haruhi mumbled, feeling a little faint, but more than a little concerned over the strange surge of hostility her Senpai was showing. What was that all about?

"Ahahahahahaaaaaa!"

The interrogation was put on hold as Jin doubled over, resting her right arm against the countertop to provide support, "Oh my go-osh! Ahaha! I'm sorry, Hiroshi! I'm not laughing at you, promise, but  _ Haru! _ Ha! I knew you were dense, but really? Wow! I guess you needed contacts for a reason!"

"Nēchan! This isn't funny!"

"It's kinda funny," Beni noted, the corner of his lip quirking. Even Hiroshi was chuckling.

A few moments later, seven of them were sitting down at a table, the beginning tenseness having dispersed over a good laugh. The three boys missing from the happy group were the twins, who were still seated at the bar counter, and Kyoya. The ravenet glared down into his tea cup, a vision of the smile Jin had given Beni when he pointed out that the beautiful hair clip she was wearing had been a gift from the blue-eyed boy swimming behind his eyes.

"Kyo-kun? Why are you sitting all the way over there?"

He tensed, "I can hear you all just fine from here."

"Come on, Glasses! It's not the same without you over here." Kyoya repressed the urge to groan. There was no way he could say no, now that Jin was calling him over with  _ that _ smile and  _ that _ tone of voice. Sighing, he left his tea cup where it was and walked over to their table, pulling up a chair between Tamaki and Mori. To Tamaki's left was Jin, then Beni, Hiroshi, Haruhi, and Honey before coming back to Mori and Kyoya. He had picked this spot for one reason and one reason only… so that if he attempted to attack Beni over the table Mori would be able to hold him back.

Kyoya didn't know what was wrong with him, and yet he did. He was  _ jealous _ .

It was a much more explosive emotion than he had anticipated, screaming at him from the inside to take action. Beni Arai had a history with Jin. It was clear that the two were extremely comfortable with each other after their many years by each other's sides. They had even traveled abroad together! And there was no denying that the boy was very handsome. If he were to ask Jin out, there was little doubt in Kyoya's mind that she would say no. And that angered him like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It threw out his usual peaceful, non-confrontational way of dealing with his inner emotions and replaced it with a strange desire to break something. Kyoya had never felt this strongly about something like this before, but it felt liberating. If not frightening at the same time.

"So, Beni-senpai, how did you and Jin even become friends?"

"Yeah, the age difference…"

"Oh, I corrected his math homework."

The hosts stare at Jin for a while before Beni laughs, "I almost forgot about that! We were in elementary school and I was in the library when I saw her teaching herself German. I thought it was cool that she was able to do that since I was just starting taking English lessons, so I went to talk to her. Over the next month we would sit next to each other and talk while we did our school work. One day I was working on my math homework, left to use the bathroom, and when I came back Jin was going over it and telling me I got everything wrong! She taught me how to do it all correctly, I started letting her teach herself my math work, and we've been best friends ever since."

"Why am I not surprised?" The hosts chuckled. Correcting an older student's math homework just sounded so much like Jin. Kyoya, however, continued "not"-sulking.

"Beni, has Jin-chan changed much since elementary school?"

The blond's smile turned sinister, "Oh yeah, definitely."

Jin's expression dropped, "Arai, don't you dare."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she looked like a little nerd."

"Arai, I mean it."

"She used to have bangs and parted her hair down the middle in such a straight line you thought she set it with a ruler. Also, when she first got glasses, she had a sort of red phase. She had red frames for two years." Beni got up and started running around the room, but only because Jin had started chasing him, telling him to shut his mouth. Most of the hosts were laughing as the tall boy ducked around furniture while Jin just jumped over everything.

"And she used to be  _ so _ color coordinated! She'd only wear one color at a time! When she wore black, people would ask her whose funeral she was attending, and she'd answer by looking around the room and saying, 'I haven't decided yet'! Their faces were hilarious!"

"Beni! Shut up!"

"Why? Should I not tell them about your cute two piece outfits you used to wear after school? Especially that bright pink one with the glittery flowers and the puppies and-"

"SHUT UP!" Jin took a flying leap onto his back. She wrapped her right arm around his upper chest, and tried to cover his mouth with her left hand, but her wrist still wasn't strong enough to keep him from pushing her hand away.

"Or what about-"

"SHUT IT!"

"-your headbands-"

"I SAID SHUT IT!"

"-that you wore every day?"

Haruhi was bent over the table she was laughing so hard, the other boys not that far behind. It wasn't just the mental picture Beni was painting, it was also the ridiculousness of Jin piggybacking him, trying to get him to shut up.

Suddenly the girl slipped off and took a few steps backwards, "Hey, Ben-kun, remember when you used to gel your hair up into spikes everyday for school?"

Beni stops laughing, "Jin-"

"Or how about when you used to  _ strut _ down your home's hallways, pretending you were a  _ model? _ " Their roles quickly reversed as Beni started chasing the girl around the room. The others can hardly breathe.

Jin happily pranced about the room, "You can't catch me~"

"Wanna bet, Fujioka?"

Beni made a lunge and grabbed the girl around her torso. With her arms pinned to her side, she could only wriggle uselessly in his grasp, "No! Release me, foul brute!"

"Say I'm the best!"

"Never!"

"Oh, really?" Beni jabbed at her sides, making the girl screech with laughter.

"Arai-san, Jin just had her cast taken off. I would hate to have to pay for another one simply because her friends were careless." Kyoya's voice was as cold as ice, but the tall blond didn't seem to notice, setting the girl down on her feet and earning a punch in return.

Jin walked over to Kyoya's abandoned teacup, doing her 'job' of keeping the cafe looking nice while her friends were around. Beni took his seat, looking pleased with himself, and somehow still not noticing the death glare he was receiving from the only other person in the room wearing glasses.

Tamaki, however, did.

"Uh, I have a question. Do you and Jin have any hobbies that you do together? A sport or something similar?"

"Not a sport. I'm not especially active, to be honest. But we used to make a lot of music videos. The two of us tried choir for a year before deciding it wasn't for us, but we never stopped making videos. Mostly just covers of pop songs, but we get a lot of compliments."

_ He even joined the choir with her. Desperate. How could Jin miss that? _

Kyoya must've been letting his aura of darkness bleed through, because Tamaki seemed desperate to ask another question before his friend could open his mouth and say something he'd regret.

"You two went to America, right? How was that?"

Beni grinned, "It was incredible! School is very different down there. The  _ students _ are the ones who change classrooms, did you know? And the Technological center! It had so many career-related classes! I took a robotics class, since I plan to go into Engineering, and Jin took a full year of Accounting. We were also told to take an extracurricular activity or join a club of some sort, so the two of us joined the school's marching band. We were in the color guard and had so much fun I joined the group at my high school here! I thought for sure that Jin would do the same, but it appears she found something she enjoys more."

His eyes sparkled mischievously, "Of course… Stick-in-the-mud over there had to ruin my fun on our very last day."

Jin frowned, pausing for a split second in wiping down a nearby table, "I didn't want to go, but you forced me to anyways. You can't blame me for not enjoying myself."

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad!"

"Ben-kun, you dragged me to a male strip club!"

Tamaki spit his water out, and the others gaped in horror. Their heads were suddenly filled with pictures of Jin receiving a lap dance from a oily and well muscled 30-year-old. Takashi tensed up, ready to swing his arm out and catch Kyoya should he launch himself over the table at Beni. By the murderous look in his eyes and gradually expanding aura of death, it seemed to be very likely in the not-so-distant future.

"I said I was sorry! I even bought you that hair clip!"

Jin hummed, reaching up to lightly pull at the beads, "That is true…"

"Oh, of course he did!" Hikaru was finally speaking up, waving his empty cup around like a drunkard, "He has a crush on you, and he felt bad! It's so obvious!" The room grew silent for a moment, everyone tensed up, ready for the impending moment of Beni revealing his feelings and Kyoya straight up attacking the boy.

But it never came.

Jin snorted, "Wow… that would've been very awkward if you weren't 200% wrong about that, Hikaru. Do you always assume that when a boy and girl hang out together, the guy has a crush on the girl?"

The redhead scowled, "It's pretty obvious that you are just as clueless as your sister, Jin-senpai."

"Actually, that's not it at all."

Beni looked like he was trying not to laugh, "I guess the gig is up, Fujioka! I was going to have to face the truth someday! I am not, in fact, a raging homosexual! I'm just hiding my true feelings for my best friend who could kick my ass into next week! Who would've guessed it? Gorou will be brokenhearted!"

Now the boy  _ was _ laughing, and Jin dropped her washrag on the table, "Wait, did you just say Gorou? You finally asked him out?  _ Why didn't you tell me? _ You  _ promised _ I'd be the first to know, Ben-kun!"

The two started chatting very animatedly about Beni's recent date with some other guy that had gone on the America trip, unaware of everyone's eyes on Kyoya. Then again, Kyoya himself didn't realize all the attention he was receiving. He was far too busy collapsing back against his chair in silent relief.

"Hey, Tama-kun?" The blond jumped at the acknowledgement, "Think you can help me clear away your, um, 'hamster home'? We should probably clean that up before someone slips on all that paper."

Since his best friend was no longer in danger of going psychopathic, he agreed. As the two began shoving scraps of paper into a trash bag Jin had pulled out of seemingly nowhere, Tamaki pondered over how the scare of Jin having another romantic interest might encourage Kyoya to pursue her a little less… "safely".

The boy didn't get much time to think on that, however, because not even ten seconds after they started clearing away the garbage, Hikaru's mouth was flying loose once again and Haruhi was smacking him across the face.

"That's not something for you to decide, Hikaru!"

Jin watched the scene unfold sadly. She had an inkling of Hikaru's reasoning behind his anger, but not a full understanding yet. And as he ran up the stairs to his room at the Pension, she could tell that the mood had been sufficiently ruined. Hiroshi was deeply upset, both Haruhi and Beni were angry at the eldest twin, and everyone else just felt awkward now.

"Maybe… it's time for Hiro and I to head out. Our Uncle probably needs us back at the shop anyways."

The group slowly moved outside. Haruhi continued apologizing for Hikaru's behavior as the two brothers picked up their bikes.

"Haruhi, stop apologizing for him. We'll be back in two days to deliver some more fruit, now that the Pension is on our list of stops. If your friend wants to apologize for himself then, we'll list-" Beni trailed off as Hikaru slowly walked out of the Pension. He looked embarrassed.

"Hika-chan?"

"I… was out of line. I'm sorry."

Beni narrowed his eyes a tiny bit, but his brother was quick to accept the apology. Jin hugged her best friend one last time before the two pedaled off, everyone waving after them.

"So Kaoru, why are you playing Hikaru?"

"And what happened to that scratch on your cheek?"

The redhead jolted, slouching as he scratched the back of his head, busted, "Just covered it up with some concealer. Hikaru… wasn't ready to apologize, but I knew your friend really needed one. Hiroshi didn't do anything. I'm sorry for his temper, he really isn't any fun to be around when he's like this, to be honest. So, since I'm down one playmate for tomorrow, can I ask a favor of you, Haruhi?"

Haruhi tilted her head, "Yeah, sure."

"Will you out with me tomorrow on a date?"

* * *

 

The next morning had half of the Host Club waiting patiently in the Pension cafe. They had received special instructions to gather there before Haruhi and Hikaru headed out for the day. Kaoru had explained his plan to them all in a group text, but Tamaki assumed Kaoru had a secret agenda: To kill Tamaki by showing off how cute Haruhi looked for her date, of which he would not be a part of.

"Wow, Haru-chan looks so cute!"

" _ Nooooo… _ "

"Thanks you guys. Hey, could you tell Kaoru I'll be waiting outside of Mototeca Coffee? It's the first shop you come across when you walk into town, and I'd like one of their blueberry muffins for breakfast."

"Okay, Haru-chan!"

The brunette passed through the front door, paused, then leaned her head back inside, "By the way… Jin isn't really having a good morning. Just FYI. See you guys later!"

Just as she shut the door behind her, Jin came walking around the corner and into the cafe. To say Haruhi hadn't given the boys a proper warning would've been an understatement. For whatever reason, Jin seemed to have decided that today would be the day she'd completely floor anyone who's gaze fell upon her.

Her teal blouse refused to hug her skin, the fabric showing off her right shoulder and hanging freely from her bust, only to stop somewhere around her mid-stomach. Clinging tightly to her hips was a pure white high-low skirt that stopped just barely above her knees. Her entire outfit fluttered around her as she walked, making her look like she was floating.

Instead of her normal converse, she was wearing brown strappy sandals with heels. Like, actual heels and not the wedges she typically preferred. The two front strands of her hair had been wrapped around the rest of her hair and then tightly pinned so it was in a ponytail, then the rest of it had been curled. It was a perfectly curled ponytail. And with her hair pulled back, they could see the earrings she had in, white spirals that surrounded a sapphire that coordinated with her clothes perfectly. Her make-up completed the look with foundation, eyeliner, mascara, and even a touch of teal eye-shadow and pink lipstick.

She looked extremely pretty.

On the other hand, she also looked like she may murder anyone who tried to speak with her. The hosts were completely silent as they watched Jin pour herself a cup of coffee, add in at least four packets of pure sugar and enough vanilla creamer to turn the drink a light beige before plopping herself down in between Kyoya and Honey. Their eyes were wide as she downed the drink in one go, set the cup on the table, and face planted.

Hikaru walked down the stairs and saw the back of Jin's head, "You alright, Jin-senpai?"

A muffled sound came from the table that sounded vaguely like some of the swear words he had heard her use before, so the redhead quickly explained where his brother was, got his directions from the others, and headed out the door.

Kyoya smiled down at the girl on his right, "Jin, we should probably follow them. I'm sure they'll have more coffee where we're going."

The brunette growled lowly, but lifted her head all the same. Her eyes were a little bloodshot and she stumbled as she stood from the chair. Kyoya was all too ready to casually throw an arm around his friend and let her use his shoulder as a moving pillow.

Then Kaoru came down the stairs, "Alright, team. Let's mo-"

"You little bastard!" The girl launched herself at the boy, barely being caught by Mori, "How  _ dare _ you send your maids after  _ me? _ I hate you!"

The younger twin laughed nervously, "Eheee… no hard feelings?"

"I will  _ murder _ you!"

"But Jin-chan, I thought you were good at waking up early?"

Too tired to continue with her threats, the 2nd year flopped listlessly in her friend's arms, "It's one of my rare bad mornings. Let's leave it at that."

Mori set the girl down and she wobbled, happily falling back against Kyoya as her early-morning crutch.

"Well, hopefully that coffee will help a little."

"It won't. Coffee doesn't effect me, and neither does anything else sugary. That cup… well it was basically just giving my body something to do until I can get my hands on a chocolate chip muffin. In other words, it was a long shot." She leaned her head back to face Kyoya, "The only reason you can't see how tired I am is because they slathered nearly a whole bottle of concealer under my eyes and then all this make-up on top of it."

The boy smirks, picking up his half-empty tea cup and pressing it into the girl's hands, "Here. Black tea. Not as much caffeine as coffee, perhaps, but at least you won't have to pour any artificial sweeteners in it."

She quickly drains the cup, "Thanks."

"Kyoya! Jin! Hurry up, we're leaving!"

"Coming, Tamaki."

* Time Skip *

Jin was pretty much a zombie during the whole walk into town. She barely remembered to tell the boys that their was a back entrance into the cafe before they were seen by Haruhi and Hikaru, who were chatting on the sidewalk. Once she had her muffin, however, she seemed to wake up a little faster. Soon enough she was smiling contently with her hands cupped around some green tea as Tamaki flipped out behind her.

"Hey, Jin-chan, is this Haru-chan's first date?"

"Mhm."

The tall blond screamed in pain and she smiled wider.

"Glad to see you back to your old self."

Jin giggled, ducking her head, "Sorry about that. I wasn't too horrible to anyone, was I?"

"You nearly ripped Kaoru in half, but other than that you were simply cuter than usual. It was the perfect mixture of entertaining and endearing."

Jin's cheeks went cherry red, but before she could respond Tamaki was dragging her outside to have someone to wail to about Haruhi's outfit being cute. The others were quick to follow and rescue the brunette from Tamaki's clutches.

"Boss, I know it's a little hard for you to understand right now, but Hikaru needs this. He needs other people he can be close to. The two of us have only ever depended on each other, and Hikaru has a hard time understanding that people can have many friends, but that doesn't mean any of them are any less important than the others. He cares about Haruhi and the rest of us, and we as a club don't really interact with many people outside of our little group, so when someone new comes in… his emotions just run wild. He doesn't know how to react, and I think he's afraid of being abandoned. But to have meaningful relationships with anybody, you have to learn to respect them and let them into your life. And it's high time he learned that for himself."

"Wow, Kaoru. How… adult-like of you. I'm proud." Kaoru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Jin didn't just hand compliments like that out on a whim, so it left him a warm feeling in his chest.

"So, in other words, this date is a test to see if Hikaru can be thoughtful towards others?"

"Bingo! Just promise not to interfere; Hikaru needs to figure this out by himself."

The group agrees and starts moving along down the road, mostly to keep an eye on the two and observe their progress. Jin goes to follow just as a bitterly cold breeze hits her back. She shivers and turns, eyes landing on a large cloud formation coming down from the mountain.

"Jin? You alright?"

"Ah, coming Kyo-kun!"

The two didn't have to go far. Hikaru and Haruhi had settled on a bench and were trying to figure out what to do for the day. It wasn't going very well.

"HOW CAN HE CALL HIMSELF A HOST CLUB MEMBER? THIS IS THE LAMEST EXCUSE FOR A DATE I'VE EVER SEEN! IS THIS HIS ATTEMPT AT BEING CONSIDERATE?"

"Boss, calm down! You'll ruin everything!"

Jin peered around the grappling boys. Haruhi had noticed the clouds rolling in, too. While she might not be showing her fear on the outside, Jin knew that on the inside her sister was probably struggling to keep her heartrate down at a normal level.  _ Please just be a rainshower. Please just a rainshower… _

"Jin! Disguise yourself and make rude comments about Haruhi's outfit!"

"Do I  _ look _ like I'd even consider being unreasonably mean to my sister?"

"Ice cream~ Ice cream~"

"No!"

Jin looked back up at the clouds as Mori shot forward to hide his cousin from view.  _ They're not all that dark, so maybe just a drizzle? _

"Jin, is everything alright? You seem tense."

The brunette hesitated.  _ There's no need to worry anyone at the moment... _

"Do I? I don't mean to be. I'm just… this is Haru's first date, and even though we're nearby, I don't want anything to happen to her. I don't want to confront them and make her realize we're following her, because she'd most likely be upset with us but…"

"But you're worried about how Hikaru will behave."

"Hm. Haru's an amazing girl who can affect others without even trying, but I just don't know what to expect… for the first time in a long while."

She looked so sad, and oddly beaten down, and Kyoya could help but reach out for the girl. He only wanted to lay a hand on her shoulder, which might lead to a hug or something equally pleasing, but just then his right arm was collected in a vice grip, dragging the ravenet bodily into a nearby ice cream shop. Kyoya stumbled against the wall as Tamaki released him to stop Hikaru from eating off Haruhi's cone, and he felt another body collapse against his.

"Oof! Oh, I'm sorry Kyo-kun."

Jin moved away from the wall, letting the boy have some breathing space. It was then that Kyoya realized why he'd been crushed between the cement and the girl; when Tamaki had pulled him inside, Kyoya had wanted to make sure that Jin wasn't left behind. Their hands were warmly clasped together.

He wasn't quick to let go.

"My apologies."

"No, I'm the one who crashed into you."

"I pulled you. If I had grabbed onto your other hand-

"But you didn't, so don't apologize."

At the front of the stand, Kaoru was angrily shaking the blond, " _ What are you doing, it was finally going well! _ "

" _ They can't share an ice cream cone, that's indirect kissing! _ "

" _ You didn't seem to care when Jin and Kyoya did it this morning! _ "

" _ Wait, what? _ "

" _ Come on! We can't lose them! _ "

Tamaki is left frozen in confusion as the others slip out of the parlor, Jin apologizing to the clerk on her way. By the time he rejoins the group, they're watching Haruhi and Hikaru browsing some books in a nearby booth.

"Huh, we take our eyes off them for a second and suddenly everything's going great!"

"Probably because Haru's the one in charge of this date."

The others chuckled at Jin's comment and continued sneaking along down the road. Kyoya draws close to the girl and ducks his head, "Aren't you a bit worried about the two of them falling in love?"

"No, not really. Hika-kun may be warming up to her, but he's not ready for love. And you heard about Hiroshi yesterday. I doubt Haru quite understands the concept of loving someone who isn't family." Her voice drops to a whisper, " _ Which might explain why a certain someone with a similar problem has grown so close to her. _ "

Kyoya looks at Tamaki who is weeping at the sight of Haruhi and Hikaru enjoying each other's company.  _ Hmm… _

"Come on, let's go back to the Pension. Looks like our work here is done."

* Time Skip *

Jin hums softly, her fingertips trailing over the cast-iron fence that ran in front of Pension Misuzu.  _ That date had looked like fun. I can't believe I'm even thinking this, but I'm a little jealous Haru had her first date before I had mine. She even had her first kiss before me. _

She stops in her tracks as a roll of thunder reaches her ears.

"Hm? Uh oh, looks like we're gonna have rain today."

"The forecast  _ did _ call for some scattered thunderstorms." Kyoya stopped walking, noticing he no longer had someone beside him, "Jin?"

The brunette was staring back the way they came, towards town.  _ Haru… _

"I have to go back."

"What? Why? It's a five minute walk-"

"I don't care!"

"Wait, Jin-senpai, what's-" she pulls out her phone. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Haru's cell and telling her to come back!"

"What? No, don't do that!" Before Jin could stop him, Kaoru grabbed her phone and tossed it to Mori.

She ran at her childhood friend, trying to get her phone back, "What are you doing? Give it back! I have to call her!"

"No! You'll ruin everything! Why do you suddenly have cold feet about it?"

"You don't understand! Haru is-"

"What I understand is that you don't like letting your sister be on her own unless you're doing the leaving!"

Jin freezes, "K-Kaoru… that's not-"

"Yes it is! You went all the way to America, leaving your sister on her own for a year, but now that she's off spending time with another friend you can't handle it! You're just as bad as Hikaru, and the both of you need to grow up!"

Tears well up in her eyes and Kaoru deflates a bit. They've never seen Jin cry, and it's daunting. He immediately tries to backtrack.

"Jin-senpai… I'm sorry, but-"

"Shut up,  _ Hitachiin! _ You don't know ANYTHING!"

The girl shoved her way through the boys, running into the Pension with tears streaming down her cheeks, leaving the boys in a state of shock.

" _ What did I say? _ "

"Clearly, something you should've kept your mouth shut about," was Kyoya's response as the ravenet followed the girl indoors, leaving the rest of the club on the sidewalk. Tamaki watched as his best friend disappeared from view after the crying girl and sighed.

"I never thought I'd say this… but he is so in love with her."

"Are you sure we shouldn't say something?"

Honey frowned at the iPhone in his cousin's hands, "I think you should apologize to Jin-chan before even thinking about telling her Kyo-chan loves her."

* * *

 

_ Knock knock knock _

"Go away!"

"Jin? It's me. Do you want to talk?"

"...I'm not sure."

"Well, then, talk to me through the door. You can stop whenever you feel like it."

There's some shuffling, and Kyoya hears something thump against the wood. He crouches down, "I don't think Kaoru meant-"

"Yes he did. He meant everything he just said. That's when people are most honest… when they're angry."

"Or that's when they're not thinking straight."

There's silence for a moment, then, "I wasn't gonna go."

"Hm?"

"I wasn't going to go to America. And I wouldn't have if Haru hadn't told me to. She's the one who really convinced me… in the end."

_ I'm going to kill him. _ Kyoya seethed.  _ Even after that impressive speech, Kaoru is no better at dealing with his friends than his brother. How dare he assume Jin would be that selfish? And now she's in tears, and it's all his fault! _

"Is that what you guys… really think I did?"

"Let me in, Jin. Please."

It takes a moment, but he eventually hears the lock sliding back into the door. Reaching up, Kyoya slowly twists the doorknob and pushes the door open. Jin slides back on the floor until the boy can slip into the room. There are little rivulets of black mascara trailing her cheeks and Kyoya gently grips the girl's elbows, leading her to her feet and into the bathroom. She sniffled miserably as Kyoya starts washing the ruined make-up off of her face with a washcloth.

He'd just finished her left eye when he attempt conversation again, "We didn't know what made you leave for America. You and your sister are so close it seems almost impossible for you to survive without each other, and yet you were separated for a year. Then, just now, you attempted to put a stop to Haruhi's first date. We didn't know what to think. I'm sorry we doubting you."

Jin managed a watery smile, closing her eyes as Kyoya started swiping at her right eye, "I forgive you, Kyo-kun. But you weren't totally wrong. Haruhi and I do prefer to spend a lot of time together, especially as we grow older. Eventually we might not have this much time together, once we go to colleges and start our own lives, and we want to spend as much as possible with each other. But…"

Kyoya wiped the last traces of make-up off her forehead, pleased to see his usual Jin stare back at him, "But that's not the reason you wanted to call her a moment ago?"

"It's not."

"Then why?"

_ Tick. _

Jin gasped, head swiveling to the window in the bedroom.

_ Tick. Tick-tick. _

Jumping off the sink counter, the brunette hurried to the window. She bit her lower lip as the raindrops started hitting the glass harder and faster. Thunder boomed, much closer this time. The hotel room quickly grew darker as the natural light from the window was slowly overtaken by dark clouds.

"Because of this. I need to get my phone!"

He was completely confused, but Kyoya followed her out of the room anyways. Jin skipped to a halt in the cafe just as Misuzu-chi placed the Pension's landline phone back on the receiver.

"Hikaru left Haruhi in front of the Arai produce shop, saying he'd come back to the Pension by himself, but Haruhi went after him. I don't know why they're not back yet!" Jin's eyes grow wide and Kyoya manages to grab the girl around her waist before she can make a break for the door.

"Let me go, Kyoya! I have to find her!"

"Jin, it's pouring rain out there and pitch black! You could get lost!"

Defeated for the moment, Jin shakes Kyoya off and marches up to Mori, "Phone.  _ Now. _ " He doesn't even hesitate, and Jin quickly starts scrolling through her contact list, "Tamaki, you call that moron and tell him to  _ get his ass in gear and find Haru! _ "

"Jin-chan? What's going on?"

She doesn't respond, cradling the phone by her ear, " _ Please pick up please pick up please-  _ Haru? Haru! I'm so sorry! I tried to call sooner but I couldn't! Where are you? Okay… okay, I think Tamaki is getting Hikaru to go find you. Just stay put and… hm? Oh, okay." Jin pulled her phone away from her ear and whispered, " _ Tamaki, tell Hikaru that Haru is in the Lutheran church between the train station and the cupcake shop. _ Haru? No, I'm here. I'm here, Haru."

Jin walked off to the far corner of the cafe, sinking down in a chair. She begins singing a soft song just as Tamaki's back straightens. He must've contacted Hikaru.

The other boys jump as he starts shouting into the mouthpiece.

"You idiot! What kind of jerk leaves a girl out in a thunderstorm like this by herself? Now you listen to me, you turn yourself around and find Haruhi or so help me I will sick Jin on your butt! Haruhi is terrified of thunder to the point where she can barely move! Thank goodness Haruhi has her phone or you wouldn't even have a starting point! She's holed up in the Lutheran church and is probably terrified out of her mind thanks to you! Why don't you spend less time being  _ jealous _ and worry about someone else for once!"

_ Snap! _

Tamaki glares at the ground, arms shaking with the anger he wasn't able to convey in his short message. The cafe was silent as the others began soaking in this new information. A soft song the only sound above the thunder crashing around the building.

' _ Deep in the meadow… _

_ Under the willow…' _

As one, the hosts turn to Jin. Fresh tears are growing in the corners of her eyes, her legs tucked up against her chest.

' _ A bed of grass… _

_ A soft… green pillow... _

_ Lay down your head _

_ And close your eyes… _

_ And when they open… _

_ The sun will rise…' _

They walk over to her, taking their own seats to listen. At a closer look, Jin looked to have aged five years in the past five seconds. Her body shook, leaning into the closest body she could, which just happened to be Kyoya's. The boys remained silent as she kept singing, voice thick with her previous crying.

' _ Here… it's safe _

_ Here… it's warm _

_ Here the daisy's guard… _

_ You from ev'ry harm… _

_ Here your dreams are sweet _

_ And tomorrow brings… them true _

_ Here is the place… _

_ Where… I love you…' _

She shuddered once before starting up another song. It was just as sad as the first one, laced with guilt and desperation and sorrow. Kyoya could only imagine what Jin was hearing from the other end of the line; Haruhi's cries for her sister no doubt.

Ten minutes of this torture and Jin suddenly stopped in the middle of a verse, "H-Hikaru? Oh, thank god. J-just put your headphones on her and carry her back to the Pension! She can deal with rain just fine, but block out the thunder and bring her home. Please!"

She was shaking as she finally put down her phone. Sniffling, she turned fully towards Kyoya and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He held the crying girl close, whispering phrases of 'Everything's going to be okay' and 'It's alright, now' to her. It seemed to calm her down a little, at least enough to stop crying and just lay her head against his shoulder.

"Jin-senpai… I'm so sorry." Kaoru was staring at his hands, "I didn't know…"

"You should've let me explain." Jin's voice was bitter as she stood and walked to the front of the Pension. She took a seat on the piano bench and stared out the window. Knowing she did it to be alone for a while, the boys remained where they were.

"So, how come Jin-chan isn't afraid of thunder like Haru-chan?"

"Phobias aren't inherited, they're learned. Haruhi is terrified of thunder, whereas Jin has Galeophobia, which is the fear of sharks. That's why she didn't go swimming at the beach."

"Sharks? But… I was talking to Haruhi just the other day, and she said one of her favorite movies of all time was Jaws. The American Movie about a man-eating shark. Actually, she liked the whole franchise."

"And Jin-chan loves thunderstorms. She said they were actually calming to her."

"Two sides of the same coin, it would appear."

"Wait…" Tamaki tilted his head, "How do you know Jin's phobia?"

"How did you know of Haruhi's? I'm assuming we both learned on the same day, when you instigated that game to discover the girl's fear. There was a thunderstorm that day, too, if I recall, and Jin didn't jump into the ocean after Haruhi was thrown off the cliff."

"Right. That makes sense…"

They continued making small talk, casting worried looks at Jin as she waited impatiently for Hikaru to bring Haruhi back to the Pension. She's clearly not happy that she couldn't go out and find the two herself in the middle of the storm, but not even Kyoya dared to approach her for a third time to talk to her.

Kaoru looked between the two 2nd years. It's been ups and downs for the two of them over the past three days. First she was upset that Kyoya was still talking to her dad behind her back, then they were pretty much attached at the hip while he and the others played the refreshing game. The two of them were texting each other for almost an hour that night and probably last night as well. Then came Beni, then his sexuality, then Kaoru's clothing choice, and now this. It was like the world was against Kaoru's plan!

Okay, fine, yes, they had all agreed to let the two of them "figure it out themselves" but come on! Kyoya was as stubborn as they came, and Jin wouldn't make a move if she wasn't absolutely  _ sure _ . So what if Kaoru had tried to move things along? Kyoya had just gotten through a scare of Jin possibly having another love interest, for crying out loud! It had seemed like the perfect opportunity to give them that extra little  _ shove _ in the right direction, so Kaoru  _ might've _ asked for his maids to make Jin look drop-dead gorgeous for the day.

And now he had a crying girl on his hands and an idiotic brother to smack. But hey, at least Kyoya had gone straight to Jin's side. Maybe something had happened in the Fujioka's Pension room?

He opened his mouth to ask, but just then Jin jumped up from the bench and ran out the front door.

"Jin!"

The hosts went to give chase, but quickly backed out of the way as she came back inside, completely drenched and carrying a soaked Haruhi in her arms. Hikaru was right behind them, shutting the door behind them. Haruhi clings tightly to Jin like her life depended on it, whimpering softly into her sister's bare shoulder. Jin at least seemed to have regained some of her vitality, calmly holding Haruhi in a nearby chair.

"Tamaki? Remember that music player and pair of headphones from when we went to the beach? They should be in Haru's suitcase's outside pocket."

The blond nodded, running off to fetch it.

"Why are you making Tamaki get that?"

Jin sighed into Haruhi's wet hair, rubbing the little girl's cold arms to attempt to warm her back up, "When I left for America, I knew Haru would need something for thunderstorms while I was gone. I made about thirty covers of different songs for her."

"Got it!"

Tamaki skidded to a stop and covered Haruhi's ears with a pair of headphones, pressing the small device into her hands. Without even opening her eyes, Haruhi powered up the music player and pressed play, skipping a few songs until she stopped on one that was loud enough to block out the huge rolls of thunder.

Instantly the small girl relaxed, snuggling up closer into Jin's embrace. Everyone let out a huge sigh as Haruhi opened her eyes. The glaze of fear was gone, replaced by a little confusion.

"Nēchan?"

Jin rubbed at Haruhi's shoulders again, "I'm right here."

Kaoru sat down weakly across from the sisters, a hand running through his hair, "You thought of everything before you left, didn't you?"

She sighed, "Yeah. I tried."

* The Next Day *

_ Ding! _

"Hello!"

"We bring melon!"

Haruhi, bright eyed and bushy-tailed once again, smiled at the newcomers, "Hey guys! I was wondering when you'd get here!"

"Woah! That watermelon's  _ huge! _ "

"I know, right? Our uncle's a wizard when it comes to farming! Hey, Jin-chan!" The taller brunette had just exited the kitchen and stopped as she was addressed by her best friend, "How's your watermelon cutting?"

"A little rusty…" the girl walked up to inspect the fruit, "But I think I'll manage."

Beni smiled at his friend, then turned back to her little sister, "Hey, Haruhi. How're you feeling?"

"I'm alright, now. Thanks for calling Misuzu-chi last night."

"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I hadn't." The tall blond patted her head before turning back to his own brother.

Hikaru was standing beside him.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Hikaru smiled softly and took the melon from Hiroshi's hands, "Thanks. You wanna stick around for some?"

It was surprising, but everyone else quickly dissolved into smiles. High above them all, Kaoru and Kyoya watched as their friends began making plans. Honey wanted to just smash the melon, Jin and Beni thought it would be more fair to cut it up, and Hikaru was comparing its size to Tamaki's head.

"Kaoru? A question about your strategy, if I may?"

"I assume you've already had this conversation with Jin-senpai, but go on."

Kyoya chuckled, "Fair enough. Did you ever consider the possibility that the date would go too well and Hikaru would fall in love with Haruhi?"

"No way, it's way too soon for Hikaru to begin processing the bigger emotions like love. Hikaru's kinda a dummy when it comes to stuff like this."

"Well then he's lucky, because our club is full of dummies."

"Except for Jin-senpai?"

Kyoya eyes Kaoru, "Yes… except for Jin."

Kaoru smirks and straightens up, ready to head downstairs and have some watermelon, but he hesitates. Beating around the bush didn't do anything, but perhaps a direct hit…

"Just so you know, the rest of us aren't as oblivious as you think, Kyoya-senpai. We all know you feel something special for Jin-senpai. My advice? Don't wait too long trying to figure that out in your head. Don't lose her just because you're afraid of rejection."

He noted the tightness in Kyoya's voice as he responds, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh? I think you do. Just think about it, Kyoya-senpai; at least about how much she means to you."

Kyoya watched the redhead for a moment before returning his attention to Jin. She's smiling and watching the others laugh at Tamaki's outraged expressions, looking reserved and peaceful. A complete 180 from last night.  _ Did Kaoru mean what I think he meant? Do the others know about my feelings? Has Jin picked up on them as well? _

Jin suddenly glanced up at Kyoya and smiles. The ravenet can't help but smile back as she waves, beckoning him down to join her and the others. He smirks and follows Kaoru down the stairs.

_ Then again... maybe he has a point. _

 


	32. Playing the Name Game!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super fluffy chapter, and my attempt to tied the KyoJin shippers until the *chapter that must not be named* chapter. Also a little more Jin-is-the-twin's-older-sister trope. I just like the dynamic between the three of them.

 

Mother Nature was trying to drown them all.

Ever since the thunderstorm two days ago, the rain had been nearly constant, and Pension Misuzu was more popular than ever. Summer campers looking for a dry place to sleep and travelers searching for a reprieve from the downpour and a warm cup of tea came in droves. The host club boys were quickly put to work in anyway they could help. Whether it was serving or cleaning or ensuring no rainwater was leaking inside, there was never a dull moment.

On the rare occasion the rain showers would escalate into an actual thunderstorm, Haruhi would be quickly placed in either the bedroom or at a table with her headphones on high. She'd never admit it, but Haruhi was touched by the concern and care she was receiving from everyone. If not a little embarrassed.

Unfortunately, having nothing to do for extended periods of time gave her ample time to think. Since she couldn't focus enough on her homework with all the music in her ear, she would just watch her friends work around the cafe, which made the tension obvious.

Jin wasn't speaking more than two words at a time to Kaoru, and neither was Kyoya. As the sisters hadn't had a free moment to talk about the first thunderstorm of the summer except for the morning after, the younger Fujioka was a little in the dark over what exactly had happened between them all. As far as Haruhi understood it, Kaoru had had something to do with the reason Jin hadn't gone after her and Hikaru to get them back to Pension Misuzu before the thunderstorm started. Apparently there had been some serious miscommunication, which made Jin mad at Kaoru and by extension, Kyoya was mad at Kaoru, too.

The youngest twin clearly wasn't unaware of the tension.

"Hey, Jin-senpai? Do we have any more pails?"

"Office storage."

"Oh… alright. Thanks." Kaoru hurried away with his head low. Haruhi felt bad for him, but she knew her Nēchan was almost done with her lesson.

"Lesson?"

"Hm?" Haruhi looked up from her evening cup of tea to see Tamaki's confused face, "Oh, right. Sometimes I forget people can't read Nēchan like I can. Well, I can tell that Nēchan's not really mad at Kaoru. Or, perhaps she was earlier, but now she's just putting him through a time out phase. She's forgiven him, but it's the forgetting that we're working through now."

Tamaki shook his head, walking back into the kitchen, "Remind me to never get on Jin's bad side."

"Noted."

Sighing, she went back to her tea. The rain was finally starting to let up, thankfully. The weather station had actually said that they wouldn't have any more precipitation until tomorrow night, then a sunny week! Haruhi couldn't wait. Even if tomorrow was supposed to be ridiculously hot, it would be better than this rain!

Jin paused in her sweeping to look out the window she was by. As the raindrops gently pitter pattered across the huge bay window the tall brunette's figure relaxed. Haruhi knew that if it were up to her, Jin would be standing under an awning or have a window open, her arms outstretched into the rain and giggling when the wind blew the water into her face.

_ Crack! _

Haruhi jolted in her seat, pulling herself out of a memory just in time to see her sister running out the front door of the Pension, broom lying on the floor where she'd dropped it.

"HEY! What are you two doing?"

"Nēchan?" Haruhi runs to the doorway, bumping shoulders with Kyoya and Misuzu as they watch but don't follow the girl out into the storm. It's too dark to see any details, but Haruhi can just  _ barely _ make out her sister as she runs after two more shadowy figures. "Nēchan!"

"Put it down! Just set it down on the ground! Get over here!"

Whoever she was talking to apparently did not like what her tone was implying, because they quickly dropped a bundle of something on the ground before booking it down the road. Jin stopped beside what they dropped and picked it up, shouting out a few garbled words in German before running back towards the Pension.

It wasn't until she reached the ray of light from inside that Haruhi could tell what her sister was carrying in her arms.

She gasped.

It was a little, muddy kitten.

The poor thing was soaked, shivering, and mewling pitifully. And the worst part was it's paws were bound in rope.

Jin's face was tight as she cradled the small animal in her shirt, her left hand shielding its head from the rain, "They… they were trying to drown it in a puddle… those…" She didn't finish the thought, running inside to get the kitten warm.

"I need towels, a heating pad, cotton balls, and a volunteer to run to the nearest pet store!"

Misuzu-chi is already pulling on his raincoat and umbrella, "What do you need?"

The brunette unwrapped the kitten a little and began inspecting it, "Opened eyes… amber color… 4 to 5 weeks old. Right. I'll need one can of KMR or some other kitten milk replacement formula and a few cans of wet food; it's probably already weaned or close to it. Don't forget a bottle!" Turning back to the others she began marching for the kitchen. "Kyo-kun, you're with me. I'll need another pair of hands to help cut off the rope and clean her up. Mori-kun, find a cardboard box and place the heating pad on one half of it, then cover the bottom with a blanket or a towel."

Kaoru ran up to Jin, his arms full of towels, "What about the rest of us?"

"Well," she smiled, "We need to keep Pension Misuzu running, don't we? You're down four hands. Good luck."

* Time Skip *

"Hold it! Hold it hold it  _ hold it! _ "

"I'm  _ trying! _ "

"Ah!" Jin flinched as a spray of water and soap hit her face, "Kyoya!"

"I know, I know!"

" _ Mew! _ " The kitten protested, trying to get away from the water. Jin gritted her teeth and speed-sprayed the last of the soap off of the stumpy tail.

"I know, sweetie! Just hold on a little longer… and done!"

Both teenagers pulled away quickly, breathing heavily. The kitten thankfully calmed down almost immediately once it was out of the spray, starting to explore the sink it was placed in. Jin glanced at Kyoya and started giggling.

"What?"

"You've got a little somethin' on your cheek there."

Rolling his eyes, Kyoya wiped the glob of soap bubbles away as Jin selected one of the fluffier towels to pull the kitten out of the sink. Now that the mud was washed off she could see the little cat was a pretty little calico Japanese Bobtail.

"It's a female. Unless this little cutie has a mutation..."

Kyoya moved closer, grabbing another towel to gently pat-dry the kitten's head, not questioning her assessment, "What shall we name her?"

"I'm not sure if we should… There is a chance those heathens stole her from someone to have some barbarian fun. If no one goes out looking for her, then we'll see."

The ravenet nodded, then noticed Jin's hands had gone still. A glance was all it took to make his heart clench up. Jin looked like a mess; her whole body soaked from the rain and her shirt muddy where she'd wrapped the kitten up. Her chest shook with the effort to rein in her sobs, a thick tear spilling over her lower eyelid before Kyoya could pull the girl into his chest. Her cries were still silent, but they stabbed at his insides all the same.

" _ H-how could they do that? Wh-why? _ "

" _ Shhh… I think you've cried enough this summer. You saved her. That's the important part. No more tears. _ "

He rubbed her back in what he hoped was a calming gesture. Peeking over to make sure the kitten hadn't wandered over to the edge of the counter, Kyoya was pleased to see it was happily batting at the large pile of towels. Jin's knowledge of animals had saved the kitten's' life. She was truly remarkable.

Jin took in a shuddering breath, lifting her head away from Kyoya's shoulder but keeping her gaze on his collarbone, " _ Sorry I keep using you like a teddy bear… _ "

Her classmate smirked, tightening his grip around her lower back, "I don't mind it."

He earned himself an embarrassed giggle and a shy look through her eyelashes. All at once, Kaoru's words flashed through Kyoya's mind.  _ Don't wait too long trying to figure that out in your head... don't lose her just because you're afraid of rejection... at least think about how much she means to you... _

He wasn't afraid of rejection… right? No, that's totally not what this was. It was simply… waiting for the right moment. When the two of them weren't in the middle of some crazy idea or overcome with emotion-

Jin was looking at him oddly. Kyoya suddenly became very well aware of her hands resting just beneath his collarbone, fingertips lightly pressed into his shirt fabric for that added bit of purchase. One of them shifted their stance -he wasn't quite sure who- and they were pressed together from the waist down. The contact sent a weird thrill down Kyoya's spine. Slowly, hoping not the scare her away, the ravenet pressed his forehead to Jin's. With their small height difference, it would only take one of them to tilt their head to close the remaining distance between them. Her grip on his shirt tightened.

_ This is a good moment. As good as any. _

"I'm  _ baaaack~ _ "

Kyoya isn't sure whether he would've actually kissed her or not. He definitely  _ thought _ he was going to, but before they could make another move the kitchen door burst open. Misuzu-chi seemed completely unaware of the moment he had interrupted, mostly because the two had immediately withdrawn from each other with flushed faces.

"I got kitten milk and a cute little collar and some fun toys! Oh! There you are you little miracle, you! Oh, you're so cute with your little tail and your white fur! Is it a boy or a girl?"

Jin was trying to rein in her wild heartbeat as she cleared her throat, "It's a girl. But, Misuzu-chi, don't you think we should try looking for an owner first?"

The trannie froze in the middle of placing the pet store bag on the counter, "Well, Jin… when I was walking to the store I saw a little, um… box on the sidewalk. It was empty, except for a wet blanket, and the side of it read 'Free Kitten'. I don't think this little one had any owners. Or siblings for that matter."

Jin's mood went sour once again, but she managed to pull herself together this time around, "At least we don't have to worry about any other kittens getting hurt. Um…" she started messing with the bottle and formula can, filling the bottom of the sink with a few inches of warm water, and attempting to regain control of her train of thought, "Tomorrow morning we can start looking for new homes. The boys would probably be thrilled to draw up some flyers-"

"What a silly idea, Jin! She's going to live here, isn't she?"

The brunette paused, staring at Misuzu-chi, "Wait… are you serious?"

"Of course! I've always wanted a cat to roam the cafe! I'll just have to make sure she doesn't go into any of the guest's bedrooms! Oh, this'll be perfect! I'm going to go set up her bed for the night!" Just as fast as he ran in, Misuzu-chi was spinning out the door with the rest of his purchases in his arm.

Jin hesitated for a brief moment before scooping up the damp kitten and a fresh towel into her arms, "Did you hear that, little one? You've already got a home! That was fast, huh?"

Grinning cheekily, she slid down to the floor and held the newly warmed bottle up to it's mouth. Immediately the kitten started nibbling the end of the nipple, its paws happily kneading Jin's palm through the towel. She had completely forgotten about the embarrassing moment that had occurred not even a minute ago until Kyoya sat down beside her, their knees barely brushing each other's.

In typical Kyoya fashion, his emotions were difficult to read from the outside. Jin was unaware that on the inside he was wavering between dying of embarrassment and exploding with anger at being interrupted. ( _ Yet again, _ he may as well add.) However, Kyoya knew it wasn't likely for him to get another good chance at the perfect first kiss for a while, so he tried to put that out of his mind.

For now.

"I guess everything turned out for the best." He reached out and gently stroked the kitten's back with a single finger. The creature purred happily, continuing to lap the formula. Kyoya had to admit, the kitten was very cute.

Jin, on the other hand, was too busy blushing at Kyoya's closeness to notice. They had been a second away from kissing each other, she just knew it! But at the same time, she was what some might call 'emotionally compromised' after discovering the kitten with its nose forced under a puddle of water, so perhaps it hadn't been the best time. For all she knew, she would've burst into tears the moment their lips touched.

And to be honest, the thought of having a boyfriend frightened her a little. There was just so much  _ pressure _ that came with dating. It was a little daunting. Though, if she were to be honest -Jin let her head rest on Kyoya's shoulder- she had a feeling dating Kyoya would be a little different from the norm.

"Thanks for your help, Glasses."

His cheek presses against the top of her head and she swears she could feel his smirk against her hair, "It was no problem."

The two snuggled a little closer together, content with watching the kitten continue to drink it's milk. It eventually began to slow down, giving one last valiant lick before yawning widely. Jin pulled the bottle away and dabbed at the kitten's white mustache with the towel in her hand. It mewled once more, stretching out on the fabric as its purr nearly caused its entire body to vibrate.

" _ A-CHoo! _ "

All three of them jumped at Jin's violent sneeze. She sniffed once, then sneezed again. The kitten was trying to be on alert, but was having a hard time as it was so full and sleepy. Kyoya, on the other hand, was quick to react.

"Are you alright? Do you need a tissue? You didn't catch a cold from running out into the rain, did you?"

"Kyoya, I'm fine. It's just my cat allergies."

"...Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I usually try to stay clear of them at the shelter, but on days I have to be with them I take meds.  _ A-CHEH! _ Can you hold her while I get some Claritin, please?"

Kyoya lets out a sigh and gently takes the kitten and towel, "Sure."

"Thank you."

The ravenet's eyes widen as Jin presses a quick kiss to his cheek before running off, hiding her huge blush and holding back another sneeze. He doesn't even move until the door is swinging shut, lifting a hand to caress the tingling spot on his cheek.

The boy and kitten stare at each other for a moment before Kyoya shakes his head, "I'm in so much trouble, aren't I?"

A deep purr was his only response.

* * *

 

"Okay! Let's find you a name!" Jin scratched the kitten behind its ears, contently holding the animal in her lap.

The kitten had made a complete 180 from the night before. She was fluffy, energetic, and followed Jin around the cafe like she wouldn't dare let her out of her sight. Jin clearly didn't mind, happily stroking the kitten and playing with it, to the great amusement of their customers. Of course, she had taken her medication early this morning, so she was in a full cat-playing mood.

"Do you want to do the honors, Haru?"

"Nah, you start us off, Nēchan." The shorter brunette smiled from the nearby table. Her eyes flickered from her sister to the ravenet beside her. Kyoya was sneaking little looks at the girl as he worked on his science homework, a small half-smile gracing his lips. And whenever he would look away, Jin would risk her own glance, cheeks changing to a light shade of pink each time.  _ Did something happen between them last night? _ Haruhi made a mental note to grill her sister later.

"Hm… how about… Emi? After all, she clearly didn't have the greatest start in life."

"Emi…" The others tested the name out. "Emi, Emi, E-mi."

Kaoru was the first to nod, reaching forward from his seat on Jin's left side to rub at the cat's cheek, "It's a nice name. And you do have more right to officially name her than any of us, Jin-senpai." He smiled broadly at the 2nd year student, oblivious to the way his female classmate was rolling her eyes behind him. During the whole kitten fiasco last night, Kaoru (and Hikaru, to an extent) had really stepped up to the plate. They pretty much ran the Pension while Tamaki and Haruhi worked the cafe. Jin must've decided that the youngest twin had suffered enough of the silent treatment to have learned his lesson, and she was once again speaking full sentences to him.

Seeing the way his Senpai was grinning at him again, Kaoru must've just realized it. At least if the regained shine in his eyes was anything to go by. Haruhi felt her heart warm at the sight of her Nēchan becoming a big sister for yet another person. In all honesty and truth, the Hitachiin twins really needed an older sister. Not to mention deserving of one like Jin.

Then Tamaki had to go ruin the moment. Again.

"That sounds perfect, Jin! Your incredibly literary works are showing through your everyday lifestyle again in this beautiful name! Little Emi will  _ adore _ -"

"NO!" Jin and Kyoya frantically stood from their chairs, interrupting Tamaki's beginning spiel as they tried to pull Kyoya's multiple papers and books away from the growing spill of tea.

While everyone had been distracted, little Emi had jumped from Jin's lap to the table top, quickly batting at the full cup of tea Kyoya had cooling beside his homework. The cup toppled to its side, spilling all over the ravenet's papers before rolling off the table and shattering.

In the end the hosts were left with a disbelieving Kyoya and a smug kitten.

"Or… maybe a different name?"

Kyoya's left eyelid twitched, "Maybe."

Behind the two, Haruhi eyed the kitten who was suddenly looking very evil, "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

* Time Skip *

Groaning, Kaoru leaned back over the armrest of the chair, feeling his back crack all the way down his spine. He froze for a moment, reveling in how good that movement had felt, but the feeling soon dissipated. The redhead could literally  _ feel _ his good vibes draining out of his skin in beads of sweat.

"It's  _ too hooooot! _ " He weakly lifts his hand to point at the kitten, "I blame  _ you _ ."

No one argued, but perhaps it was because they were all too hot to speak.

Of  _ course _ Misuzu-chi would kick them all outside on the hottest day of the summer yet. It was 34.5 degrees Celsius out and all of the customers who had come in the day before for some hot tea were replaced by the joggers and cyclists who were on the cusp of passing out if they didn't get some cold water in their bodies. And it was totally the cat's fault that the Host Club was now suffering in the heat. And, perhaps, a bit of Kaoru's fault as well.

The youngest twin had been laughing to himself at Kyoya's rotten luck with the kitten.  _ It's almost like it knows those two like each other and wants to keep Jin to herself. How funny! _ In an attempt to poke fun at Kyoya -a small punishment for not following his advice regarding Jin yet- Kaoru had suggested the name Hideko for the kitten.

No one had any time to contemplate the name before he had tripped over said kitten a second later and face-planted the floor.

The redhead had begun chasing the cat around the cafe, Tamaki announcing loudly from his chair that it was totally and completely Kaoru's own fault for being tripped.  _ Clearly _ , he stated,  _ she knows the perfect name for herself and you insulted her by messing it up. Obviously her name should be Miki, as she was rescued by the Host Club! It just makes sense! _

The blond had been allowed three seconds of smugness as the others mulled over the name before the calico raced over to the boy and scrambled up his leg, away from the redhead chasing her. With claws.

Tamaki, for his credit, didn't scream or cry. Just smiled at the kitten in his lap with tears lining his lower eyelid. The name hadn't stuck.

Figures Misuzu-chi would kick them outside for 'causing a disturbance' in the cafe, and now they were all melting in their chairs.

"Well… there's no use just sitting here waiting for our skin to fry. Let's find something to cool off with." Jin moaned in disinterest at her own suggestion before slowly crawling out of her chair, the kitten jumping off her lap as she moved. The others were slow in following her, carefully peeling their skin from the plastic and drenched in their own sweat.

"Ugh…. I  _ hate _ you, Mother Nature!"

The sun beat down harder.

Jin tucked her hand into her tanktop before grabbing the metal door handle and pulling it open. The heat wave from inside nearly bowled them over, daring any of them to risk their lives by entering. Since she couldn't see anything through the darkness yet, the brunette pieced together her memories of the room; it's metal shelves making about 4 aisles up and down the room, filled with everything from gardening equipment to snow shovels to dirty lawn gnomes.

Honey was the first to say something, "Jin-chan? What exactly do we need from in here?"

The brunette huffed, wiping as much sweat off her forehead as she could manage before poking her head into the dark, "Okay, I  _ know _ that we have not only a sprinkler in here, but also a plastic pool, some water guns, and maybe even a few pool toys. That'll not only help us cool down, but it'll make the Pension looked even more family friendly. Maybe some of the families staying here will come down and join us. That should definitely get us on Misuzu-chi's good side. Haru, do you think we still have those packets of water balloons?"

The other brunette tilted her head, "Maybe. We'll also need some buckets for the water guns and water balloons, if we have any. I could call Hiroshi and Beni to come over with some; I know their uncle uses really big pails for displaying his fruit. He might be willing to loan some to us for the day." She stepped past the doorway, the kitten on her heels with its nose wriggling. It would appear the small animal also had a soft spot for her savior's sister.

"Great idea, Haru-chan! Come on, Takashi! Let's find the water guns!"

"Mmm…" It was clear the tall boy wasn't looking forward to going into the warm storage, but he quickly tossed his shirt off over his head and began leading the way inside for the other boys.

"Mori-senpai has the right idea!" Tamaki was the next to lose his shirt, quickly followed by the others. "We'll change into our swimsuits when Misuzu-chi allows us back indoors, but until then we make do."

Jin frowned after the shirtless boys, "Lucky…" She should've worn a sports-bra today. At least then it would've been somewhat socially acceptable for her to take her own shirt off. "Society is stupid. Now… where are the-"

"Nēchan! I've got the water balloons!" Haruhi ran over to her sister, the kitten on her heels, "The cat found them, actually! What do you think of the name 'Chie'?"

"Hmm. Mayb-" a crash sounded from somewhere further in the storage room, followed by a faint 'oops'.

_ Bang! _

Jin and Haruhi jumped, turning around to see the kitten sitting down in front of a section of wall, looking dazed.

"...Did she just run into a wall?"

"Yeah. Let's not call her Chie."

Something metal hit the cement floor a few rows away, startling the kitten into a nearby flower pot, "Jin? What are we looking for again?"

The tall brunette sighed, "Haru, go ahead and call the Arai boys. Invite them over, too, and see if Gorou can come with them. Beni said he was staying in Karuizawa for the next week and I owe him a 'break-his-heart-and-I'll-kill-you-speech'. Hika-kun, I'm coming!"

* Time Skip *

"Oh…"

"So  _ that's _ what an inflatable pool looks like!"

Jin smirked, unable to not be amused by the twins' wonder-filled tones. She left the running hose where it was, open end resting underneath the steadily rising line of water inside the plastic pool, and looked around the rest of the backyard. Hiroshi, Beni, and Beni's boyfriend, Gorou, were using the hose on the other side of the backyard to fill up bucket after bucket of cold water for the impending squirt gun battle. Somewhere inside, Haruhi was filling up even more buckets with water balloons, hopefully receiving  _ some _ help from the other boys once they finished changing. Through the windows of the Pension, Jin could see the excited faces of children watching the preparations.

"Nēchan? How much longer?" Haruhi stumbled slowly through the back door, lugging along a huge blue bucket filled to the top with multiple colored water balloons.

The taller brunette looked around the backyard once more, "I think once all of us have our swimsuits on the pool will be filled. Ben-kun! Keep an eye on the pool! The rest of us are getting our swimsuits on!"

"Okay!" Beni aimed a thumbs-up her way, and Jin was pleased to see Gorou nod in agreement, inching closer to his tall boyfriend and casting nervous glances her way. Hopefully those would wear off soon. But then again, he  _ had _ heard of her skills in martial arts.

Eh, Beni would convince him Jin wasn't dangerous... so long as Gorou remained on her good side.

The sisters and twins make their way back inside, passing by Mori who was carrying two more buckets of water balloons. The tall boy was already in his dark blue swim trunks, them having been delivered from his family's cottage a minute or two ago.

The inside of the Pension was all abuzz with excitement. There were guests and customers in swimsuits all over the place; mostly kids and teenagers, but a few adults were waiting around as well. Misuzu-chi was cranking out iced lemonade like a maniac, shooting a pleading look over to Jin as if to say 'Hurry up!' She held up five fingers before see-sawing her hand -'Five minutes-ish'- before turning to follow Haruhi into their room.

Quickly throwing on a simple Navy blue two-piece, Jin grabbed her usual blue and green towel and went back out into the cafe. A particular head of hair caught her attention and she smirked. The Arai boys were keeping an eye on the pool, right? Which meant  _ she _ could just relax and cool down in the AC for a few moments.

She was quick to take the perfect seat.

"Is this spot taken?"

"Not at all, Miss."

Laughing at the mock formal tone in Kyoya's response, Jin sat down on his left and leaned over, "So, what are you working on now?" Something furry rubbed against her bare leg and she reached down to scratch the kitten behind it's ears.

"Well, since the homework I had written was ruined this morning, I decided to switch tracks while at the Pension. I'm currently working on the essay we need to complete for our history class. I'm focusing on the Yayoi period. What were you assigned?"

"Jomon. I wrote out my paper at the first chance I got, the day before you guys showed up. Or at least the first draft of it anyways. Do you know how Tamaki's been doing on his? I think we were assigned the same period, so if he needs any help this summer I'd like to know ahead of time so I can finish the rest of my homework first."

"I highly doubt he's even thought of his homework so soon into summer break. He'll most likely… AM I INTERRUPTING YOUR NAP?"

In that split second between Kyoya's transition from talking into shouting, the backdoor of the Pension had opened and Beni announced everyone could come outside and enjoy the water. The following cheer had completely drowned out the glasses-wearing boy to everyone except the girl next to him. Jin was laughing hysterically as Kyoya and the kitten suddenly engaged in a death-glare match, the kitten lying down over Kyoya's hands and the keyboard of his laptop. Page after page of random keyboard characters were running down the screen as the kitten shifted on the keys.

The boy's glare returned to the girl beside him, "This isn't funny! This cat has something against me!"

Jin could hardly breath, "M-maybe she just wants you to go outside with me instead of playing on your laptop! Even  _ she _ knows you're a Workaholic!" Yanking his hands out from underneath the cat, Kyoya scowled at the animal. Jin grabbed his newly freed hands and began pulling him out of his seat, "Come on, Glasses. Misuzu-chi will watch over your computer."

Hearing his name, the owner of the Pension lifted his head from the counter, catching his breath, "You kids run along, I'll put your laptop in a safe place once the kitten gets off it, Kyoya. Go have fun, you two!" The trannie watched with a smile as the teenagers went out back, still hand in hand.

_ God, those two are too cute to handle! _

* * *

 

Jin winced a bit as her bare feet hit the hot wooden deck, quickly jumping over onto the cool grass and releasing Kyoya's hand. There was already a Squirt-Gun Battle Royale going on, the two teams lead by one Hitachiin twin each. Occasionally someone would unfortunately cross over into Water-Balloon-War territory where Mori and Honey's team were dominating over the Arai boys and their team. Half of the pool was completely taken over by the adults who had dragged their chairs over to stick their feet into the water (joined by Haruhi), while the other half had about three little kids happily splashing around little plastic flowers that floated along the top of the water. And Tamaki was happily leading a long line of younger kids up and over the oscillating sprinkler.

"Looks like everyone is having a good time, huh?" Jin turned around to the boy beside her with a smile, only to get squirted in the face with a water gun.

"Ah! Hikaru!" The redhead ran for his life as the girl began chasing him, "You're gonna pay for that!

"Pay for what? Interrupting your moment with your bo-COLD!" Hikaru had made a mistake in his retreat, running too close to the water balloon fight than was probably wise. Jin scooped up one balloon from a bucket and threw it with deadly accuracy at the boy's bare back. The shock of ice-cold water hitting him gave Jin a chance to catch up.

She grabbed his flailing water gun and twisted it out of his hand, ending with the barrel of the gun pressed underneath the redhead's chin and the boy on his knees.

"Any last words?"

The boy grinned, "Jin-senpai, you may be stronger… but  _ I've _ been blessed with another body."

"What? Eiiii!" The girl arched her back as a stream of cold water hit her. Twisting around she watched as Kaoru ran for the safety of the water gun battle. Hikaru quickly jumped up, kissed her cheek in a quick moment of spite, and ran after his brother, scooping up another water gun on the way. Jin shook her fist after them, "TWINS!"

Rubbing at her cheek, she went back to where Kyoya was waiting for her, leaning against the deck.

"Well, that was quite dramatic."

"No kidding. How are you not wet yet? I could've sworn Hikaru would've tried to get you, too!"

The ravenet smirked, "I believe I _ was _ the original target, actually. However, I was able to shift out of the way in time."

"Are you saying you let me take a  _ hit _ for you?  _ Really? _ "

Another smirk, "You handled it swimmingly, I might add."

"Oh ho ho… wrong choice of words, Ootori."

The poor boy didn't even get a chance to protest. In one swift movement, Jin lifted the water gun she had stolen from Hikaru and fired, soaking Kyoya's shirt through, very narrowly missing his face. Gasping at the drastic difference between the temperature of the water and the air (a very, very stark difference), the ravenet whipped his wet shirt off and onto the deck, getting the cold fabric as far away as possible.

Of course, it landed on the kitten, who had followed the two of them outside.

It yowled, shaking itself free of the wet fabric and glaring at the ravenet who was now chasing the girl around the yard. The two wove around the sprinkler, Jin always managing a turn or extra burst of speed just before Kyoya could get a grip on her and exact his revenge.

Settling in the shade of a nearby chair, the kitten began grooming it's ruffled fur, keeping an eye on the kind female human. Despite all the water she was running through, the kitten wouldn't hesitate to protect her should the male who was chasing her cause her any harm.

A sudden flash of colors danced in front of the kitten's nose, startling it back up into a sitting position. It's eyes zeroed in on the Alpine black swallowtail butterfly and it crouched, slowly setting one foot in front of the other as the insect landed on a flowering bush. The butterfly didn't so much as flinch when a tall and short boy ducked behind the plant for cover from a sudden rain of water balloons.

The short blond one noticed some movement and turned his head. He looked at the kitten, then at the bug it was staring at. He elbowed his cousin lightly.

"Look Takashi! Maybe we should name her, Cho? It's a really pretty name, don't you think?"

"Mmm."

"Yeah! Let's go tell Jin-chan about Cho! I saw Kyo-chan chasing her around the plastic pool a few seconds ago, they're so cute together! Anyways, lets go before Beni gets back with more water balloons!"

The blond stood up, shaking the bush and finally dislodging the butterfly. It fluttered for maybe three heartbeats before a white, brown, and black blur launched itself at the insect, catching it in a row of sharp teeth.

Honey stared at the calico cat in horror, not responding as his cousin lifted him up and away from the scene of the crime.

"We're not naming her Cho."

The kitten seemed to agree, licking it's lips before returning to it's previous grooming session.

* Time Skip *

"That was a lot of fun! Can we do that again this week?"

Jin laughed, fiddling with the hair clip she had put back in, ensuring her newly washed hair wouldn't drip down the back of her shirt and unintentionally making her look cuter. The brunette leaned against the doorway, watching the light drizzle of rain sprinkle against the sidewalk. "Maybe. If we get another ridiculously hot one like today. But even if we don't, you guys are still invited to hang out at the Pension for the rest of summer, you know? The Host Club is becoming pretty fond of you boys hanging out with us."

Gorou smiled, leaning backwards against his boyfriend's chest, "I appreciate the offer, but unfortunately my summer internship starts up next week a few towns over. I'll definitely visit you guys until then, though."

The brunette nodded, smiling as Beni looped his arms around Gorou's waist and pointed out his uncle's car pulling up in front of the Pension. Last minute hugs were exchanged before the three boys raced through the rain and into the car. The Fujioka sisters waved after the car until it rounded the corner out of sight. Haruhi was quick to duck her head back inside, but Jin dawdled with her hand outstretched into the weather. The cold water clashed wonderfully with the hot air, tickling her skin with each drop.

A tired-sounding voice called out to her from inside, "Jin? Just because you were lucky enough to not catch a cold the first two times, I would not tempt Fate."

"Fate? I never would've expected you to believe in such things, Kyo-kun." Despite the jest, Jin shook her wet hand off and took the half-step back inside the Pension, closing the door. "Well, it is probably time to feed… dang it! We still haven't named the kitten yet, have we? I can't believe we forgot to do that!"

The boy readjusted his glasses, lips set in a tight frown, "I hardly feel like that was our fault. Each and every time we tried to find a suitable name for that animal, we were proved wrong."

"...Kyoya? Where  _ is _ the kitten?"

The two looked around. The cafe was pretty much empty save for the Hosts and Misuzu-chi. They were all sitting at a table on the far side of the room, exchanging stories about their view of the day and slathering Aloe on the twins who were redder than cooked lobsters. But no kitten.

"Oh no…"

Kyoya could hear the rising tension and worry building up in the girl's voice and cast a concerned glance outside the front window, knowing the eldest Fujioka would never forgive herself if they had forgotten the animal outside in the rain. Thankfully he was able to relax.

"Jin, look."

The brunette followed his pointing finger and sighed. The kitten was curled up on the piano bench, eyes fixed on the outside rain. It's stumpy brown-tipped tail was flicking back and forth, ears occasionally twitching whenever a rather large raindrop hit the windows.

The two second years moved closer (Kyoya was only following Jin, considering he had no real desire to be near the cat any longer than necessary) but the cat didn't react. Once Jin was seated on the other half of the bench, the two of them could finally hear the light purring coming from the small animal. Jin reached out with a hand and gently stroked the kitten from head to tail. It purred louder.

Kyoya tilted his head. This kitten was calm and content in such a way that he was almost convinced it was a completely different animal from the one that had followed Jin -and therefore him- around all day long. Was it tired out from a full day of trying to ruin his summer? Or…

"Amaya."

"Mmm?"

"That's my name suggestion. What do you think?" The brunette looked up at her crush, confused. The boy cleared his throat, "I'm not really that interested in whatever name to pick for the animal, of course, nor am I especially fond of her but... it's a decent name. It does speak of the night you found her." Tentatively, the ravenet reached out and gently stroked the cat's head with his fingertips. The calico purred harder, bucking it's small head into the boy's palm. Jin smiled, glad to see the two of them engaging in a single act of non-hatred for each other.

"It sounds perfect."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emi: Beautiful Blessing  
> Hideko: Splendid Child  
> Miki: Beautiful Princess  
> Chie: Wisdom  
> Cho: Butterfly  
> Amaya: Night Rain


	33. Kyoya's Reluctant Day Out!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Episode chapter, a little more true to the canon episode than the last few, I'm well aware. But I think this turned out okay. Hope you enjoy!

 

Kyoya had always questioned his friend's crazy ideas. Most of the times, when he decided they wouldn't work, they usually didn't. But, on the rare occasion, the craziness somehow paid off and Kyoya was left completely baffled and confused.

Of course, at the moment he couldn't care less so long as it worked.

" _Woah~ah!_ _No chance, no way, I won't say it no, no!_ "

" _ Give up, or give in. Check the grin, you're in love! _ "

A good majority of the Host Club (except for Kyoya and Haruhi) were chasing Jin Fujioka around the Pension, singing 'I Won't Say I'm In Love' from the Disney movie Hercules. She was singing the part of Meg with a cute little blush as she ran along the indoor balcony with the boys on her heels. Kyoya watched in amusement as she was herded down the stairs where he was waiting.

" _ This scene, won't play, I won't say I'm in loooooooove~! _ "

" _ You're doin' flips, read our lips, you're in love! _ "

" _ You're way off base, I won't say it! Get off my case, I won't say it~ _ "

Kyoya smirked as the other boys of the host club chased Jin into his arms when she wasn't looking.

" _ Girl don't be proud, it's okay, you're in love! _ "

The brunette blushed, attempting to step away from the ravenet. She gasped lightly as the boy held on to her tighter, bringing a hand up to cradle her cheek in his palm.

" _ Oh…At least out loud... _ " Jin looked to the side, her chin barely being caught by Kyoya's finger and turned back to face him, " _ I won't say I'm in… love~ _ "

The two leaned in as the others sang the last few chords. Kyoya was smiling, glad that, for once, his friends weren't being complete idiots and actually helping him accomplish something in his life. He leaned down slowly, wanting to savor this moment and feel every millimeter of her lips as they came together for their first kiss. He was a romantic like that.

"MON AMI!"

Kyoya's body convulsed, arms suddenly trapped in layers of white sheets that hadn't been there a second ago and holding a soft pillow tightly against his chest. He struggled for a moment as the Host Club boys who had been assisting him in his dream began piling into his cottage's bedroom. The ravenet laid back on his bed, chest still heaving from the rude awakening. And wait… was he..?

The boy quickly rolled back onto his side.

"Kyoya! You can't fool us, we know you're awake!"

He didn't respond, his body rapidly devolving back into a sleepy state. Last night he had been going over his homework one final time, comparing notes with Jin online until the early hours of the morning. Of course,  _ she _ had exited out of their messages to go to bed around 2 a.m., but Kyoya had stayed up for another three or so hours to do some extra club financials before the school year started up next monday. He could've waited for Jin or asked her to stay up and help, but he didn't want to interrupt her sleep or give her another large pile of work to do on their last day of vacation.

"Look at this flyer I found, Kyoya! Doesn't this sound fascinating? Commoners hold these events they call 'Expo's all the time! Products from all around the world are gathered under one roof so commoners can enjoy the joys of expensive traveling without paying as much! Attending this expo will give us, as privileged beings, a better understanding of the Fujioka girls; Haruhi mostly since Jin is at least partially involved in our world. You guessed it, Kyoya! We're going on a field trip! Haruhi and Jin will not be joining us today, as having them around will harm our learning experience by trying to explain everything."

Kyoya merely grunted. He'd maybe caught on to every fourth word out of his friend's mouth, brain still refusing to function after only roughly two and a half hours of sleep. And that was a very generous guess.

Not to be deterred, Tamaki jumped up on Kyoya's bed, shaking him from a spot  _ way _ too close to what Kyoya was attempting to will down, "Come  _ on… _ don't be such a grump!"

"Yeah, Kyo-chan! You can't stay in bed all day!"

"Come on, Kyoya-senpai!"

"I know you're upset we won't see Jin all day-"

"-but that doesn't mean you can't have fun with us!"

Knowing they wouldn't just take the hint and go away on their own, Kyoya groggily pushed himself into a sitting position. "Casually" pulling his extra pillow up and over his lap as he did so.

" _ For your information I was up until 5 am, you morons. Which, in case you haven't noticed, makes me a little less than happy about being woken up. _ "

The four piles of weight were quickly removed from his mattress, and he grinned evilly.

" _ Okay, enough with the commoner schtick. If you half-wits like wasting your whole day on worn out clichés, go right ahead and suit yourselves, but count. Me. Out. _ "

Just then, all of his fight was taken out of his body and Kyoya fell backwards onto his pillow, falling back asleep almost immediately.

_ I wonder if dream-Jin will be waiting... _

* * *

 

_ Ding ding! _

Haruhi reached down into her purse, her thin fingers pushing aside sunscreen and a packet of gum before curling around her iPhone. Pulling the device out, she stopped walking and leaned up against a nearby wall so she wouldn't be in anyone's way.

**Jin:** _ Finished at the pet store! I'll be in the book shop when you're ready! _

**Jin:** _They're gonna hold all the stuff I bought until they close, so we just have to pick them up before leaving the mall, okay?_

The brunette smiled. Jin always did work fast.

Since it was the last day of summer vacation, Misuzu-chi had let both girls have the day off to enjoy the exposition. But only on one condition; they had to go to the pet store in the mall and do some shopping for Amaya.

The kitten had grown quite rapidly over the summer, now a full grown cat. She was a big hit at the Pension, which had become more popular than ever after it's latest addition. Misuzu-chi was pretty confident that once Jin and Haruhi went home after today he'd be able to put out a few 'Help Wanted' signs, which was pretty cool. The girls were glad their 'uncle' was finally going to get a little help year-round.

**Haruhi:** _ Sounds great! Be there soon! _

" _ Momma! _ "

Her head jerked up at the child's screaming. Running forward, she rounded the corner and stopped, narrowly avoiding smacking into a tall boy. She opened her mouth to apologize, but was cut short with recognition.

"Kyoya-senpai?"

The ravenet turned to face her and Haruhi felt an involuntary shudder run down her spine. Even after many months in close contact with the ravenet, she had never seen her Senpai look so utterly pissed off. He had dark bags underneath his eyes, his hair was a huge mess, and essentially looked like he'd just crawled out on the wrong side of the bed.

"Haruhi."

"Well… I didn't expect to see you here today."

He didn't respond to that, lifting a hand to his chin. Haruhi didn't like the new calculated look in his eye. Seriously,  _ what _ did her sister see in him?

"How much money do you have on you, Haruhi?"

"...what?"

The tall boy reached underneath his glasses, rubbing at the corners of his reddening eyes, "Fine, if I must explain the whole story, it would seem as though the rest of our club members have left me here without my wallet or cell phone. I have no way to get back to my cottage and have yet to eat anything at all today. Since you are here, however, I figured you could buy me a meal… if you have enough money, that is."

The girl hummed, "Nēchan has all the money we set aside for food today. Thankfully for you, she just told me she's finished with the Pet Store. Once we find her we can get you some breakfast."

"Wonderful. Where did she say she was?"

Despite everything, Haruhi smiled and shook her head, turning around to head towards the nearest escalator, "You've sure perked up. Come on, she's upstairs."

Kyoya followed along behind her, "Of course I have. We find Jin, I get fed." Despite what his tone and words implied, Haruhi knew that the ravenet behind her was probably trying to rein in a small smile at the thought of her sister.  _ They like each other so much it's sickening. _

The two stepped onto the crowded escalator and began their silent assent. Haruhi shivered as the AC from the second floor drifted down over her bare arms. The chill dampened her mood. It was like something was trying to warn her about... something. It was a very similar chill to whenever Tamaki was about to sucker her into another one of his crazy ideas. The brunette had come to listen to that chill and trust in its wisdom.

_ Oh no… not here. Not today... _

* With Jin *

The intro song for the musical 'Into the Woods' floated above the bookshelves, the hums hitting the prancing notes with ease. The humming grew louder if the person hearing it wandered towards the Fiction section, where a girl in red and white was browsing the new paperback books shelved there. Her lithe fingers delicately traced the spine of 'I Am Number Four' before turning her attention to the whole shelf that was dedicated to Rick Riordan's works.

Going into bookstores was always a bittersweet experience for Jin Fujioka. She loved the smell of new books and finding new titles or suggestions, but she always left them empty-handed. She just didn't have the kind of money to buy every book she wanted. Typically she'd just wait until her local library got their shipment or hope someone would give her a bookstore gift card for her birthday or a similar celebration. Generally she could count on Beni for such a gift, and she would always spend it within a week or two.

When she grew up, she wanted to have a job where she could walk into any bookstore she wanted and leave with every book she found... in  _ hardcover. _

Sighing, the brunette turned away from the newest Percy Jackson book, 'The Hidden Oracle' and looked at a trilogy on the opposing shelf. ' _ Matched', huh? Sounds interesting, but what's with the glass bubble? _

"Oh… my…  _ gosh! _ "

Jin smirked, her humming dropping to a softer volume.  _ Yeah, I know, BOOKS! Who would've guessed you'd find THOSE here? _

"Is that her?"

The humming stopped completely.  _ That voice. Both of those voices… _

"No way… that's not Jin Fujioka… right?"

_ No… _

Her gut gave a vicious twist in her lower abdomen as she turned around. At the other end of the aisle three girls stood with shock plastered across their faces. Triplets, two with black hair and one with a very dark brown, and all with the same tense disbelief.

Jin was completely frozen. A thick, suffocating feeling of dread was slowly overwhelming her. She wanted to run, but her legs felt like underdone jello.

"Nēchan? Are you in here?"

A bolt of electricity raced its way down Jin's spine and she ran. Thanking any deity that popped to the top of her head, she raced to the front of the bookstore. Haruhi hadn't even taken a step inside before a strong hand grabbed her elbow and started pulling her away.

"You're here. That's good. Hey, Kyo-kun. We need to go. Now!"

Kyoya and Haruhi were confused. They both tried to look around at whatever Jin was running from while attempting to keep pace with her. The bookstore they had just left was almost completely empty, save for a group of triplet girls watching them from the entrance. Kyoya was still lost, but Haruhi let out a sharp gasp.

"Nēchan… those were the girls-"

"I know, Haru, I know! Can we please get out of here?"

"Jin? Who were they?"

"Not now, Kyoya. Not now… please."

His lips pressed together tightly, but he did as she asked.  _ So much for having her cheer me up, then. _

* * *

 

"Let's eat here."

"Here?" Haruhi looked up at the fast-food chain logo, "Kyoya-senpai, are you sure? There are much nicer restaurants upstairs."

The ravenet continued walking into the burger stop, "You only set food money aside for the two of you. Since you're now paying for me as well, our choices become somewhat limited. Just be sure to get a receipt.  _ Tamaki will reimburse you ten-fold. _ "

The small brunette retreats, shivering in fright, but her sister is oddly mellow. She's standing beside Kyoya in the line, but her eyes are staring out the windows lining the room. Her right hand comes up to rub at her left elbow.

"Can I help who's next?"

The three take a few steps forward, Haruhi quickly taking the lead, her hand brushing against Jin's bare arm in a sympathetic gesture, "Okay, I'll take the number 5 meal and a small pop. Nēchan, does a number 10 and a water sound good?" The taller girl nodded, her right hand no longer rubbing but instead holding onto her left arm tightly. Haruhi wanted to hug her but decided to wait until they were seated, "Kyoya-senpai, do you know what you want?"

"Just pick whatever… but be sure to get a lot of it."

"Oh… okay. Um… a number 7 combo, large fries, and a large soda for him."

Kyoya sighed, frustrated. Mostly at Tamaki and his idiocy, but honestly a little at the fact that Jin was pretty much ignoring him. Normally the two of them would be in the middle of an interesting topic already, drifting in and out of each other's personal space more than normal friends would. Kyoya felt that if Jin had been acting like normal, he most likely wouldn't be in such a foul mood with her little sister.

A large soda cup was placed on the counter and he reached over to pick it up when he noticed the cashier lady. She was staring at him, her cheeks clouded over with a pink blush. It takes all his restraint to not groan aloud. He was  _ really _ not in the mood to deal with this.

Moving back without the cup, Kyoya slipped his arm around Jin's waist and pulled her flush into his side, "Haruhi, we're going to go find a table to sit at. Please fill my cup with Cherrio. Grape flavored, if you can. If not, then whatever they have." Ignoring the crushed expression on their cashier's face, he leads Jin away to a nearby booth. Kyoya drops his arm from her waist and sits. He expects her to sit down beside him, but instead she slides into the booth across from him. It sends another jolt of irritation through his chest.

"Alright, spit it out. You're obviously upset about something to do with those three girls we saw earlier? Who were they?"

The brunette curls in a little closer to herself, arms crossed as she starts rubbing at both of them, "They're triplets… they used to go to the same school as I did. Until they moved."

_ Alright. Getting somewhere, I suppose. _ "What happened regarding them that has you so fearful of them now?"

She doesn't respond, turning her head to look at her sister. Kyoya doesn't push, at first, and just observes her. He wonders if what she was wearing has always been in her wardrobe or if she had bought it recently under the press of the twins. She had on white sandals, red skinny jeans, and a white shirt with a red ribbon sewn around her middle and on the hems. Jin looked like a red velvet cupcake, but her vacant/haunted expression ruined the look.

"Jin, what happened?"

"They used to bully her."

Jin stood up, allowing Haruhi to slide into the booth and take the window seat. The shorter girl sat their food tray down on the table and pulled her burger over. Kyoya quickly snatched up his own food and began to listen to Haruhi's gentle explanation.

"Nēchan doesn't have many friends from the public school we went to. After our mother got sick, kids started avoiding her like she was contagious or something. My grade was too young to really understand what was going on for me, but Nēchan didn't get that luxury. It didn't get any better when they started realizing how smart she was. The triplets we saw earlier are one year older than Nēchan. When they found out she was smarter than they were, even though she was younger, they started to bully her. Relentlessly. They're the reason Beni was Jin's only friend from our old school."

Well great. Kyoya could physically feel his morning going from bad to worse.

Jin fiddled with her chicken tenders, one of her arms still folded over her chest, "Can… can you not tell any of the others? God knows how Tama-kun would react. He'd probably try to confront them or something… and I really don't need that right now."

Kyoya sneers and takes a huge bite out of his burger, mood not improving at the reminder of how much he hated the blond boy at the moment. For the following eight seconds, they just sit in silence. Jin nibbles at the end of a tender while Haruhi just stares at the boy across from them.

He notices.

"Now what?"

She jumps, snatching up her own sandwich, "Nothing. I just didn't really expect this kind of food to… appeal to you. It's surprising."

"It doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. No doubt you'll say I'm calloused for admitting it since you bought this tripe."

Haruhi pales, "Of course I won't." She takes her own bite of burger, noticing her sister tense out of the corner of her eye.  _ Um… that's not a good sign. _

"I simply want you both to understand that since there is no one of consequence to see me behaving this way here, that there's no reason for me to keep up with appearances."

" _ Kyoya, that's enough. _ "

"Hm?" Kyoya turns to the older sister, surprised by her cold tone. Haruhi looks at her too, noticing the tightness in Jin's entire being.  _ Uh oh. _ ..

Jin clenches her unopened water bottle tightly, staring straight at the green cap, "Just because you're in a bad mood today does  _ not _ give you the exclusive right to be an asshole. If you're going to behave like this, then I hope you understand when we leave you to your own devices for the rest of the day while  _ we  _ enjoy each other's company,  _ without _ you. You  _ do _ realize that we  _ could've _ decided to not buy you food at all, correct? Although, if I had known this was the sort of thanks we'd get for our generosity, I probably would've reconsidered our choice."

Kyoya is struck dumb, unable to speak as the girl abruptly stands up from her seat, "I'm going to find a bathroom. Don't touch my food."

She stalks away, leaving behind a very shell-shocked boy and resigned girl. Kyoya feels torn between chasing her down to apologize or simply letting his anger vent at Jin's memories. He settles for dropping his burger back onto the tray and letting his head fall into his hands. This has  _ not _ been his morning.

"By the way, Kyoya-senpai, there's something I've always wanted to clarify with you."

He lets his head fall forward a little more, fingers tangling and gripping at his tousled hair, "Oh really? And what might that be?"

"If you ever hurt my sister, I will gladly hold you down while she carves out your liver." Not acknowledging the surprised if not vaguely horrified look on her senpai's face, Haruhi continued with a big grin, "I'll give you a free pass on that one because you're both having really crappy days, but please, for your own sake, be more careful from now on. I'm going to go calm her down, if you don't mind. Don't touch our food."

Kyoya can't do anything but stare off after the shorter girl before going back to his meal, chewing and thinking.

* With Haruhi *

"Nēchan? You in there?"

"Yeah."

Haruhi hears the lock slide out of place and backs away from the stall door. Jin slowly shuffles out, her eyes rimmed red.

"You okay?"

"Oh, yeah! I'm fine. I mean, all that happened was I learned that the guy I fell in love with was fake all along, so I guess I'm peachy-keen."

Haruhi winced. Jin sounded so cold, just like back in the day when she was being bullied and wouldn't let anyone too close, not even her. Though she was later told that Jin kept Haruhi at a slight distance while at school so none of the bullying would ever affect her, it had still marred their close relationship a long time ago. Haruhi  _ never _ wanted to live through another repeat of that.

"Nēchan, you know that's not true. Kyoya's had a bad day, and he's angry, but you've had a rough start too."

"But he doesn't really  _ care, _ Haru! He's so… emotionless! Has… has his entire person been a front? Do I know  _ anything _ about him?"

"Well, I'm not sure what you've learned, and I'm sure I don't want to, but I did notice something today. Earlier, when I first found him, he was acting even colder than he was just then… until I mentioned you were here, too. He perked right up after that. And again, when we told him about the bullies -you didn't see his face, but Nēchan, he looked  _ devastated _ . Probably because he didn't want to think about anyone hurting you, ever."

Jin hangs her head, hands dripping water into the sink, "I… I just don't know anymore, Haru."

"I know he likes you back, Nēchan. He's just having a hard time showing it right now."

"... Why are you defending him so much? I know you're not exactly thrilled I have a crush on him in the first place."

"Why not defend him? I've seen the way you two look at each other. I'm surprised you two have waited this long."

Jin shook her head, shoving her hands beneath an air-drier, "I guess… if you're so sure, he can hang out with us around the store today, but I'm not just going to forgive him like that."

The short-haired one sighed, pleased with that answer for now, "Good, let's head back out there."

The rest of their meal finished smoothly, like chunky peanut butter.

Either Kyoya hadn't taken her warning seriously, or he was flat out ignoring Haruhi's hints. She tried to get the two of them talking again, prompting Kyoya with topics such as his homework and other general topics. But when he ended up stating that his and the host club's friendships weren't even real and Jin snarled that she should've realized that even she 'can't teach an old dog new tricks', Haruhi gave up and steered the both of them out of the restaurant.

Jin very clearly made a conscious effort to keep her and Kyoya on opposite sides of Haruhi.

Wandering the expo was no less nerve-wracking.

"Black pearls… from Ishigaki Island no less." The girls slowed to a stop when they noticed Kyoya had paused in front of a rather small kiosk, "Odd to find these here… considering how much they go for."

Haruhi quickly jumped closer, "Wow, Senpai, you can really tell where they're from just by looking at them?"

"I am the product of excellent breeding."

Jin's head jerked to the left, "I see a book stand, excuse me." And she walked away, unaware of Kyoya's eyes following her. He sighs, a hand coming up to rub at his cheek. The burger and soda were sending some much needed energy to his brain and he was finally able to see  _ exactly _ why Jin was upset with him. He couldn't blame her, he'd been what some might call a 'jerk' all morning long. What he  _ couldn't _ figure out was how to get back on Jin's good side. He didn't think that first kiss he'd been fantasizing about this morning would be much help at the moment.

"You've got to try harder, Kyoya-senpai."

He looks at Haruhi, her intentions becoming clear to him, "Are you attempting to assist me in wooing your own sister? I would've thought you'd be against it."

"Nēchan's demi-sexual, you moron!" Haruhi smacked his shoulder, "Seeing her so close to you after only a couple months is a downright miracle. I should hope that would say a lot about you as a person and not about Jin's need for contacts! I want nothing but happiness for my sister, and by the looks of it that means helping the two of you makeup, so help me, Lord. Thankfully for the both of your sakes, I know you're a nicer guy when you're not in a foul mood so I'm actually willing to help. And if you want Jin to ever talk to you again then you should heed my advice and try harder!"

"Then tell me what to do! How do I apologize to her?"

Haruhi opened her mouth, looking ready to spit out another rant when she stiffened. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no."

Without another word, she turned and ran towards the book stand Jin had drifted off towards a minute ago. Going after her, Kyoya quickly realized the situation. Jin was backed up into the corner of a bookshelf and another kiosk by the triplet girls from this morning.  _ How did Haruhi know something bad was happening when her back was to the… never mind. I shouldn't be surprised with this by now. _

The two are forced to navigate the growing crowd slowly, watching as Jin made herself look smaller and smaller against the bookshelf beside her. Kyoya couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't defending herself like she had done countless times before. This submissive attitude was very out of character for her.

Finally the two were by the books, ducking around tables piled high with autobiographies and children's books. Three evil-sounding giggles drifted over to their ears.

"Wow, I didn't think this would be the same amount of fun, but I was  _ so _ wrong!"

"Do you still teach yourself topics that are  _ way _ too advanced for your infant mind to deal with, Freak? Does it fill the void inside you?"

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Kyoya sneered, roughly placing himself between Jin and the girls.

Knocked off-kilter by the sudden arrival of a handsome man, Kyoya turned to the girl behind him. She still wasn't looking at him, but he could see the way her arms trembled slightly and finally understood her lack of defense. These girls were a big reason she had had no childhood. Jin had done everything in her power to make sure that Haruhi had time to be a kid, and in the one place she could pretend that her life was normal, a place where she excelled, she was belittled and mentally attacked everyday by these  _ heathens. _

The 'Freak' label especially stung. That's what Eiko called her whenever she wanted to purposefully get under her cousin's skin, and now these girls used it too? Were there any other insignificant people in this world who wanted to call this beautiful creation a 'Freak'? Kyoya would very much like to meet each and every one of them before sending their families into bankruptcy.

Hoping she wouldn't kill him for what he was about to do next, Kyoya adopted a soft expression -one he had spent years perfecting- and gently pulled Jin into his chest. He tucked a runaway strand of hair behind her ear before pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Here's where you ran off to, Jin-chan, I was worried. And for good reason, too, it would seem. Who are these idiotic girls, and why are they insulting my girlfriend?"

The girls gape, faces flushed as they continued to gawk the handsome boy in front of them.

"We… we were just…"

"It was just a joke…"

"We're friends of hers… from elementary school-"

Kyoya holds up a hand, "Don't waste my time. Excuse us."

The triplet sisters parted as he walked straight through them, Jin held close by the small of her back. Haruhi leads the two 2nd years away from the book stand and further into the expo, leaving Jin's old bullies behind.

"Nēchan?"

"I'm alright…" Jin pulled herself out of Kyoya's grip, hands back up and rubbing at her bare arms, "I… thank you." She allows Kyoya a quick second of eye contact before drifting closer to Haruhi, putting the uncomfortable space back between them. The boy feels his heart sink.  _ If that didn't win me back some good credit, then what will? _

The sisters move a little further ahead of him in order to squeeze through the crowd and Kyoya notices Haruhi has one of her hands behind her back. She's giving him a thumbs-up.

_ Oh. _

* * *

 

"So… Kyoya-senpai. How come I still know next to nothing about your family, even after all this time?"

"Because there's nothing about my family you need to know. Nothing interesting, at least."

Haruhi tries to not groan outright. He was  _ not _ making it easy to help him. "You're not being very fair, Kyoya-senpai. You know almost everything there is to know about mine and Nēchan's family tree, and yet we know nothing of yours. That is, unless you two  _ have _ talked?"

"No, we haven't. It's never come up before. But it is an intriguing notion… in it's own way, I suppose."

Haruhi could kick him in the shin.

"Do you have any siblings? That would be a good start, considering you've pretty much been in the process of stealing mine for going on four months now." Haruhi feels Jin jerk beside her but ignores her discomfort for the time being. It was for her own good.

"...Yes, I do. I'm the youngest of four; Two older brothers and an older sister."

"Wow. Okay, so tell me about them."  _ Please don't mess up, please don't mess up… _

Kyoya's body language relaxes, and he looks away, "They are… rather exceptional people. My father has put a lot of stock into my brothers. And as for my sister? She is simply remarkable. Though, as the youngest son, things work out a little different for me..."

Despite the underlying reasoning behind Haruhi's question, she felt herself grow honestly curious by that answer.  _ Different how? Does he have more pressure by being the youngest? _ Haruhi was once again very glad she hadn't been born into a wealthy family. She couldn't imagine how it might feel to have to  _ earn _ her parent's love with success, or be pitted against her sister in some lifelong competition. That was messed up.

"Oh my! Pieces from the Shoin Kumatsu collection? Here? What a delightful surprise!"

"Kyoya-senpai?"

Jin's head lifts from its tucked position just in time to see Kyoya marching towards a nearby kiosk where a woman was holding up a clay pot.

"Kyoya?"

The boy slid up beside the woman and scooped up a bowl himself, "What an aesthetic display… such a shame these are all fakes."

The Fujioka girls shared a glance before wandering closer.  _ Fakes? _

"Hey! What are you doing, kid? How dare you!"

Kyoya merely smirked, pushing his glasses further up his nose, "If you require proof, it's fairly obvious to the well-trained eye. For example, this bowl in my hands has a shade of blue that is strongly reminiscent of Shoin's work, but lacks the darker color around the base to be truly authentic. That, and the fact that the lacquer is too clear."

The salesman looks like he was about three seconds away from decking Kyoya across the face, "That's enough of you!  _ Punk kid just showing off for his girlfriend- _ You are lying for your own amusement! Now leave before I call security!"

"Is that so? Then you wouldn't mind if I made a phone call myself while we wait for them to show up, will you? My family has had dealings with the Kumatsu Family for generations, after all."

"Thank you, young man, but we can take it from here." From either side of the group that had gathered to watch the drama, two security guards walked closer. They grabbed the man from behind the counter and began carting him off, ignoring his shouts of protest.

Haruhi slips up behind Kyoya as he wards off the thanks from the woman and other random bypassers, "I didn't know you had it in you, Kyoya. Stepping in to help a complete stranger? Perhaps you can learn."

"Complete stranger? Why no, Haruhi. She is the wife of the CEO of a major electronics company. This may be the first time I've met her in person, but there would be no way to mistake that ring on her finger."

The woman interrupts the two of them, "Pardon me, but I wished to extend my gratitude one last time before departing. And to one of the Ootori boys as well; who would've imagined? The next time I get the chance, I'll be sure to take advantage of one of your family's beautiful health resorts!"

"We'd be honored, ma'am."

He straightens up from his bow and turns to the girls. Except only Jin was still standing there. Haruhi was on the other side of the row of kiosks, a dull grey cloud of hopelessness settling over her. Kyoya nearly smacks his own forehead at his own stupidity. In his haste to cover up his true incentives in front of Haruhi, he'd completely forgotten he was trying to get back into Jin's good books.

But the brunette was… smiling at him. Granted it was a very small smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

"Jin?"

With measured steps, she inched closer to the boy until they had only a few centimeters in between them. Rolling up to her tiptoes, Kyoya felt her lips barely brush against his ear, " _ There was a flag in the way. We couldn't see her ring from where we were standing. _ "

The ravenet just stares for a moment as she took a half-step back. She appeared to be waiting for something, and the words sort of tumbled out of his mouth.

"… I'm sorry for how I was behaving earlier."

She tilts her head forward for him to continue.

"And for making you feel lied to."

She motions with her hand.

" _ And for being an idiot. _ "

Jin smiles, a bigger one this time around, "Apology accepted. Now, let's get Haru, Glasses."

Kyoya nods his response, a warm feeling spreading through his chest when he notices that the distance between their person's has greatly decreased.

They find Haruhi hovering by a fruit snack covered kiosk. She takes one look at their personal space (or lack thereof) and her eyebrows jump up. Jin smirks and performs her own facial expression, sucking the two girls into their silent form of communication. Having learned a while ago that it's best to let the sister's 'talk' without interruption or distraction, Kyoya let his attention wander over the boxes on display.

_ Melon flavor? They're all… melon flavor. Why is that? _

"Jin? Haruhi? Did you know this?"

"Know what?" They ask in unison.

"Is… melon the preferred flavor of snack makers?" He pulled one box up and turned it over, reading the ingredients, "Corn syrup, sugar... corn starch? If the main ingredients are primarily corn… why do they bother artificially favoring these snacks? Why not just use the actual fruit? Seems counter intuitive."

He stops his commentary when he hears the girls dissolving into giggles behind him.

"Oh, was I being funny?"

"You know, for a guy who says he has nothing in common with Tama-kun-"

"-you just said something that sounded exactly like him!"

The ravenet is somewhat offended for a moment before realizing this was probably the happiest he had seen Jin all day. He smiles.

"Well, I suppose you're right… this does seem like the kind of thing he and the twins would fawn over. Very well, I'll buy it. Haruhi, your wallet, if you please."

The shorter girl immediately stops chuckling, "Oh. Right." She groans as she starts digging in her purse for her wallet. Misuzu-chi had stuffed all kinds of useless things in there when she wasn't looking, so Haruhi was forced to dig through hundreds of chapsticks and sunscreen bottles to try and locate the colored leather.

She's completely unaware of her sister sneaking off to Kyoya's other side.

"You're buying that for Tama-kun and the twins?"

He shrugs, "Well, it does look like something they'd enjoy, so-"

Jin pops up onto her tiptoes once again and kisses his cheek.

" _ That sounds much more like the Kyoya I've gotten to know. And it's really sweet of you to do this for them, I know they're not your favorite people at the moment. _ " She pulls away just as Haruhi pulls a dark blue leather wallet out.

"Aha! Here, Kyoya-senpai. Just be sure to save me a receipt."

She holds it out to the boy. And waits. And waits some more.

Looking up at her senpai, she was confused by the deer-in-headlights expression he was wearing. The kiosk manager looked to be struggling between laughing and melting, and Jin was minding her own business by looking around at a nearby sunglass stand, so what was Kyoya's problem now?"

"Kyoya-senpai? You okay?"

He jump-starts, taking her wallet quickly, "Yes. Fine. Thank you."

"O...kay?"

* Time Skip *

"You know… I think these are better than the one's at the supermarket." Haruhi pursed her lips and grabbed the cherry pit from between them. Swallowing the rest of the fruit she had left behind in her mouth, she dropped the pit onto the napkin she had in her left hand.

Her sister nodded with a smirk, offering another cherry from the bag on her lap, "Why do you think I made sure to buy these? Michigan-grown cherries are always the best." The three settled back into a comfortable silence. Kyoya nibbled at a bright red cherry, savoring the tartness of it. He might not be a fan of sweets, but the tangy-sweetness of fruits was a good middle-ground.

"I must say, this is a much better experience than the first time I was acquainted with this bench."

"Hm?" Jin bit off half of a cherry, "What do you mean?"

The boy smirked, shifting his left leg so it was pressed a little harder against the girl beside him, "This is where your sister found me this morning. Tamaki must've been so excited about the day here that he forgot about me."

"He dumped you on a bench? Seriously? Geez, for someone who cares so much he's oddly forgetful of his friends!"

The 2nd years chuckle at the girl's attempt to joke, but Haruhi leans back in thought.

"Hey… Kyoya-senpai? Why do you think Tamaki cares so much about other people? I mean… it's like he can't function unless he's doing something to help."

"I suppose we could ask the same about Jin."

The taller brunette shrugged, "I'm used to being relied on for nearly everything by nearly everyone, so I guess it comes naturally to me. It's one of the disadvantages to being the older sibling."

"Would another disadvantage be not asking for help, even when you need it?"

She looked away, but didn't withdraw, "More like… I don't know how to."

"Well, what about Tamaki? He doesn't have any siblings."

"Who knows? I've never understood why he doesn't necessarily care about gaining something from a situation, but then again I've never asked him either."

Haruhi looks around her sister, "Are you sure he doesn't gain anything? Because… the way I see it, Tamaki does gain something from every situation, but it's not in the physical sense. He gets to witness their happiness, and the knowledge that he helped them along the way has to count for something." She glances at her sister for confirmation and gets a small smile in return.

"What Haru's trying to say, is maybe the two of you aren't as different as you think."

They don't receive a response. Kyoya leans his head back against the wall, mouth set in a small frown. Haruhi waits for a few seconds before leaning closer to her sister.

" _ Nēchan? Have you two made up? _ "

" _ Well, I ended up kissing his cheek a little while ago, so I think you can assume we have. _ "

Haruhi pulls back, " _ I didn't need to know  _ that,  _ Nēchan. _ "

Jin giggles, " _ You're such a child, Haru. _ "

"Attention shoppers!"

The three simultaneously looked up at the intercom just above their head.

"This is an announcement for a lost child! A little boy named Kyoya Ootori is lost inside the store-" Jin snorts and starts shaking with silent laughter as Kyoya stiffens beside her, "-Repeat, Kyoya Ootori is lost. His guardian, Suoh, is waiting for him at the 2nd floor information counter. Kyoya is 5 feet 11 inches tall with black hair and wearing prescription glasses."

Other shoppers milling around their bench start turning their heads, one by one landing on Kyoya and the two girls he was with. They began whispering among themselves, wondering why a full-grown boy was in a missing-child announcement.

" _ That damn idiot… I'LL KILL HIM! _ "

Haruhi screams in fear and falls off her side of the bench, but Jin is just cracking up, bent over her knees. With as much control as she could muster, she stood up. "Sorry, everyone, we're not lost. Our friend is just very,  _ very _ over-dramatic! We appreciate your concern, though! Sorry for the inconvenience!"

Her explanation is met with a few laughs and many nods of understanding as the crowd disperses with smiles. Kyoya seethed in place, muttering all the unpleasant ways he would murder his best friend once he finds him. Jin laughs again before pulling her sister off the floor.

"Let's go before they send out another announcement. I don't think Kyo-kun here can take much more of this."

The girls start walking, Jin grabbing Kyoya's hand to pull the sulking boy along, "I think the information desk is right up the escalators. We'll be there in less than a minute." The boy doesn't respond, but he does tighten his grip on the girl's hand. Haruhi sees their hands clasped tightly together and rolls her eyes, looking forward again.  _ If this is how they're going to act when they  _ aren't  _ together, I'm not so sure I want to be there when they finally admit their feelings and become a couple. _ She shudders.

True to Jin's word, the three reach the information desk in no time, Kyoya not letting go of his crush's hand until they step through the glass doors. The other host club boys were crowding the information desk, Tamaki waving his hands around as he tried to convince the lady they needed to send out another announcement.

Kyoya cleared his throat.

"Kyoya! There you are! Don't ever do that again, we were so worr... _ why are Haruhi and Jin with you? _ "

"Why do you think? We wanted to enjoy the expo too, you know."

Honey bounced up to his childhood friend, hugging her legs, "Haru-chan and Jin-chan have come to play with us today!"

"Hoo-ray! Play! Play! Play!  _ To the carousel! _ "

Haruhi and Jin exchange concerned glances, "I... hope you haven't permanently damaged anything while you were here."

"And if any of you care, we're exhausted. I think Nēchan and I should head back to the Pension and finish packing. Dad's expecting us home by tonight. Besides, we got everything we came here for." Haruhi holds up the remaining bag of cherries, but her eyes are on her sister and the boy she was standing so close to.  _ And perhaps a little more. _

" _ Bark! Bark! _ "

"Hahaha! Hey! Quick licking me!" Tamaki was suddenly on his back, a golden retriever hovering above him and licking all over his face.

"What's with the dog?"

"Isn't she beautiful? I got her at this amazing place they call a pet shop!" The pink tongue came back out again and Tamaki laughed, "Ha ha, cut it out, Antoinette!"

"She's licking you so much because you're sitting down. You're at her level." Jin crouched down and whistled, "Antoinette~! Come here, girl!"

Hearing her name, the large dog spun around in excitement, racing over to greet her newest friend. She was quick to cover Jin's cheeks with dog kisses, making happy puppy sounds when the girl rubbed at her floppy ears. The brunette moved her hands over the top of the retriever's soft head before reaching beneath the red bow around it's neck and scratching. The reaction is immediate. Antoinette's head turned, left foreleg slowly buckling as a pleased noise escaped her nose. Eventually she just flopped onto the floor and rolled onto her back.

Jin scratches at the dog's belly while the hosts surround her.

"That was incredible, Jin-chan!"

"Why, thank you! I may be allergic to cats, but I've always had a thing for dogs. I just do well with them… and nearly every other fluffy creature I've come into contact with." She returns her attention to the dog, voice jumping an octave, "Oh~! You're such a  _ sweet _ heart, aren't you!"

Haruhi nudged her sister's back with her foot, "Come on, Nēchan, we should go. I know if I don't separate you from that dog now, we'll end up stealing her from Tamaki later."

"Fine. I'm just going to talk to Tama-kun and make sure he has everything he needs to take care of Antoinette." She stands up and gestures for the dog to follow her, which she does. Kyoya watches as Antoinette heels and sits by Jin's feet, content with her ears being scratched as the brunette spoke with Tamaki.

"How exactly am I like that moron, though?"

"Well, for starters, you couldn't see that lady's ring because of the flag. I don't understand why you act like such a jerk when being nice comes so naturally to you. It seems counter-intuitive. But more to the point…" she watches Jin check the brand of dog food Tamaki had purchased with Antoinette, pointing at the label, "Nēchan is actually a lot like Tamaki-senpai, too. If you didn't like him… and just hang out with him for your own gain... you wouldn't like her either, I think." Haruhi smirks at him, "And we all know exactly how much you like my sister."

The boy lets out a small puff of air, the barest trace of amusement in its sound, "That's a very interesting notion… in it's own way."

"Haru, I'm ready to go."

"Good. Come on, Nēchan."

Haruhi walks away, but Jin pauses in front of Kyoya, pulling the fruit snacks they had bought early and placing them in his hands, "Here. Thanks for spending the day with us. We should do it again some time."

"Sounds delightful."

The girl blushed softly before walking out the glass doors, catching up with her little sister. Kyoya watches until they disappear into the crowd.

Turning around, he sees the hosts all staring at him, "Now what?"

"THAT WAS THE PERFECT MOMENT, YOU BAKA! HOW COULD YOU MESS IT UP AND NOT KISS HER? WHAT HAVE I TRAINED YOU FOR?"

Tamaki is interrupted with a box of snacks suddenly thrown in his face, "Shut up, Moron. I haven't forgiven you enough to hear your take on my love life."

 


	34. A Stressful Dance!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was just the idea that the hosts had yet to see Jin in a dress... and it just escalated. I hope you like!

 

'Ouran's Summer Baseball Team makes it to SemiFinals!'

Jin smiled and flipped the page, continuing to read the main article of the Ou Spot Newspaper. It had made a surprising comeback just before the first semester had ended, selling out surprisingly quickly considering it's history. Maybe the reason it became popular again was because of the Host Club on the front cover, but that clearly wasn't the case for this edition. As far as Jin had read so far, there hadn't been a single mention of how the Host Club had spent their summer vacation together -though she wondered if Kyoya had yet been approached over a segment for next week's paper- and the stand she had picked this one out of had been nearly empty by the time she got around to it.

Her eyes drifted to the end of the text.  _ Editor- Tomochika Sakyo. _

_ Hm. _ The corner of Jin's lips twitch in amusement. She had yet to see the 'chief editor's' name in this issue at all, all of the stories reported and edited by Sakyo-san and Ukyo-san. Perhaps the 'editing' involved taking Akira-san's crazy stories and putting the truth back in?

She went to read about the fall sports starting to recruit when her vision was suddenly filled with a blond head of hair and purple eyes.

"Yes, Tama-kun?"

"We need to throw a party. A 'Welcome Back' for our guests!"

Interest piqued, she lowered the newspaper, "Oh, yeah… you guys throw parties too. Haru told me about the last one you did in the spring. But, why are you telling me? Shouldn't you be discussing this with Kyo-kun instead?"

"Not before you say you want a party, too."

"Uh… Why?"

"Because if you're onboard, Kyoya will agree no matter what!"

The brunette snorted softly, but hoped her cheeks weren't flushed, "You really think that would work? Even for something as sudden as this? I think you're over exaggerating the impact of my input."

The boy winked, "Watch."

Curious, Jin set her paper down on the desk and crossed her arms over it. She watched as Tamaki crept closer to the classroom door, ducking behind other empty desks, lying in wait. Kyoya walked into the room a few moments later, not suspecting a thing. He adjusted his glasses further up his nose before noticing the brown eyes trained on him. A smile graced his lips as he began making his way to her desk.

Only to be tackled after two steps by his crazy best friend.

"MON AMI!"

"Ah! Tamaki!

"Mon ami, we need to throw a 'Welcome Back' party for our guests! Can't you just picture it? Friday night we open the doors to our sad little kittens who are missing their summer vacation and show them a last minute summer bash! And to top it off-"

"No."

The blond froze at the cold tone, slowly sliding off his friend and landing on the floor with a 'thump'. He wrapped his arms around the leg of the nearest desk to him and whimpered as Kyoya took his seat. He ducked his head down to the side, propping his school bag up against his desk. The wood shifted and his eyes flickered up to see Jin had taken residence upon his desk once again.

"Good morning."

"Yes it is." The boy leaned back in his chair so he wouldn't strain his neck looking up at her. "How are you?"

"Pretty good. Looks like the Newspaper club is still up and running. Sakyo-san is actually very good at writing."

"Well, that's nice to hear."

" _ Mon ami… please… _ "

"No, Tamaki. Perhaps we can host a party next Friday, but to try to organize such an event on such short notice would be catastrophic."

"But  _ Kyoyaaaaaa… _ We wanted it  _ this week! _ It won't be a 'Welcome Back' party if it's not after the first week of school!"

"We?"

Tamaki turned away sharply, taking Jin's hands in his own, "I'm so sorry, Jin. I know you were excited for your first ever Host Club party. I'm sure your dress will be just as beautiful next week."

"Hey… hey, hey, don't be upset, Tama-kun. Kyo-kun made some good points. I can wait."

Unfortunately, Tamaki's plan was already working it's magic. Kyoya's face hardened as his mind was torn in two. Common sense yanked at one half of him, shouting about how there was no way they could host a school-wide party with only five days to bring in the food, decorations, musicians (not to mention decide the music), send out the invitations, rent out the school hall, set up everything  _ in _ the hall assuming they get it, and ensuring that the club doesn't throw out all of its savings in the space of the week.

The other half of his brain is supplying his thoughts will pictures of him twirling Jin around the dance floor. Her dress fluctuates between different styles, sometimes fanning out and brushing against his own legs as she spun around or clinging perfectly to her shapes, flashing in multiple colors as her hair jumps between elegant curls and elaborate buns. But no matter how her looks change every second in his mind, her brown eyes are always trained on him, the biggest grin on display just for him to enjoy. His mind-play expands out to include the host club watching from the sidelines, giving him encouraging thumbs-up, and of the male population at Ouran Academy wailing as Jin gives up her first kiss to him.

In the real world, Tamaki is trying not to make it too obvious that he knows what's going on in Kyoya's head.

"You know Jin… Kyoya's probably on edge with this whole plan because he thinks he's going to have to organize it  _ by himself. _ "

The brunette scoffed, pulling her hands back to herself and turning towards her crush, "I wouldn't mind helping out if that's what you need."

It doesn't take too long before Kyoya is giving his consent.

* * *

 

Wednesday pulls around just in time for the entire host club to realize what a horrible mistake Tamaki has made, the blond included.

A short brown-haired girl looks up from her touching knees to peek at her host for the evening, "Tamaki… where are Kyoya and Jin?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen them around since you guys opened, and the host club is about to close!"

The boy ruffles his own hair, giving it a carefree sort of edge to his charm, "My dears, don't worry about those two. They asked to be excused from club activities for the remainder of the week in order to make the party as perfect as it can be!"

"They're still making plans? This close to the party?"

"Hey now, give them a little credit!  _ My _ parents spent almost a whole month planning our last party."

Tamaki stiffened as the two girls continued talking about how long party plans take. He knew he was really pushing this party… and at the moment both of his classmates hated his guts, but he felt it was important to have it.

It was also very important for the two of them to be put into a stressful situation together to see how they managed. You know… as a potential couple and all. But then again…

The front doors slammed open.

" _ No _ , I said  _ twenty-four _ floral arrangements…  _ No. _ The eight rose colors I listed  _ only _ ." Kyoya frowned deeply, pressing his phone closer to his face as if it would make the person on the other line understand better. "I  _ know _ you're having a sale on cream roses, but I don't  _ want _ the cream colored-  _ No, I don't need a wedding discount! _ "

The blond boy quickly stood, "Well ladies, it looks like our time here is up for the day! Please join us tomorrow for another fun day of hosting!"

Thankfully understanding that the subtle insistence was for their benefit, the last group of guests quickly skedaddled out of the room. Kyoya didn't even turn his head, still growling into the phone receiver. "I have been a customer of your shop for over a year now. I  _ know _ what you can offer, at  _ what _ price, and I know much better than you do  _ what. I. Need. _ So before I physically go to your store and have a little  _ chat _ with your manager, Mr.  _ New Employee _ , I would think it would be in your best interest to put in my order and  _ stop wasting my time with your cheap sales pitch. _ "

He waited, then straightened his back, "Thank you very much. Have them delivered to Ouran Academy's front steps this Thursday evening, I will pay then. Mhm. You, too. Sayōnara."

Hanging up, the ravenet let out a small breath before turning to face the rest of the club. They were all cowering behind the nearest couch. His eyebrows twitched in irritation. Here he was, being nearly driven out of his mind with the stress of making this stupid party, and they couldn't be bothered to help?

Kyoya was completely unaware of the purple-aura-of-death currently surrounding his form, but his friends weren't. No one made any sudden moves as the cloud of irritation slowly grew, spreading out along the floor.

The only person who wasn't shaking in obvious fright was Mori, who lifted his left hand and pointed at the door to the changing rooms, where the Host Club was storing all of their party supplies until Friday, "Jin is in there."

Instantly the aura began to fade away, retreating back into it's owner. Kyoya turned to face the doors indicated, life coming back into his tired eyes. "Thank you, Mori-senpai. I'm sure the two of us have much to discuss-"

"No! Please don't hang up! Please ple-DANG IT!"

One of the doors was kicked open for Jin to run through, her phone clenched in her hand still, "Tamaki, I hate you and your stupid plans!"

"Nēchan? What's-"

"Those 'musicians' you begged me to hire refuse to bring their own music stands, so they quit! You've got  _ stellar _ judgement, I  _ must _ say,  _ President. _ "

Kyoya looked fit to explode, "They  _ what? _ "

"I'm heading to the elementary school! Kagome-sensei! He'll know what to do!" And she was gone. With a sound that was more similar to a growl than a groan, the ravenet marched to the changing rooms and slammed the door behind him.

"Well…"

" _ They're _ certainly a joy to be around."

Haruhi sighed, taking a seat on the couch they were originally hiding behind, "Nēchan's been completely swamped with this party planning. She hardly has any time to eat in between phone calls and homework."

"Jin-chan's never been this short with us before…"

"And don't you think Kyoya is acting darker-"

"-than usual?"

Tamaki stood up, then smacked his forehead, "I'm an idiot!"

"Well, as glad as I am that you've finally figured that out, Senpai, could you maybe clarify  _ why _ you're telling us this  _ now? _ "

The blond slid back to his knees, throwing his arms out over the top of the couch to hold him up, "Oh, my sweet Haruhi, I was such a fool! I made sure that Jin and Kyoya would be in charge of this stressful situation so they could learn how to handle stress together, like all couples will encounter at some point, but my plan has gone horribly wrong! I don't think they've spoken more than five words to each other since we started talking about the party!"

The others were silent as they traveled back in their memories, trying to pinpoint the last time the two had really spoken to each other about something besides the approaching Friday.

Haruhi sat back against the cushions, "Oh my gosh… they haven't even texted each other at all. Nēchan's phone has been ringing off the hook since Monday afternoon, and none of them were calls from Kyoya-senpai."

"I think they've been communicating party plans with their notes in the back room."

"And didn't you see the way Kyoya-senpai relaxed when we told him where Jin-senpai was?"

"It's like they can't function and interact kindly without their fixes of each other."

The twins started laughing, joking about how 'whipped' their two Senpai's were. The others couldn't help but agree it was both cute and head-shake-and-an-eye-roll worthy.

"Okay, all jokes aside, we know what needs to be done before one of them explodes on some poor delivery boy."

* The Next Day *

"Haru, why won't you tell me where we're going?"

"Because you've been working yourself way too hard and I'm worried about you, so you are taking a break whether you want to or not."

Jin immediately stopped walking, only to be scooped up in a bridal carry, "Mori-senpai! Put me down! Guys, I don't have time for this!"

"Make time."

"What Takashi means, Jin-chan, is we'll take care of the party for a while! We've planned parties with Kyo-chan before!"

The brunette groaned, body growing limp in the tall boy's arms, "Don't say that! Now I'm terrified of letting you do anything!"

"You and Kyoya-senpai have pretty much finalized everything already, right? Today is all deliveries and making sure the dance hall is set up, right? Let us handle that, at least. We'll come get you guys if something comes up." Haruhi receives another groan, but it looks like Jin wasn't going to make any more complaints… out loud. She was glad, because she was pretty sure her older sister hadn't been getting much sleep lately. An afternoon nap was probably a good idea.

"Tamaki, if you do not tell me where you are dragging me I  _ swear- _ "

"We're almost there, Kyoya! Look! There are the others!"

Jin let her eyes open a crack to see her planning partner being pulled along down the hallway in front of them.  _ Oh… so that's what Haru meant by 'you guys'. _

From between the two groups, a door opened up to reveal the twins, "There you are!"

"We've been waiting for  _ ages _ ."

"Ten minutes is not  _ ages _ , Hikaru."

Carefully maneuvering through the door, Mori carried Jin over to the closest couch and set her back down on her feet. The brunette patted his arm before collapsing backwards onto the cushions. She reached down to yank at her sandals, making upset noises when the straps wouldn't come loose.

Having been pushed into the room himself, Kyoya sat down and started helping her, though he had to admit he was growing tired the longer he was off his feet, too. They didn't even hear the door closing, leaving them alone in the room.

Jin sighed as her heavy sandals finally dropped to the floor, curling up on one half of couch, "I'm just gonna take a 20 year nap." The boy didn't argue, leaning his head back against the couch and shutting his own eyes.  _ An hour of sleep wouldn't hurt. We've earned it, after all. _

* Time Skip *

"Kyo-chan? Jin-chan? Haru-chan said you two can come out and help now if you want." Honey slowly peeked his head into the empty classroom. He was sort of hoping the two of them would still be asleep or wouldn't hear him so they'd have to stay for a while longer. They'd been working so hard on this party that they hadn't stopped to take care of themselves. Honey felt the two underclassmen deserved more than just an hour long break.

Not hearing any response, he poked his head further through the doorway. Still silent.

_ They must still be sleeping. _

A look at the couch the host club had left them on proved his assumption true. But… not quite. The blond smiled at the sight. Clearly the boy and girl must've shifted a little over the course of the last hour, Jin now resting on her back and Kyoya covering her body with his own, his head resting on her stomach. While the position certainly didn't  _ look _ comfortable, the two didn't appear to be in any discomfort.

Jin shifted a little in her sleep as Honey withdrew.  _ I think Haru-chan will understand if I let them stay for a while longer. _

* * *

 

"It's been such a long time, my fellow students! The Host Club wishes to bid you…  _ Welcome back! _ "

Just like she remembered from last time, Haruhi was momentarily blinded by the sudden flash of lights as Tamaki began the welcome ceremony. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, the short girl quickly bent over in a bow towards the guests. Peeking out at her sister next to her, she saw Jin curtsying with a huge smile on her face.

_ Wow. I guess she was more excited for this than I thought. _

They straightened up and Kyoya and Jin stepped forward.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight in celebration of a new semester in each other's company! We invite you to dance to your heart's content!"

"As your identities are to be kept a secret tonight…" the congregation giggled and nudged each other, extravagant masquerade masks glinting in the light, "We will be holding a vote for tonight's Queen!"

"You may vote in the back corner of the hall, and we encourage you to include the name of the Host you wish to crown King for the night!"

Jin leaned forward, "Tamaki won't mind for this one night."

The large crowd laughed, and Kyoya swung an arm around the girl to his left while gesturing outwards with his right arm, "Let the festivities begin!"

At once, the Tokyo City Philharmonic began their first piece, an even paced waltz. The guests applauded before dispersing. A few went to admire the decorations, the rose spires, and the amazing buffet splayed out on the right side of the hall. There was even an ice sculpture of a blossoming rose in the center! A decent fourth of the party-goers went to vote in the back. Some of the female guests giggled with each other before shoving one of them towards a boy.

Yes, the Host Club had invited boys to their dance. This time, they had allowed up to 100 male students to sign up before going over each and every one. In the end, only 20 were invited. They were milling around, not forcing anyone to dance with them but certainly not saying no when another guest tapped their shoulder.

Jin sighed and leaned against Kyoya's side, "We… actually did it."

The boy chuckled, "The night's not over yet. Remind me again how we got the Tokyo City Philharmonic at half their usual asking price?"

"Kagome-sensei. About a third of the musicians sitting over there used to be his students. Besides, their conductor owed him a favor from back when they went to college together."

"Ah ha, so now do you see the benefit of gaining favors?"

The brunette scoffed and pulled away, "You know exactly how to kill a mood, don't you. Well, I'll see you around  _ mysterious _ stranger."

Kyoya watched as she appeared to float down the steps in her emerald green ball gown. There were diamond clusters sewn into the fabric where it bunched up on her skirt, as if they were the reason her lower half looked folded over. It wasn't nearly as frilly as some of the other dresses down on the dance floor, adding an extra bit of grace and elegance to her appearance. Jin turned her head as one of the boys they had invited asked her to dance, her smooth curls swaying gently across her shoulders as she accepted.

"So, are you gonna ask her to dance tonight?"

"I certainly hope so. Well, come along now, the guests are waiting."

Kyoya took maybe one step when his phone went off. He answered, turning his back to the crowd, "Yes? Speaking.  _ What?! _ " He held the phone by his ear for maybe another five seconds before snapping it shut.

"I'll be back."

And then he calmly went back up the steps and through the door.

This continued to occur until late in the evening. Kyoya had lost count of the many emergencies he had been forced to diffuse. Between explaining how voting the Hitachiin twins as King and Queen was not the purpose of the voting booth to a stubborn fangirl and quickly fitting Honey-senpai into a brand new suit after "someone" accidentally spilled cake frosting on his lap, Kyoya was slowly losing it.

It didn't help that, throughout all of this, he was forced to watch as Jin danced one song after another with boys and girls and hosts alike. It was like everyone was dancing with her but him. He had gotten close  _ once _ that night, but had been intercepted by one of his personal guests who wouldn't take 'Later' for an answer.

Now it was almost ten at night. The King and Queen were to be announced soon, and Kyoya had been cornered at one of the empty tables by Sakyo-san and Ukyo-san.

"This is probably the most impressive event to ever take place at Ouran Academy, Ootori-san! Perhaps more for the time crunch than the event itself! Is it true that you planned this entire party in the space of five days?"

"Well, I was not the only planner this time around. Jin Fujioka was a big help. She's actually the reason we have the Philharmonic here tonight. I wouldn't have been able to do this without her." Unless his imagination was playing tricks on him, Kyoya could swear that the two boys were smiling softly at his response.

"I see."

"And have you thanked your partner with a dance this evening?"

The ravenet stiffened in his seat, "No."

Okay, now the two of them were  _ definitely _ smiling, "Well, don't let us hold you back."

Before he could ask what they meant, a group of about five girls suddenly crowded the table, "Kyoya! You have to come with us!" Before he could process a respectful response, Kyoya was hoisted out of his chair and pushed towards the dance floor.

"Ladies, I was in the middle of-"

"We know!"

"Just trust us!"

Confused, Kyoya shut up and looked around. Perhaps Jin would be the one to come to his rescue? She did seem like the type to do so, after all.

Of course, when he saw her, Jin was actually being lead towards him by three boys.

The girls surrounding him giggled with each other as Kyoya began walking forward on his own accord. It finally comes to his attention that not only do the  _ hosts _ ship him and Jin together, but most likely the rest of the school did as well.

_ This used to be a simple joke the twins made because we couldn't stand each other. _

Kyoya smirked at the thought, fingers curling around Jin's warm hands. Her brown eyes were dancing behind the green and white butterfly mask as the two fell right into step with the pulse of the foxtrot playing throughout the hall.

"What's that smirk for? Did you bribe them to do that?"

"Not at all. Just comparing my thoughts of you now to when we first met."

He spun her around and pulled her back in just in time for her to laugh out loud, "Wow, you're right. I did  _ not _ like you way back then."

"Words can hurt, you know."

She laughed again, allowing him to spin her twice more. The two continued floating across the dance floor, unaware of how the entire congregation had stopped to watch. There was one group of girls who were sitting at a table, arms crossed and huffy expressions on their faces, but the rest were cooing and melting against each other.

The music slowly began to wind down, Kyoya moving his hand from Jin's to wrap around her back instead, holding her close. Tamaki stood up from his chair, leaning over the white tablecloth of the table. The redheads sitting beside him said something underneath the mounting tension in the room, smug smirks in place. Tamaki rolled his eyes but responded anyways.

Grinning, Hikaru stood up with a microphone suddenly in hand, "Ladies and Gentlemen, that was our final song of the evening!"

Kaoru stood next, watching with mixed emotions as Jin and Kyoya jolted, taking half-steps backwards into their own personal spaces, "It's time for us to announce the King and Queen of the Ball!" Haruhi suddenly found herself with a microphone in one hand, envelope in another, and Honey-senpai standing beside her. She glanced behind her while Honey opened his envelope just in time to see Tamaki unhappily handing a small pile of Yen into the twin's hands.  _ Oh. That's why they interrupted. How shallow. _

"Jin-chan has been voted Queen of the Ball! Congratulations!"

The entire room applauded like crazy. Jin was the only one who looked shocked when Mori-senpai walked up to her and placed the silver tiara on her head. She looked at Kyoya is shock, but he simply smiled and applauded her as well.

Realizing it was now her turn to make the announcement for the King, Haruhi fumbled with the envelope lip as the applause began to simmer down, "Uh… the King of the Ball is…" She stopped and stared at the paper. Then she started laughing, "Me! Sorry, Kyoya!"

The room clapped again, loud laughter now added into the mix as Mori set the golden crown atop of Haruhi's head. Jin walked over to her 'King' and kissed Haruhi's cheek, bringing out another huge applause. The siblings turned and waved at the crowd who continued cheering.

_ Bang! Bangbang! _

Everyone turned in awe as large fireworks began exploding above the courtyard. They quickly run out onto the balconies to watch, oohing and awwing at the colors. Jin is leaning against the railing, side-by-side with her King.

"Nēchan?"

"Mm?"

"Are you upset that Kyoya-senpai wasn't voted King?"

The taller brunette looked down at her little sister, "Not really. Why?" Haruhi only offered a shrug, but her expressions said otherwise. Jin sighed, nudging at her sister with her hip, "Haru, you need to get it out of your head that Kyoya replacing you, or whatever it is you're thinking. I might like him, but it's not like he's going to make me love you any less. I'm actually a little glad that you're my King instead of him, because then we'd be pressured to kiss."

"Oh… so you  _ don't _ want to kiss him." Haruhi laughed as she was smacked on the shoulder.

"I don't want my first kiss to be because we  _ have _ to!"

"Have to, what?"

Jin turned to smile at her most recent dance partner, "It's nothing, Kyoya. Haru's just being a jerk."

"Hey!"

The sister's laugh together before returning their attention to the fireworks. Jin feels her left hand slowly becoming enclosed within Kyoya's, fingers gently lacing together as a large green firework is shot up into the air, changing into purple sparks during its descent. She sees Haruhi offering a thumbs up out of the corner of her eye and hopes that she's not imagining this.

"Jin?"

She turns her head, trying to mentally prepare, when the entire group lets out a gasp of horror.

"SOMEONE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!"

The two 2nd years look back down at the courtyard to watch as a bush is set alight with the ashes from the fireworks. Jin rushes back inside to grab the fire extinguisher while Kyoya starts dialing the number. Tamaki is running around, screaming at the firework handlers to stop the show, and just freaking out the guests in general.

"TAMAKI!"

The blond gulps.  _ Goodbye, cruel world. _

 


	35. Chika's "Down With Honey" Declaration!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of Jin's interactions with Honey and Mori when they were younger and delving deeper into Jin's ties with Honey's family. Also, Jealous!Kyoya.

 

" _ Now if she does it like this _

_ Will you do it like that? _

_ Now if she touches like this _

_ Will you touch her like that? _

_ Now if she moves like this _

_ Will you move her like that? _

_ Come on, shake, shake _

_ Shake, shake, shake it… _ "

Jin continued humming the song as her finger trailed the spines of library books. There had to be something here about Egyptian Mythology… right? Groaning, the brunette finally accepted that she would have to wait until she went to the public library to start her next paper when her phone went off.

" _ And I was thinking of ways that I-  _ Hm?"

Pulling it out, she read the single message left there.

**Haruhi:** _ Honey is fighting another student in the club room! Please hurry! _

"Oh… that's not good."

Hoping that no one would be too hurt by the time she got upstairs, Jin ran as fast as she could out of the library. A few random students called out congratulations on being crowned queen last Friday, but she barely heard them.  _ Why is Honey-kun fighting another student? He's usually never so aggressive, even when upset! _

As she approached the music room doors, her phone went off again.

**Haruhi:** _False alarm._

_ What? _

A theory started to form as Jin slowed down to a walk, stopping just outside of the music room doors. Suddenly curious, she quietly opens the doors and peeks inside. Everyone was crowded around a pair of couches, and there was a new face among them.

One Jin recognized.

Shaking her head at her unprecedented panic, she calmly walked further into the club room, tucking her phone back into an inside jacket pocket, "Hey, guys! I'm sorry I'm so late. I can't find any books on Egyptian Mythology at all!"

Before the other boys could blink, Chika was leaping towards the girl, staff already in hand. The brunette sidestepped and continued walking forwards, "So, I see I've missed something exciting." Spinning back around she dodged a jab from Chika's staff as well as the swing that followed right afterwards, bending backwards far enough to touch the floor with her freehand. Bouncing back up, she struck the center of the boy's chest with the heel of her hand. His whole body skidded backwards along the tiles. Gritting his teeth, the boy dropped the staff and pulled out his own daggers, similar to the ones Honey has used earlier. Three of them to be exact.

Honey and Mori were quick to grab the others and haul them over to a safer side of the room.

With a shout, Chika throws the daggers expertly, one after the other. Jin somersaults underneath the blades, ended back on her feet  _ and with the third dagger's handle in her right hand. _

The others gasp as the younger boy screams in defiance, charging the girl once again. She meets him in the middle of the room, ducking around his strikes but never using the dagger, spinning and twisting it in her hand so he wouldn't be cut accidentally. Suddenly she grabs his arm with her left hand and twists her body to the ground, pulling the boy with her. There's the sound of shattering tiles, then silence.

Pulling back, Jin stands up and looks down at the boy. He's frantically trying to push himself up, but the dagger embedded through his shirt collar and into the floor keeps him pinned down.

"Hey, Chika."

Looking towards their audience, Jin's surprised to see Renge standing there with them. After not seeing her for the whole summer, she'd nearly forgotten about the crazy French girl. And for once the girl isn't screaming about something. In fact, they're all just staring at her.

"What?"

Honey nods towards his brother sprawled out like a starfish on the floor, "Um… could you let Chika-chan back up now?"

"Oh, right. I didn't think I'd put it in that deep..."

Reaching down, Jin yanked hard on the dagger until it popped out of the floor. The brunet quickly scrambles to his feet and bows to her, "Hello, Worthy Matron Fujioka. I was unaware you attended this Academy."

"And I haven't seen you since I left for America." She cups his face and makes him look at her, "You've grown."

Unless the boys are imagining it, Chika's cheeks have grown a bit red, "And your skills haven't dulled in the slightest, Worthy Matron." Jin smirks and ruffles his hair, "Hey! Don't touch the hair!"

Jin laughs, "So, what are you doing at the high school, Chika?"

"Oh… um…"

Haruhi called out from the other side of the room, "He's been telling us about the Haninozuka family. Specifically, how he'd never recognize Honey-senpai as the next head of his family." Chika shoots a dark glare at Haruhi over his shoulder.

"Chika…" at the tone in Jin's voice, he rotates his head back to her, head down, "We've talked about this.  _ I _ like cute stuff, don't I?"

"But it's different! You're not a Haninozuka!"

"I'm an honorary member, aren't I?"

"It's not the same! Just… ah!"

He walks away, hands in hair as he goes on and on about it. Jin sadly lets him go, moving to stand by Kyoya instead, "Hey. How long has he been going on like this?"

"Three minutes before you got here. But I must ask, how come we have never seen you and Honey-senpai spar? I would've assumed that as an honorary member of their family you would've had to abide by their rules?"

"Well, like Chika said, I'm only an honorary member. The rules are different for me. Under normal circumstances, yes we would, but I don't really care for such violence. Besides, I saw Honey-kun pretty much every day when we were kids, and I see him every day now as teenagers. Do you know how much time that would waste? Around the time I got the title we came to an agreement that I don't  _ have _ to battle every Haninozuka I meet. It's an optional choice for me, and I usually let the family members make the first move."

Honey-kun jumps up to Jin's back, looping his arms around her shoulders, "And besides, why would I want to fight Jin-chan? The last time we fought, it went on for half an hour and I lost my best staff!"

"You both also ended up in the hospital with blood loss, multiple bruises,  _ and _ you had a dislocated shoulder, Mitsukuni."

Jin and Honey chuckled nervously, the girl reaching up to scratch at the back of her head, "Don't forget my concussion."

"Or my broken nose…"

They continued avoiding eye-contact with Mori-senpai who kept glaring at them like an overprotective mother hen. Kyoya stared at the girl in surprise. He'd know she was good -being trained by the Haninozuka family and able to take down small armies with ease was an easy enough clue- but she's as good as  _ Honey-senpai? _

"Can I say I'm impressed?"

"I figured you would."

Jin's resulting smile is short lived as Chika suddenly announces loudly he couldn't let Honey become the head of his family's dojo. The blond on her back loosened his grip before slowly sliding down to the ground.

"Chika-chan…"

"I just came here to make sure you didn't forget over summer vacation,  _ stay away from me when we're at school. _ I don't want you corrupting my club members."

_ Slam! _

* Time Skip *

"Honey-kun? Are you alright? You've been staring out that window for a long time now."

"Yeah...I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."

Jin hesitated, he didn't sound very okay, "If you're sure."

"I'm sure." Honey turns to look at her face, "Are you sad, Jin-chan? I know you get along with Chika-chan better than anyone else does."

"I guess I'm just a little disappointed he still doesn't understand that everyone should do what makes them happy, not just what their parents want them to do."

The boy nodded, looking back out the window with Usa-chan in a slightly tighter grip, "Hm. I'm sure Chika-chan will figure it out one day. But if you're sad, then you should go talk to Kyo-chan. He always makes you happy."

Jin smirks, "Because he's an idiot just like the rest of you." She ruffles his hair and goes to walk away.

"Jin-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"You like Kyo-chan, don't you."

Jin feels like her chest was just caught up in a vice grip. "Of course I like him. I hang out with him a lot, don't I?"

"No, I mean you  _ like like _ him." Jin's face grows a nice shade of pink.

"Um… what gave you that idea, Honey-kun? Did Haru say anything or-"

"Nope, you two are just super obvious. You always seem the happiest when you're with each other. You also do things together a couple would do, like sharing a cup of tea and holding hands. And at the dance last week-"

"Okay, okay, shhh! Keep your voice down!" Jin looked around, "Well, I guess there's no real harm in saying I do have a bit of a crush on him." Honey stares at her. "Well, a big crush." He stares some more. "I really, really, really like him, okay? But… I don't know if he likes me that way. If he's only looking for a close friend, then I don't want to ruin it."

Mentally, Honey is rolling his eyes. He loves his friend dearly, but sometimes he feels like he should take a leaf out of Hika-chan and Kao-chan's book and throw them in a closet together for a few hours. If he had any less self-control, that's exactly what he would do.

"Oooookay. But if you're ever sad, talk to Kyo-chan about something. He'll probably always find time to talk to you if you needed it."

"Alright, Honey-kun. Thanks." She walks away, passing Haruhi and Tamaki on her way. Kyoya's exactly where she left him, on a couch with his black journal propped up on his knees. She takes a seat just as her sister starts getting filled in on Honey's past. "Hey, may I join you?"

"Of course, but are you not going to listen to the story?"

"No. I was there for most of it, and Honey-kun filled me in when I returned from America."

"Then would you mind helping me with this?"

"Not a problem." Jin leaned closer, resting her chin on his shoulder, "I think we should sell another one of my group works. Those seem to go for the most,  _ but _ I'll add in a background this time. That should allow us to bump up the starting price by a decent amount. With that we should be able to completely pay off our expenses for the ice sculpture." Kyoya nodded, about to agree when he was cut off.

"With much strength and diligence, Honey-senpai locked away all of his cute possessions, taking on a hard and fearless disposition!"

Kyoya felt the girl beside him stiffen, and he shifted his shoulder, "Jin? You alright?"

" _ I remember this… it started about a year before I left for America. Honey-kun was miserable… He almost threw away Usa-chan. I had to beg him to let me hold onto it. _ "

The ravenet listened as Tamaki continued talking about the different ways Honey tried to behave more 'manly', "I always forget that you met Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai at a young age."

"I highly doubt you forget anything, Glasses."

"Fair enough, but I am curious; How did they react when you left for America?"

Jin shifted, lifting her head off his shoulder, "Honey-kun… when I first told him he acted like it wasn't a big deal, but I could tell he was upset about not seeing me for a whole year. And then… he fought his father, talking about true strength. When he was forbidden to perform martial arts in public and stopped acting like a 'manly man', whatever that means, there were a lot of tears. But I was so happy for him finally being allowed to be himself I couldn't find it in my heart to be upset at making him sad. It was refreshing for him to finally be able to display his emotions."

Kyoya nodded, returning his attention back to his journal once Jin replaced her head. He couldn't help but put a few parallels between him and Honey-senpai. Jin was as much into displaying someone's true self as Tamaki was, if a little more in for the long-haul rather than forcing it out of a person. In fact, she reminded him of his sister. Just a little.

The two lapsed back into silence and work as the others finished up the story. In fact, they completely zoned out of the conversation until Haruhi decided to draw her sister back in.

"Hey, Nēchan? Didn't you once tell me that you and Honey-senpai were pretty evenly matched? How come  _ you _ aren't considered a weapon-of-mass-destruction by the Secretary of Defense?" Jin smirks as Mori responds for her.

"She is."

There's a moment of silence as the twins, Tamaki, and Haruhi pale. Jin feels Kyoya's posture stiffen beneath her cheek and her smirk widens.

"Nervous, Glasses?"

"Not at all, simply surprised."

Honey finally turned his attention away from the window, hopping up onto his cousin's shoulders, "Yeah! Jin-chan and I trained together for years! I was her personal trainer when she first joined, too! She was a natural! The only reason she hasn't been banned from using her full potential is because the Secretary of Defense never saw her fight me before!"

The long haired brunette finally pulled herself away from her crush's body heat, "Also, I prefer to not use my full potential anyways. I'd rather not be known as a weapon or feared because I can hurt people. That's why I've never really flaunted being considered a Haninozuka. It's not who I am."

As Haruhi is told about Yasuchika's upbringing in response to Honey-senpai's personality, Kyoya closes his black journal, "I think we've covered everything important for today. And besides, I have a feeling Tamaki is going to announce one of his infamous plans to help Honey-senpai reconnect with his brother."

"Probably." Jin stands up and stretches, "Well, Honey-kun was partially right."

"Hm?"

"He told me to come over here and talk to you so I wouldn't be as upset after witnessing Chika's behavior, but we didn't really talk all that much, did we?"

Kyoya was positive that Jin was just messing with him at this point. Either that, or she was  _ dead set _ on having him make the first move. Now that he knew that at least a decent percentage of the school believed that the two of them would be a good match, he was much less concerned about the negative effects of a possible relationship between him and the brunette. All that was really left was to ask. But despite everything, Kyoya couldn't stand the thought of being turned down. He would, in all honestly, much rather admire her from a distance forever than know that he made Jin uncomfortable every time he thought of her in a 'relationship way'.

"Time for Operation: Haninozuka brothers reconciliation!"

Kyoya looked away from the girl, attempting to recollect his thoughts. There would be plenty of time later to really think his choices over, but now was not the time.

And besides, if the look on Jin's face was anything to go by, this would not be over quickly.

* * *

"-but he's nowhere near as skilled in Martial Arts as his brother, Mitsukuni."

"-he's not bad but he's no match for his older brother, Honey!"

The hosts winced in sympathy. It seemed like no matter which way Chika turned in his life, he was always being compared to Honey… and not in a positive light. Jin leaned her forehead against the glass pane, looking like she might cry as the boy was forced to act tougher, trying to hide his insecurities.

"It's totally normal, and way boring. We're going to find something more entertaining~"

"What!?" Tamaki was quick to jump on the twin's case, shouting about how shallow the redheads were. His rant, however, was cut off when he noticed a certain head of brown hair slipping away from the group. Jin walked alongside the building towards the door, not acknowledging how the hosts were following along behind her, only stopping when she opened the door.

Leaning against the wood, she raised her right hand up to the outside and rapped her knuckles on the door, "Knocker, knocker."

With a smile, she walked through the entrance. The hosts ran back to the window to watch Chika's reaction. Clearly Jin got along well with the younger Haninozuka, at least better than his own brother, and they wanted to see their interactions. They got there just in time for Chika to finish greeting his Senpai.

"I was wondering if I could join you guys for a session? It's been such a long time since I trained… that is, if you'd be okay with that?"

"Y-yeah! Sure! There's a locker room in the back for you to change and a few extra uniforms if you need them! I'm sure a few would fit you!"

"Thanks, Chika. I'd like to see how you're doing with training." Jin grins at the shorter boy and ruffles his hair in passing. This time he didn't complain, smiling genuinely before turning back to the other club members.

Outside, Haruhi leans back from the window, running that last scene through her head, "Okay… so, Chika nicer to Nēchan than his own brother."

The twins were quick to pick up the thread next, "Maybe it's because he respects her more?"

"After all, even though she likes sweets and cute things, she's not actually a Haninozuka so she doesn't have to be held to the same standards as him and Honey-senpai."

"But she's still very skilled at Martial Arts, even though she's not in the family. And she's not as well known and therefore he's not in her shadow like he is with Honey-senpai."

The twins were interrupted by a quiet, sad voice, one they weren't quite familiar with hearing, "No… that's not the reason Chika-chan is nicer to Jin-chan." The small blond boy walks closer to his friends, eyes cast down on the bricks lining the sidewalk, "It's because Jin-chan doesn't treat him like he's second best. She doesn't compare the two of us, skill-wise or appearance-wise, and she always talks to him like he's important."

Mori speaks up from behind his cousin, "He also has a crush on her."

A few of the boys jolted, looking between the two 3rd years and through the building's window, where Jin had just come back out into the main room. Kyoya's eyes narrow a bit, "She's two years his senior." At that comment, Haruhi couldn't help but scoff.

"Yeah, so? Our Obāsan and Ojiisan on our mother's side were ten years apart; age is just a number."

The girl let out a squeak as Tamaki suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Not.  _ Helping _ ."

The host club quickly backs away as Kyoya's devil aura makes an appearance, returning their attention back to the dojo, which was a mildly safer topic at the moment. Chika was announcing Jin to the rest of the Karate club and what exercise they'd be completing next.

Haruhi straightens up, her finger pointing towards the boy inside, "Hey! Chika didn't fight Nēchan when she went in!"

"Of course not. If he had, then the members of the Karate club would've figured out she was an honorary Haninozuka! They won't be told unless they graduate from high school and continue with martial arts. That way, not everyone knows about Jin-chan, and she can live a normal life."

"Then... why is she practicing?"

"Just because they can't know she's Honorary Matron Fujioka, it doesn't she can't be Jin Fujioka, martial artist." It was probably the most any of them had heard Mori-senpai speak in a single sentence, but the moment was undermined by the fact that Jin's opponent for the drill was on his back only a few seconds after Chika gave the command.

They watch as Chika stalks over to the pair as Jin helps the other middle-schooler up.

"Saito! Would you like to explain to us how you were defeated so easily?"

"Hey." Jin placed a restraining hand on Chika's shoulder, "Go easy on him."

Everyone watching, inside and outside of the building, prepared themselves for Chika to grow angry at Jin telling him what to do. Perhaps some shouting, maybe a demand to spar with her himself. But instead the boy's posture softened. He offered both boy and girl an apologetic smile.

"I guess you're right. He didn't know how skilled you were. Well, Saito, what do you think happened?"

The dark-haired boy looked embarrassed, and shuffled his feet, "I… uh… I was focusing so much on deflecting her upper body attacks, that I didn't notice her leg until she knocked me down."

"Correct. So, from now on…"

"I need to be aware of every possible move my opponents may use to their advantage."

Jin smiled at the boy, "On the nose-ie! Come on, I'll teach you how I pulled that off, okay?"

"Okay!"

The hosts back away from the window, more than a little surprised at what had just transpired.

"Well, it looks like Jin-senpai has this under control!"

"Yeah, let's leave her to it!"

Before the twins could make another run for it, Tamaki grabbed their uniforms by the back of the collar, "Hold on a minute, you two! Just because Jin is being kind to Chika doesn't mean he's going to like Honey-senpai unless someone does something about it! Don't you care?"

Honey sighed, hugging his bunny against his chest, "Tama-chan, it's okay. I don't care if Chika-chan hates me, I just want him to be happy. He is my little brother after all, it's my job as a big brother to worry about him. Right, Haru-chan?"

"Excuse me." The hosts gasp and turn to see Chika standing right behind them, "Could you please keep it down, you're distracting my club." His eyes narrow as he spots his brother. For a moment he hesitates before taking up a fighting stance, "What are you doing here, Mitsukuni? I told you to leave me alone while I'm at school!"

He launches a flying kick at Honey, making the twins and Tamaki leap out of the way, screaming.

"You alien! Why can't you just leave me alone?" Honey opened his mouth, but the only thing that came out was a weak little croak. Thankfully that was the moment Jin decided to join.

"Chika! What are you doing? You said you were just going to talk to him!"

"I  _ said _ I was going to make him leave!"

Jin let out a weary sigh, rubbing at her forehead, "You… ugh, nevermind. What did you just call him?"

Chick didn't respond, looking down at the ground instead, but now the host club knew why. It wasn't because he was upset at himself or regretting the way he treated his brother, but because Jin was disappointed in him. Kyoya couldn't help but make his way around the group to stand at the girl's side.

"Chika, just because your brother is stronger than you are doesn't give you the right to call him names! Why would you call him an alien?" At Haruhi unknowingly answering Jin's question for Chika -once again- Jin closed her eyes in a suffering way. She leaned into Kyoya's side gratefully.

"Yeah Chika-"

"-why are you so upset about cake and stuffed animals?"

The boy's face darkened, "Well, if it was just about the cake and stuffed animals I wouldn't have said anything. I didn't call my brother an alien because he's stronger than me." He suddenly pointed a finger and shouted, "I did it because he can devour an entire cake! Don't tell me you guys think that's perfectly normal! He eats three whole cakes every night for dessert! Seriously,  _ three cakes a night! _ And he never gains weight!"

Jin tilted her head to share a look with Kyoya.  _ Seriously? _

"And then... something crazy happened last week. I happened to wake up in the middle of the night...and I noticed the light was on in the dining room… Mitsukuni was in there by himself. He was talking to that stuffed bunny of his, surrounded by a whole pile of cakes and sweets. And the way he was talking to me…" He did a full body shudder, unaware that the rest of the host club had been steadily moving away from the Haninozuka brothers.

"Come on...be honest. YOU KNOW THERE'S NO WAY A REGULAR HUMAN BEING CAN EAT THAT MUCH CAKE!" Jin squeaked and jumped at the outburst, grabbing onto the arm that had swung out in front of her. "AREN'T YOU TERRIFIED!? I BET HE GETS SIGNALS FROM HIS HOME PLANET THROUGH THAT BUNNY OF HIS! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT HE'S AN ALIEN?"

While the young boy caught his breath, the others started comparing notes. For such a wacka-do thought, the animosity between the two boys suddenly made perfect sense.

"Kyoya? I think I'm safe now."

The ravenet quickly drops his arm back to his side, but sends Jin a miniscule smirk, "I just thought you'd like the extra comfort. You certainly didn't seem to mind it at the time."

"Shut up, Glasses. I just grabbed your arm in case I needed to throw something at Chika so I could make a quick getaway."

He lightly pinched her side as Chika started talking about how he used to get along just fine with his brother, respecting him even, until he started acting weirdly. The host club abruptly turned their heads towards Tamaki, who had the decency to look embarrassed.

"I didn't mean too, or at least that wasn't my intent! I just wanted to help Honey-senpai be his true self! There's got to be a way to fix this! Uh… uh… Jin! You get along well with Chika! Come on, you must have a brilliant idea!"

"Um, sorry Tama-kun, but… I've got nothing. We can't change Honey-kun, because he's finally happy with himself, but Chika's really stubborn when it comes to this kind of stuff. I remember when he started going through puberty and flipped out when his voice started cracking. He thought someone had cursed him and they were slowly stealing his voice."

Chika jolted, "Nēchan! You said you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"

"What are you talking about? You told everyone in your dojo about it until your father finally explained it to you." The twins are laughing in the background and Haruhi is trying not to follow in their example as Chika sulks on the cement.

"Nēchan? Exactly how many people call you Nēchan?"

Jin frowns a bit and starts counting on her fingers, "Um, you. Chika. Kirimi. Hiroshi on occasion. Satoshi. Eiichi-chan. Uh…"

"You're like the older sister everyone wants to have."

Jin smiles and gently flicks her little sister's nose, "It's okay, Haru. You can be jealous if you want to."

"Mitsukuni. You know how to solve this." The others pause, turning towards Mori-senpai. Jin is the only one who doesn't look confused, but she doesn't look all that happy either. Before the others know it, the brothers are preparing for battle. On the line? Honey not eating cake in the middle of the night.

The twins were obviously not impressed.

" _ Is that's all? _ "

Jin sighed, " _ It's the only thing Honey-kun is willing to give up. What I don't get is how Chika's okay with that. _ "

"Are you ready for battle, men? Then, you may begin!"

Out of nowhere Honey shot a kick for his brother's head. A few quick punches and a trip up were quick to follow, but it wasn't until Honey pulling a staff out from behind his back that the others began noticing a pattern. Haruhi tilted her head and pulled at the bottom of Jin's school jacket for her attention.

" _ Nēchan… I know you weren't there when the two of them fought earlier- _ "

"But this match is the exact same as that one, only the roles are reversed?"

The other boys looked over, "Yes… how did you know?"

The tallest girl and boy shared a glance before returning their attention to the fight, "After studying with Mitsukuni Haninozuka for all these years, it's not a trend you're likely to miss."

"Mitsukuni has already planned out this entire fight, ever since he challenged his brother. I have been watching these brothers spar for years, and it didn't take long before I realized that Yasuchika always incorporated moves Mitsukuni used in their previous match. Mitsukuni must've realized this as well, because he always gives his brother a chance to practice the new moves before ending the fight with something new for the next one."

Jin, whose interest in the match is dwindling, is more surprised by all the words her old friend is using rather than the actual content in his speech.

He continues talking, more than he's probably collectively spoken in his life, "I can tell you with utmost certainty that Mitsukuni is about to throw the match-"

"DEFEND YOURSELF!"

_ WHAP! _

Out of nowhere Honey slammed Chika out of the air with his staff, sending the younger boy at least an inch into the ground. No one speaks for a moment.

"Yay~ I win! Vic-tory cake! VIC-TORY CAKE!"

Jin ran forward onto the battlefield, kneeling by the whimpering boy, "Chika? Can you stand up?"

" _ Mmmmuuuuugh…. _ "

"Come on… up you get."

Taking a hand, she gently eased the middle schooler up into a sitting position, feeling around for possible injuries. He winced a few times when she touched his back and she could tell he'd have a few nasty bruises, but other than that he seemed to be okay.

Chika groans and holds his head, probably trying to stem away a growing headache, "How can he do this? He eats so much cake, he should weigh a thousand pounds! And he doesn't even have the Karate club to work it off!"

Jin pulls Chika to his feet, "Well, even though Honey-kun's not allowed to fight at his full strength publicly, that doesn't mean he slacks off in training."

"...What?"

The girl paused, "Um… did no one ever tell you your brother was asked to not fight in public?"

"NO! THEY DIDN'T! WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE JUST TOLD ME THAT INSTEAD OF LETTING ME GET MY FACE BEATEN IN!?"

Jin blinks, "I didn't know you didn't know."

"You mean this whole time Chika didn't know Honey-senpai was asked to quit the Karate club?"

Honey paused in his celebration, "My father… he was in the hospital for months. No one else would've known. And if he forgot to tell Chika-chan… CHIKA-CHAN I'M SO SORRY!"

Jin quickly backed away as the two brothers collided in a hug. The younger boy winced and started smacking at Honey's shoulders to make him let go, but the blond wasn't having it. Deciding not to interfere this time around, she turned to Mori next. He was on his hands and knees, staring blankly at the grass beneath him.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about this. You can't know everything about him, you know. Haru still does things that surprise me, remember? You're not inside Honey-kun's head."

With a groan, the boy bends his right arm and rolls onto his back, staring up at the sky now. Jin smirks, then starts giggling. Mori's eyes flick towards her, silently asking what was so humorous.

"I... _ snort _ , I'm sorry Mori-kun, I'm not laughing at you I j _ hust _ - _ ha! _ \- You hardly say a word on a good day, and the one time you let loose with an entire speech you spend it on being wrong!  _ Ahahaha! _ Okay… okay you've gotta admit that's funny!"

The boy frowned and reached up to shove the girl onto her side. She simply continued laughing, legs curling up into her stomach. It's not until a shadow passes over her face that she attempts to wind down. Grinning up at the person standing over her, she held out her hands to be pulled up.

Kyoya rolled his eyes, but obliged, "You just solved everything with a single sentence."

"I guess so! Who knew?"

"I had my suspicions." Kyoya tapped in on his courage (and some of the anger from knowing how many boys had a crush on Jin) and pulled the girl closer by her hands, "You are a wonderfully exceptional person after all, Jin."

The brunette blushed and looked away, but didn't move, "Thank you. You're not too shabby yourself, Kyo-kun. A-anyway, um, Haru and I should probably head home. My dad's going to flip if he gets home and we're not there."

She still doesn't move until Haruhi grabs the back of her jacket and hauls her out of Kyoya's grip. If what Jin had just said wasn't true she would've left her sister there until one of those two idiots finally made a  _ freaking move _ , but Haruhi had a feeling that wouldn't happen today. Call it a hunch, but who kisses another person after they've used the word 'shabby'? Honestly, her sister was the biggest roadblock to herself, though Kyoya wasn't much better.

"Come on, Nēchan, let's go."

"Alright, alright! Bye, boys!" Jin catches Kyoya's eye for a split second before turning away, red in the face once more. The boy smirks before facing the others again. The expression vanishes as he watches Tamaki angrily hand a small pile of yen over to the twins.

"Why are you exchanging money? Did you really place a bet on this fight?"

"Not at all, Kyoya-senpai."

"The boss just bet us a few seconds ago that you'd finally kiss Jin-senpai. Guess we won!"

"Again!"

"Again?"

The others didn't answer him, opting instead to become cloud gazers, watching the different formations above them. Thoroughly suspicious, but not willing to put in the time or effort to actually figure out what was going through their (likely empty) heads, he returned his attention back to the retreating form of the girl he'd fallen for.

_ I'm in so much trouble. _

"Wait, Jin-chan? Hold on a second!"

Everyone on the hill stopped at Honey's shout. He had finally pulled away from his younger brother, who looked thoroughly confused and in pain, and was staring down the side of the hill. The Fujioka girls stopped, looking back towards the boys.

"Honey-kun? What is it?"

"I was wondering... do you want another match?"

 


	36. A Fight Between Old Friends!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is some blood in the chapter. Not super gory, but it is mentioned.  
> I'm sorry I keep baiting you with fake-kisses! We're getting close to the real thing! I promise!

 

_ "Wait, Jin-chan? Hold on a second!" _

_ Everyone on the hill stopped at Honey's shout. He had finally pulled away from his younger brother, who looked thoroughly confused and in pain, and was staring down the side of the hill. The Fujioka girls stopped, looking back towards the boys. _

_ "Honey-kun? What is it?" _

_ "I was wondering... do you want another match?" _

* * *

 

Everyone on the hill froze.

"Mitsukuni…"

"Honey-kun, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Don't you remember last time?"

"It's been years, Jin-chan. We're both a lot older and we both know it's hard to really practice when our opponents are out after only two minutes."

For a moment, Jin says nothing, making the tension grow. Kyoya, Tamaki, and the twins were the only students present who had never witnessed a battle or the aftermath of Honey and Jin sparring, but they could easily figure out it was a big deal. After all, even Chika is looking between the two of them with a nervous expression.

"I have some conditions."

Mori, Chika, and Haruhi all wince slightly.

"Name them."

"One, not today. I have to let my dad know I'm actually going through with this. Two, we each get two weapons only. Weapons that come in sets will not be allowed. If you choose throwing stars, only two of those blades may be used, not two sets. Three, weapons aren't allowed until after the five minute mark. And four…"

She points at everyone else, "... _ they _ can not watch us."

"Awww... "

"What?"

The twins frowned, crossing their arms, "We want to watch! We were gonna bring the popcorn!"

Jin didn't laugh at the joke like they thought she would. In fact, she looked more serious than they could remember her being before. It was a very… bland kind of serious, rather than her usual emotional serious. "Boys, this fight won't be like what you expect. Very few people who have watched found it enjoyable."

"How few?"

"None."

Kyoya sighed, "Honestly, Jin, if you think we will be frightened of you after you spar with Honey-senpai, you are mistaken."

"Want to bet?"

"Jin-chan, if they want to watch, I saw we should allow them. They are our friends and only want to encourage us."

The brunette visibly looked displeased, but after a moment she nodded, "Fine. But Mori-kun will  _ not _ be our referee. We will use one of your family's referee's, one who is aware of your and my own strength. Do you agree to these terms?"

Honey answers without hesitation, "I do."

Jin nods as well and she begins to walk away. Suddenly, she stops and turns back around, "Your family be paying for any medical bills, same as last time?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

The hosts watch in silence as the Fujioka girls walked away. Haruhi tugged at Jin's arm but was shaken off, the girls facing each other in a silent conversation all the way across the field. It wasn't until they disappeared over the lip of the next hill that Honey turned back around to see the worried faces of his brother, cousin, and friends. Chika was the first to speak, "Mitsukuni, are you  _ absolutely  _ sure this is a good idea? You two nearly destroyed a dojo last time, and you… well, Worthy Matron has grown since then."

"I know what I'm doing, Chika-chan. Our second battle made me realize fighting you and everyone else is not quite enough. I need to build up my stamina, and so does Jin-chan. This is the only way."

Honey walks away, hands in his pockets.

* Five Days Later *

"Oh… I can't  _ believe _ they're doing this again! What was Mitsukuni  _ thinking? _ " Ranka nervously chewed his fingernails, eyes watering as he stared off into space. Haruhi quickly placed a consoling hand on her father's shoulder, knowing which memories he was pulling up.

"Dad, maybe it won't be as bad this time-"

"Or it could be a whole lot worse!"

Haruhi didn't respond, because, in all honesty, she was worried sick for her sister. The last time Jin and Honey had fought each other, they had both ended up in hospital beds for a full weekend. The shorter brunette had a feeling this one would end the same way.

All week Jin and Honey had been preparing for this battle, heading to the dojo after school to fine tune any skills that might have dampened with them not practicing daily, and keeping a very serious mentality about them. Neither of them had quite been their happy-go-lucky selves, even at school or the host club, and it was setting everybody on edge. Even their clients had figured something serious was going on, though they weren't told what.

At least by the end of today, they could go back to their normal selves.

Along with the host club, Ranka, Chika, and… another boy with short black hair, were standing along the side of the dojo. Soon Honey and Jin would coming in with their official.

The boy Haruhi didn't know spoke up, nudging Chika, "Hey, Yasuchika, why isn't your father here? I thought for sure he'd show up."

"I'm not even sure if he knows this is happening…"

"He knows. He's busy."

Haruhi tilted her head, "Wait, hold on, who are you?"

The ravenet grinned up at her, "Oh, I'm Satoshi! I'm Takashi's younger brother!"

"Oh, really? I guess you two do look a lot alike."  _ But they don't act alike… _

"Yeah, it's pretty cool!" Satoshi looked up at Mori-senpai with a huge smile, which was reciprocated with a smaller one before he looked back at the door with a worried look. Haruhi smiled warmly at the brothers.  _ Well, Mori-senpai's brother obviously adores him. That's a really nice thing to happen. Kind of like with Nēchan and I. _

Just then, the doors opened.

Honey, Jin, and a very nervous looking man walk through the doors. The two teenagers were wearing their white martial arts uniforms, both with duffel bags hanging over their shoulders and their hands taped. The trio stopped just in front of the larger group.

The judge cleared his throat, "T-to begin, both participants of this match must empty their weapon bags of their weapons of choice. They will be placed on opposite sides of the arena in sealed boxes at the beginning of the battle, which will only be accessible at the five minute mark."

Both Honey and Jin bent down and unzipped their bags in front of everyone. Honey quickly unpacked a metal staff, pulled it open to full length then shut it again and set it aside. Jin smirked and did the same thing, only her metal staff was a little longer in proportion to her height.

Next, Honey pulled out a single dagger. The blade was about four inches long and the handle was just long enough for Honey to hold in his hand and not have it show on the other side.

Ranka let out a soft whimper.

And then, Jin pulled out her bokuto. The metal sword was of decent length and quite thin with a small hand guard. It had a mild curvature and narrowed down to a wicked point. It looked scarily lethal. Ranka's whimpering died instantly, and they all noticed Honey side-eyeing the new weapon. Any joking mood the new witnesses had been feeling quickly diminished. Kaoru slowly slid the popcorn bowl back into his bag.

"Very well. You have both been checked for additional weapons. Please place your bags with the spectators. I will place your weapons of choice into your assigned boxes. If you attempt to use these weapons before the appropriate time, you will be disqualified and your opponent declared the winner. Do you agree to these terms?"

Both teenagers nodded in understanding and stood back up, carrying their empty bags towards the others. Tamaki attempted a smile of encouragement, but it was hard to do when they looked so serious. At the last possible moment, the two relaxed their poses and gave their friends a quick smile before returning their attention back to the battle.

The walked to their starting positions, in the middle of their halves of the room. The official nervously placed Honey's equipment into the box behind him before trotting across the large room. His footfalls echoed as the other occupants fell into complete and absolute silence. Haruhi could swear she could hear her father's heartbeat next to her.

As the official locked Jin's equipment into her own box, he shakily made his way back to the middle of the room. Standing opposite of the spectators, they could easily see how his arms were trembling.

"This match between Master Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Honorary Matron Fujioka will continue until one opponent has been rendered defenseless, or completely overpowered. But… if we could not have a half-hour long match like last time, that would be appreciated." He cleared his throat and raised a trembling hand, "Are you both prepared? Then, you may begin!"

Jin moved before the others could even register the movement, bringing both of her arms up to block her head in an 'X' shape. Half a heartbeat later, Honey's left foot was connecting with the center of the shape. And just like that, the battle commenced. Honey attempted to kick off his failed strike, but Jin grabbed his ankle, using the momentum against him to swing the boy down.

Honey twisted his upper body to face the floor, hands splayed against the mat and pulling himself forward in a somersault. Jin was pulled off her feet with the movement and she released Honey's leg to handspring over the small boy, just narrowly missing the upward kick from Honey's right foot.

The girl turned from her spring and jumped, avoiding having her legs knocked out from underneath her. Honey rolled away from her landing, back on his feet just in time to lean away from her punch. Jin let out a yell and lunged after her retreating opponent, forcing him on the defense.

Back on the sidelines, Haruhi was finally becoming aware of the death grip on her right arm. Tamaki was holding onto her like his life depended on it, but his wide eyes were pinned on the match. His grip tightened as Jin narrowly avoided another kick to the face.

" _ Senpai? _ " The blond jolted, but released the girl beside him. A shriek pulled her attention back to the mat as Jin performed a one-handed back-flip, holding her left arm close to her chest. Haruhi felt like her chest was closing up.  _ Her old injury. _ Honey's face flickered between concern and the battle-hard expression he'd been nursing all week and he hesitated.

Jin shook her arm out before darting back towards her opponent. Honey's concern vanished.

" _ He'd better not hurt her… _ " Haruhi risked another glance away from the battle. Chika was watching the match with clear eyes, yet his mouth was set in a determined scowl.

Satoshi leaned over to whisper to the boy, " _ Yasuchika, Nēchan can handle herself. _ "

" _ I don't care! I don't want her getting hurt. She's like my older sister. _ "

" _ You and I both know you care about Jin a whole lot more than that. And it's because of what happened five years ago. _ "

A sudden movement behind her pulled Haruhi's attention to yet another member of their group. Kyoya had stiffened, but was still watching the fight.  _ Oh, right. Chika's crush. _

" _ Did you say five years? _ " Her father hummed, slipping into the conversation as well, " _ Isn't that when Mitsukuni's father attempted to arrange a marriage between Mitsukuni and Jin? _ "

The entire host club turned and shouted, "WHAT?"

On the mat, the combatants stumbled and glanced at their friends, still circling each other.

"What's going on over there?"

Chika scoffed, "You didn't tell them about the arranged marriage? Geez, don't you tell them  _ anything? _ " Instantly he was swatted across the group, giving Haruhi a brief memory of the movie 'Free Willy'.

"Be nice, Yasuchika!" Satoshi frowned at his cousin, who was still dazed on the ground.

Jin sighed from her spot on the mat before running at the blond, "I had my reasons for not telling them."

"And besides, we stopped it before it was made official."

"And stop hitting Chika all the time, Satoshi! You're going to give the poor boy a concussion one of these days!"

Honey's brother rose to his feet, wobbling a little, "Look, just to give you guys some background, my father wanted Worthy Matron Fujioka to be a Haninozuka for years, almost ever since she joined our dojo. He thought the way to accomplish that would be to unite my older brother with her in holy matrimony. However, by the time he brought it up with them, they were already really close... in a brother-sister kind of way. There was no way they could've stopped seeing each other like that. She said no to wedding my brother, and Mitsukuni convinced my father to cancel setting up the arranged marriage."

The others looked at Mori, who nodded in agreement.

" _ Why didn't Nēchan ever tell me this? _ "

Ranka patted his daughter's head, " _ She didn't want to expose you to this world more than you already were. Being arranged to be married to someone? It was hard enough for Jin to get used to the idea. You were only ten years old when it happened. It's not that you wouldn't have understood, but Jin didn't want you to know about it. After all, she spent most of your childhood convincing you about falling in love. She didn't want to shatter that image of marrying for love, not just money, for you. _ "

A high pitched buzz sounded through the room twice. Instantly, the fighting boy and girl parted from each other and raced to their boxes. Soon enough they were back at it again, staffs out and clacking against each others. Every time the duo spun around, the others could see the much sharper weapons the two had attached to their bodies. Honey's knife hung from his hip, Jin's was attached to her back.

As the two continued fighting, their real prowess started coming to light. Their own bodies were just as dangerous as the metal in their hands. While it was rare for either of them to land a sufficient blow on the other, there was enough power behind them to make it extremely painful. Knocking a shoulder backwards sharply or making the blocker's arms vibrate with the strength behind the strike.

Eventually, the blond found an opening.

Honey smacked Jin's side, and it visibly knocked the wind out of her lungs, but she managed to kick his feet out from under him, giving her some time to recover. Of course, Honey was back on his feet by the time she did.

It took another minute or two before another big opening presented itself, but when it did, it was actually in Jin's favor. It started with a stabbing gesture at Honey's midriff that was quickly blocked, but instead of bouncing back she slid the end of the staff down the edge of Honey's before thrusting it downwards, striking his ankle. The boy let out a cry before instantly retaliating with a smack to the side of her head, making her face snap sideways.

Both of them stumbled. A whimper reached the crowd, but they couldn't tell who it had come from. Haruhi was moved to the side as Kyoya started walking forward, but he paused as Honey struck again. Jin barely moved in time, shooting her own staff out to deflect her opponent's, knocking the tip back towards him. Honey grabbed the end and pushed the staff outwards in a flat line to block a strike from the girl, who was holding her staff the same way.

The two kept pushing… and pushing… and pushing…

Jin lurched forward a half step when her staff bent abruptly. The two gave the metal poles a look of confusion. Both of them were curved in, actually, rendering them pretty much useless.

Chuckling, both Honey and Jin simultaneously threw their ruined staffs away and leapt back, pulling out their other weapons.

" _ Oh… I can't watch this! _ " Ranka turned himself around and covered his ears as the two began circling each other. Haruhi considered copying him. A quick glance showed that Satoshi already had and it looked like Tamaki would be next.

Honey flipped his dagger so it was pointing downwards, "Jin-chan, let's end this in five minutes."

"Agreed." She swung the sword, "I'll be sure to win by then."

"Ha! We'll see about that! Defend yourself!"

* * *

 

Thirteen minutes.

It took another thirteen minutes before the official called out the verdict.

"Tie!"

Tamaki peeked his face out from behind his hands and almost cried with relief. His friends were in the same position as when he'd covered his eyes, but they hadn't moved either, which was a good sign. And it also meant this horrible match was  _ over _ with.

Nothing about it had been what he had expected. Sure, maybe a bruise or two, after all he had seen the way Honey-senpai had slammed Chika into the dirt only a few days ago, but Jin was good, too. But no, what he had just witnessed had been  _ horrifying _ .

Slowly, the spectators inched their way onto the mats, closer to the boy and girl.

The two fighters were still locked in their final form. Jin had her bokuto pressed against Honey's throat, one of her hands fisted in his hair to hold his head back and his neck bare. But he had his knife pressed against Jin's stomach, point first, ready to thrust into her lower abdomen.

"Mitsukuni…"

"Jin?"

They both took in equally shuddering breaths before relaxing and pulling away, both of them limping slightly as they dropped their weapons to the ground. Instantly the others were upon them.

Jin all but collapsed into Kyoya's arms as her father and sister started inspecting her injuries. She let out a high pitched whine when Haruhi touched her left cheek, which had swelled since Honey had struck it with his staff. There was a very shallow cut on her side, tearing her uniform open and staining the edges of the material with red. She laid her head on Kyoya's chest, her hair messy and a few locks hanging out of her ponytail and sticking to her sweaty face.

"Jin-chan? Are you okay?"

The brunette took another deep breath before calling out, "Cheek, side, my wrist, and… I think my right knee." Kyoya readjusted his grip, holding up as much of her weight off of her right leg as she sighed, "What about you?"

"Arm, ankle, shoulder, hand… but that could just be the adrenaline. "

Honey was in his cousin's arms, letting his head dangle backwards as his brother and younger cousin looked him over. He was also bleeding, a small trickle from his bicep that already reached his elbow. His right hand and ankle just dangled down from Mori's grip. When Chika attempted to check them, he whimpered and pulled away.

"Mitsukuni?"

Honey looked up at his cousin, almost sheepishly but there was pain in his expression, "I think my hand's broken, Takashi…"

" _ Never do this again! _ "

The two sighed against the people holding them up, "Okay, Tama-chan."

"Yeah, I promise. Can you call the paramedics, now?"

* Time Skip *

"So… Honey-senpai only has a bruise on his ankle?"

Kyoya nodded, sitting further back on Jin's hospital bed. He was the only person in the room with the brunette, having just come back from checking on Honey-senpai. That's where the others were, other than the remainder of the Fujioka family. They were downstairs getting something to eat. "That's right. And his hand was simply hyper-extended, not broken."

Jin sighed, relaxing against her pillows, "Good." With gentle brushes, she ran her fingertips over the bruise that ran up and down her side, wincing slightly. The doctors had taken great care of her and Honey, making sure they'd be fit to go back to school come Monday. But now she was waiting on dinner. "I hope Dad and Haru bring me back something to eat."

"Jin?"

"Mm?"

Kyoya scooped up her right hand, "I need you to promise me that you will never duel like that again. Ever. With Honey-senpai or anyone else." Blinking, the girl stared at the boy sitting on her bed. Kyoya stared back just as seriously.

"Kyoya… I've already promised. Honey-senpai did, too."

"I know, but promise me again." He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, "I don't like seeing you hurt. It seems that for every time you sit atop my school desk, I'm sitting on your hospital bed. I do not enjoy that correlation."

Jin breathes in sharply, but she returns the grip. Slowly, she sits up on her bed and leans in closer, their fingers falling in between each other's. She pauses when she can see herself faintly reflected in Kyoya's glasses.

" _ I promise. _ "

Kyoya hardly hears her, beginning to lean in when, as his luck would have it-

"JIN-CHAN!" Honey-senpai was wheeled into the room on his own hospital bed, the host club right behind him. "We can share a room now!"

Everyone cheers, but they're quickly cut off by the twin glares they're receiving. Not to mention how the two 2nd years had yet to move away from each other and were still holding hands, their fingers interlocked.

Of course, the moment passes and Kyoya stands up from Jin's bed, "Wonderful. Just be sure that you don't keep each other up at night. You're not here for a sleepover and should do your best to return to school on Monday."

"If you say so, Glasses."

 


	37. Lobelia Girls' Academy Strikes Back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, my least favorite episode, but I tried to work around that. Hope you like!

 

"Haaaruhi-chan~ Jiiiin-chan~ Pleeease~ come out and play!"

Kyoya rolled his eyes at the childish nature of his friends, but couldn't deny that he wasn't excited about spending another Saturday with Jin. After all, it had been two weeks since she and Honey-senpai had sparred, so the bruise on the brunette's side should have faded completely by now. Enough for him to casually slip his arm around her waist and not worry about hurting her, at least. It had been surprisingly difficult for him to go from almost constantly exchanging physical contact with the girl to very rarely, if at all.

If he hadn't done so, however, Kyoya was 57% sure that he would've lost all self control by now and kissed Jin, witnesses be damned. After the unholy mixture of all the untimely interruptions and 'Go' signs from Jin herself, Kyoya was slowly losing his mind. Perhaps he should just ask her out, and the kiss could spawn from there?

Because, forgetting all of his concerns and personal fears, he did want her by his side. For the foreseeable, and unforeseeable future.

The apartment door opened and Kyoya brought his attention back into the real world. Where an angry looking man they didn't recognize was glaring at them from the darkness beyond the wood.

After staring at each other for a moment, the boys quickly walked away, apologizing for disturbing the man's morning. Kyoya was sure that they had been at the right door, but didn't say anything. Perhaps the Fujioka's had moved apartments without telling them? No, that didn't seem like something Jin would neglect to tell him.

"Hey! Hold on!" The man ran after them, managing to jump in front of their group and point back to the door, "Get back there. Don't act like you don't recognize me, it's Ranka. Even transvestites get stubble in the morning. Get inside."

Not wanting to anger the girl's father (and still wanting to spend the day with them) the hosts obeyed. However, they huddled around the front door, not wanting to be trapped inside should the man turn violent. Mostly, Tamaki was the one who was worried, but Kyoya was also hovering on the cusp of the doorframe.

Thankfully, that concern didn't last. The moment Tamaki offered their present for entering the Fujioka household, Ranka was back into his cheerful mood. He was even squishing Tamaki's face into the floor, which was always a good sign.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I've forgotten my manners! It's wonderful to see you all, of course!" He opened the box and squealed before quickly stuffing half of a pastry in his mouth.

Noting the lack of the female gender in the room, Honey bounced to the front of the group, "Are Haru-chan and Jin-chan home?"

"I'm sorry, boys, but Jin's working an early shift at the animal shelter and Haruhi is out with some girl friends. I suppose you can visit Jin, I'm sure she'd love to see you all, but I honestly have no idea where Haruhi went. Oh, well. Girls will be girls."

Tamaki was clearly downtrodden at not seeing Haruhi today, but the twins quickly scooped him up by his armpits, "Come on, Boss."

"Let's go see, Jin-senpai."

"Maybe they have some more puppies to play with." They pointed after Kyoya, who was leading the 3rd year boys back down the balcony, "Kyoya-senpai's clearly game."

The blond rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, "Alright then. Let's go."

As they went to follow the other three, Ranka hummed around the strawberry flavored mousse, "You know… I didn't really recognize any of Haruhi's new friends who picked her up this morning. She's never really mentioned them before. But then again, she's never really made a big deal about where her friends were from. I guess not even if they attend Lobelia Academy."

All six boys froze.

"Did you just say…"

* Time Skip *

"WAHHH! If I had known why they took Haruhi I would've stopped them! My poor baby girl! There's no telling what they might do to her! Especially if this Benibara is as  _ scandalous _ as her words!  _ NOOOOOO! _ "

Hikaru and Kaoru, who clearly can't tell the difference between sharing important information and making a situation seem worse, looked at each other, "Yeah… Benibara was really interested in Haruhi when they met."

"Chizuru was more into Jin, but Benio was  _ all over _ Haruhi."

"And there's no telling what was going through Hinako head."

Ranka let out a horrified screech before calmly sitting back in his seat, "Well, obviously we're going to have to put a stop to this. I'll help you boys in any way I can. And by 'helping', I mean 'helping-you-find-Jin-and-letting-her-handle-the-rest', of course. We can tag along to watch, but my eldest daughter is really the only weapon we need."

Standing up, Ranka quickly made his way to Jin's bedroom and slipped inside. The boys inched over and peeked in. It was a very simple room, with a dresser, closet, bed, desk, and bookshelf, but the walls had a few drawings stuck to them, and flowers that looked hand-painted dotted every available white space and some that was unavailable. Most of Jin's things were put away, giving the bedroom an orderly look, but there were a few school books scattered on the desk and a jacket hanging off the closet door that made the room look lived in.

Ranka, of course, was making a mess. Tossing things out onto her floor from the closet, creating a steadily growing pile of sweaters, games, and other miscellaneous items.

"Where did she put it? I know she only just got it replaced, but still… For a girl who keeps her room so organized, it sure is hard to find her things… A-HA!"

Stand up, the man held up a brand new metal staff in his hands. Instantly Honey took a step back. Noticing the sudden movement, Mr. Fujioka gave the small boy a sympathetic smile, "Don't worry, Mitsukuni, I don't think Jin will have any intention of using it on anyone. It's generally used as a scare tactic to keep people away or at least at a distance. I don't think Jin will be looking forward to fighting anyone for a while."

Honey nodded and relaxed.

The animal shelter is only about a five minute walk away from the apartments where the Fujioka's lived. That had been one of the big reasons that Jin still volunteered there, long after her middle school had held a volunteer day, where its students could miss one day of school if they volunteered and brought back a signed slip. Ranka somehow managed to explain that whole story to the host club while they were in the process of learning that it was also a three minute run from the complex.

Finding Jin went by much quicker. She was one of the three volunteers in the grassy fenced-in area along the side of the building, playing ball with a couple of dogs. No matter which dog managed to grab the green tennis ball and bring it back, they always dropped it respectfully at Jin's feet before waiting for her to throw it again.

For a moment, Kyoya simply watches her. She looked so much better than the first day she'd left the hospital after the battle. Two weeks ago she had had trouble simply bending over, the bruise along her side too tender to move properly. Not to mention her cheek and knee injury. Now? She looked good as new.

Today Jin was wearing a plain maroon colored shirt with sleeves that went down to her elbows, black capris, and a pair of almost new black converse shoes. And, to top it all off, it looked like she had curled her hair this morning. Just a little, but it was enough to make Kyoya's train of thought skip over the rail once or twice.

Ranka cleared his throat behind the glasses-wearing boy, "We are on a  _ schedule _ , don't forget."

"Okay! Jin-chan! Over here!"

Jin turns around in what Kyoya could swear was slow motion; her curls bobbing in the breeze. He feels as though his heart stopped.

"Dad?  _ Guys? _ " Quickly handing the ball to another volunteer, she jogs over with a huge smile on her face, "What are you all doing here? I didn't think you'd be that excited about volunteering again!"

"We need your help."

"Haruhi's been captured!"

Jin's air of peace vanishes with a 'crack', "Captured?"

"The Zuka Club took her!"

Slowly, she turns to her father, "Did you bring it?"

"It's right here." Ranka slips the staff through the chain-link fence, "Go sign out, we'll meet you out front." Jin nods once and disappears back inside the building. Not even a minute afterwards, she walks out the door. Quickly tying her hair up into a ponytail, where the curls cutely fell down against her neck, the girl shot them all a serious look. Even in her cute outfit, she looked like she was ready to kick some ass.

Kyoya's glasses fogged up and he hastily wipes them clean.

"Let's go."

They didn't speak much on the way there, and Jin left the boys without a word at the gate, giving Kyoya a secret hand squeeze before skillfully scaling the the fence and disappearing into the bushes beyond.

Ranka was the only one who was relatively calm about the whole situation, "Well then, we should probably try to find a way inside. After all, even though Jin will no doubt handle the situation flawlessly I suppose we could provide a distraction. If the Zuka Club is so focused on finding us, they won't think Jin is sneaking around." His eyes flickered in Kyoya's direction, and for one crazy moment the ravenet is sure he knew that Jin had been holding his hand not five seconds ago.

Then Ranka looked away, "Now… how should we sneak in…"

"I know! Kyoya! Order us some Lobelia uniforms right now! We're going  _ underco- _ Yeow!"

"OVERRULED! Men who only crossdress recreationally are an insult to us professional. Besides, I've come up with a better idea. All of you, to the front gate!"

The hosts shrugged, not caring to argue. Besides, Haruhi and Jin were intelligent, clearly the rest of their family had to be as well. They began walking, but Kyoya felt a hand fall on his shoulder.

"Not you, Kyoya. I need you to do something… a little different."

* * *

 

"I am slain by this fatal gunshot wound! Alas, I am to draw breath no more."

"Oh, my Lord Frederick!"

"Mary-Anne, with your arms holding me close, all this pain becomes naught. I am overwhelmed… with peace. Lovely Angel, your gaze is my Paradise. And you are the very image of my beloved mother!"

Outside, Hikaru rested his chin on his fist, "Is this  _ really _ what they're calling entertainment these days?"

"She's sure talkin' a lot for someone who's dying, huh, Takashi?"

"Mmm."

"She sounds like a robot."

Ranka chuckled, "Well, yes. Just another way my two little girls are their own people."

"Hm?"

"I'm sure that by now you've realized that Jin is rather exceptional at the arts. The piano, singing, drawing, dancing… she has extraordinary talent. But Haruhi has always been more focused on becoming a lawyer and being like her mother. So much that, even with Jin to guide her, Haruhi's never allowed herself to broaden her horizons and learn the arts. So she has no talent."

Hikaru snorted, "True. Whoever had the brilliant idea to bring her in as their lead actress needs to rethink their life choices. Uh… hang on, I think she's about to sing."

"NO! I LOVE MY DAUGHTER BUT HER SINGING HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE WORSE OF ALL HER ART!"

Suddenly, a beautiful voice bursts forth from the brunette, rendering them all speechless. Out of the corner of his eye, Tamaki saw Ranka reach down and pinch himself in the leg. Had Haruhi really been hiding such talent from her father? Did Jin know?

And then-

"Oops! My foot!" The plug came out of the wall, forcing Haruhi to stumble as she mouthed the words to a song that wasn't playing.

Ranka lets out a sigh of relief, "Okay… I'm not going crazy."

"They should've kidnapped Jin-chan if they wanted a good singer!"

"If the Zuka Club had even tried to take Jin, they either would've ended up with miscellaneous broken bones or a girl chained to a chair spewing sarcastic comments constantly. There are very few people in this world that don't get along with my eldest daughter, and it would seem that the Zuka Club would be some of them."

The twins shared a look, "But now she's in the building-"

"-with a play about to go on."

"Hm. I told you we wouldn't need to worry."

"HEY! NEWBIES!"

The boys quickly turned around and stood, not wanting to seem like creeps, as the head of the Beni-bara fan club started shouting at them.

"If you want to be a full fledged member, you must keep sync with your fellow fandom! Now, together, LET ME HEAR YOUR CHEERS!"

And they did, with grace and absolutely no dignity left.

* Inside the School *

_ Why on Earth are there so many students here on the weekend? Is this one of those schools with dorms? _

Jin shifted forward to peek out of the metal grate. Not many people knew this from watching action movies, but there was an art in sneaking through air vents. You had to be extremely careful to not accidentally kick the sides or make too much noise as you moved around. How did she know this? There were surprisingly a number of air vents at the Haninozuka dojo. When they were younger, Jin, Honey, and Mori used to play Hide-n-Seek all the time. The air ducts were Jin's favorite place to hide, because if there was even one of them in the room she started in, she could pretty much make it anywhere in the building to hide. But if she made the slightest bit of noise while moving around, then Mori or Honey would just follow the sounds.

Right now, she was inside the theater building where students filled every hall up to the brim. She didn't have much of a choice in how she moved around in secrecy.

Peeking out into the hallway she was hanging over, Jin watched as huge lines Zuka club fans squealed about a play that was about to go on. Jin frowned as they started talking about the 'new girl' who was playing the heroine, replacing someone who had been injured in a crash it sounded like. Soon enough, it became clear they were talking about Haruhi. It took a lot of Jin's self-control to not laugh out-loud. Haruhi? In a play? Singing? How did they even get Haruhi to agree to this? Her little sister  _ knew _ of her lack of talent.

_ Well, at least that explains all the students here. _

"If that new girl ruins Benibara's play, I hope the Combat Wing will…  _ ahem _ … 'critique' her performance."

Jin's whole body tensed. They weren't talking about… what she thought they were talking about, right?

_ I need to get Haruhi out. Now! _

* With the Host Club *

Tamaki was the first one who noticed their missing member. Or, well… their third missing member, "Hold up, where's Kyoya?"

Ranka waved his hand, "I sent him off. Don't worry about it."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

"Can't you just tell us?"

"Yeah, this secrecy is getting on my nerves."

"It'll all make sense in a moment."

Honey turned his head to the side, "Wait! I think I see him! Yeah, he's up there!"

Ranka gasped, following the short boy's line of sight. Sure enough, Kyoya was up in the video booth, chatting with some lady. "What's he doing? This isn't what I told him to do!"

" _ That Jackass. _ "

Hikaru and Kaoru leaned against each other, "He'd better not be flirting with that lady or Jin will have a fit when she finds out."

"He's going to ruin everything if the Zuka club sees him here!"

"Why? What did you ask him to do?"

"He was  _ supposed _ -" Ranka was cut off by a screen dropping down on the stage. A few high-resolution images appeared, and even from the ground, the boys could see the dangerous smile that appeared on Kyoya's face.

"Oh boy…"

* * *

 

Half an hour later, the doors opened for the fans to file into the auditorium. The host club, or what was left of them, and Ranka quickly pressed themselves against the wall to avoid being trampled. Thankfully, the girls seemed so excited for the show that they didn't even notice how six boys were just... standing there. In the middle of a girls-only Academy. Who ever said fanatics weren't good for anything?

In fact, they didn't even notice when one of the boys, the tall blond one, let out a shriek that reached the same note most of them were making.

Tamaki scrambled away from his spot against the wall, trying to shake off the pulling feeling on his pant leg. He nearly screamed again when he saw the fingers reaching out of the air duct that had been just behind him. Shakily ducking down, he looked in and relaxed, recognizing Jin's face in the low light. She was a little sweaty from being inside the air duct for so long, but she was still smiling.

"I didn't realize you could hit that note, Tama-kun. Have you ever considered joining the Opera?"

"Jin?" The other boys crouched down around him, "What are you doing in there?"

"I had to find a good way to sneak around, didn't I?"

Ranka's mouth flapped, "How did you not get lost? Or fall?"

Jin held up her right hand, which had her phone in it, shining brightly in the dark light of the vent, "I sent a text to Kyo-kun as soon as I realized I needed to use these to move around without being spotted. He found me the schematics for all the buildings on Lobelia's campus in less than two minutes!"

Ranka rolled his eyes, sitting back on his haunches, "Of course he did. That boy can't be bothered to follow  _ my _ instructions, oh no, but the second you need something it's the number one item on his to-do list."

Even in the darkness of the air duct, they could see Jin's blush, "Hey, where is Kyo-kun?"

"Your boyfriend's a Jackass."

"Tama-kun! He's not my boyfriend!"

Ranka rolled his eyes, " _ Oh, please. _ "

"What? He's up in the video booth when Ranka asked him to do something else! Apparently, if the Zuka club sees him he'll ruin the whole operation. So, yeah, as his best friend I am using my reserved right to call him a Jackass at this moment."

The lights in the theater dimmed and they all turned to the stage, where the curtain was rising. The cheers rose to a roar as 'Mary-Anne' came out on stage, ready to sing the opening song, which happened to be her solo later on at the end. Sort of like the song of the play.

"It's Haruhi's entrance!"

"You can see her? What does she look like?" As the overhead lights moved to shine directly on her face, the boys let out retching noises. Jin hummed, "Not good, hm?"

"Heavy! Your make-up's too heavy, Haruhi!"

The brunette dropped her head to rest against the metal sheet below her, not even needing an actual view of her sister to imagine how she looked like, "Okay… I'm getting her out of there." Wriggling backwards, Jin turned down the duct leading to the right and took off.

Back in the auditorium, the hosts continued to suffer through the play. It was difficult to distinguish between whether Haruhi was actually enjoying herself on stage or if it was just 'theater magic' that made her look more into everything. Either way, they decided to let Jin make the call for when to sneak Haruhi out. Eventually they made it back to the scene they had watched from the rehearsal. Despite her bad acting, it was somewhat impressive that Haruhi had managed to memorize such a long play in a short period of time.

"My love for you… and my desire for revenge… are things not so easily forgotten." Bright lights zoned in on the Host Club. They jolted, backing up against the wall.

Haruhi stood up, shock etched into her features, despite being covered up by twenty pounds of make-up, "Senpai? Dad?  _ Guys? _ "

She managed to take one step back before Benibara grabbed her wrist, "Right before their eyes I will steal your first kiss. All for the sake of revenge."

"W-what? H-hey, let me go! No!"

Haruhi tried to worm her way out of the taller girl's' grip, but the floor beneath her began rumbling, lifting the two of them up on a high pedestal. The crowd screamed, but it wasn't out of enjoyment this time. Clearly, the host club weren't the only occupants who weren't pleased with the horrible turn of events.

"No, Benibara!"

"You can't actually  _ kiss _ her!"

"She said 'No'!"

"Just let her go!"

Tamaki ran after them, but not even Mori could jump high enough to grab the lip of the pedestal. Haruhi's knees shook from the height, flashes of memories from their day at the beach flickered before her eyes, making her face drain of color beneath the makeup.

"Now… my love. While we can't be interrupted…"

Haruhi twisted her face away, "You're crazy! Don't! I don't want to- Stop it!"

"You heard her."

Jin dropped down from the rafters right above them. In her surprise, Benio let go of Haruhi and backed up, unintentionally pushing the shorter girl away from her. Haruhi let out a short scream, but Jin quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. The brunettes held each other tightly, Jin's left arm wrapped around her sister while she held her staff in her right hand, fully extended and looking like she meant serious business.

"Stop it."

Everyone faltered, the crowd and other actresses stunned into silence. Smirking, Jin tilted her head towards the audience, so that everyone could hear her, "Sorry, everyone, but I'm afraid I have to interrupt this performance before someone gets hurt. For the…" she gestured the top of her staff towards Benibara, "...one of you who wanted this play to continue where it left off, I'm afraid that's not going to happen. See, I came all the way up here to collect my little sister whom you  _ kidnapped _ this morning, wash off the clown makeup you put on her face, and take her home where people won't force themselves on her like Barbarians. That cool with everyone?"

"You… you… YOU DARE THREATEN US? DURING OUR PERFORMANCE TOO?"

Unconcerned, Jin starts twirling her staff around, "Uh… yeah! So, if you could just-"

"GET HER!"

Casting her gaze downwards, Jin noticed the combat wing that had been mentioned before. They looked a little unsure, but at Benibara's command, they leapt forward, "We're on it, Benibara!"

Sighing, Jin squeezes Haruhi's hand, "Close your eyes, Haru." The short-haired girl nodded and did just that, trusting her sister to not let any harm come to her.

"Tama-kun!" Jin pushed her backwards off the pedestal and into the blond's awaiting arms. Of course, she sort of crushed him upon landing, but Jin was too busy jumping down herself to worry for her friend. The four girls charged her, and she held her staff in a ready position, "Do you really want to fight me? On the behalf of some girl who doesn't even care about the importance of consent?"

Two of them slowed to a stop, considering her words, but for the two that kept coming Jin quickly disarmed them, knocking them down lightly. She didn't want to hurt them, after all. Just send a little message. Her side twinged, but she ignored it.

"I didn't come here to start a fight. I just want my sister back."

That was the moment Benio decided to jump down into the fray, "No! I  _ will _ have that maiden's first kiss! In front of your  _ precious _ host club, too! Vengeance will be mine!"

Jin paused. Tilted her head. "Haru's first… you wanted her first kiss?" Slowly, the girl started giggling. Which progressed to laughter. And that quickly became full on lack-of-air laughter, forcing the brunette to double over with her arm holding her stomach. The auditorium had been thrust back into silence.

"What? What are you laughing at!?"

"Wow. You're a  _ little _ late to earn that title, Hun."

Behind them the white screen dropped. A small portion of it was covered by the pedestal, but it didn't block the appearance of a snapshot image of Haruhi kissing Kanako from the Host Club's first dance party of the school year. As the congregation gasped, Jin let her eyes fall away from the crazy Lobelia student to look at the photo. While she had missed that big dance and all the drama that had come with it, Haru  _ had _ told her all about it the moment she could. Even the accidental kiss.

Jin thought the story had been hilarious.

Turning back around, she looked up at the control panel high above the crowd. Surprise, surprise, Kyoya was smirking down at her from behind the glass, the other administrators nowhere in sight. Jin smiled and, in a moment of bravery, blew a kiss in his direction.

She didn't get to see his reaction, Benio's loud shriek becoming the center of her attention, "Don't let her leave! I may not have had her first kiss, but I guarantee you that I  _ will _ have her next!"

Jin smirked and took a step forward, only to have Chizuru slip in front of her, "Not so fast,  _ maiden _ , the fun's only just begun. Perhaps while your sister is enjoying a kiss from our President, you'd be willing to share one of your own with our  _ Vice _ President? Those do seem to be your types, am I wrong?"

"Sure thing, Sweetheart. If Benio manages to get a kiss from Haru, you get yours for free. Sound fair?" Without another word, she swung her staff. The other 2nd year student screamed and fell to the side, giving Jin the opportunity to run at Haruhi. They jumped off the stage and ran up the aisle way, hand-in-hand, with the hosts and the Zuka club hot on their tails. The girls in the audience were wailing, screaming at the Zuka club to forget about the sisters and focus on them instead.

Soon enough there was a solid wall of Lobelia students between the Ouran students and the Zuka club. Jin dropped Haruhi's hand though, right before they reached the doors, "I'm going to get Kyo-kun! Get out of the building now; we'll meet up with you later!"

The others nodded, trying to fight their way upstream through all the students who had been sitting in the back. Jin jumped up on the backs of the chairs, looking up at the control booth. But… it was empty.

"Kyo-kun? Kyo-" a girl ran past her, accidentally brushing against her legs. Yelping, Jin tumbled to the ground, barely managing to scoot over to the wall and avoid being trampled. She pushed her staff back into a shorter length so she wouldn't accidentally stab someone running by, but couldn't help but worry where Kyoya had disappeared off to. Had security gotten him?

A hand gripped her arm and Jin found herself being drawn upwards into a familiar chest. Kyoya smiled down at her, "Were you looking for me?"

Jin rolled her eyes, but was smiling as the boy grabbed her hand and ran for the nearest door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little rushed. Sorry about that. Please leave a comment if you can, I like hearing feedback from my readers. :)


	38. Jin Takes a Risk!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just read it

 

_ Slam! _

Jin was laughing around her gasps as the doors to the performance hall fell shut behind them. They could still hear Benio's screams from beyond the wood, so they kept running. Jin had the building schematics in her phone, but Kyoya was the one who had been lead through the halls by the administrator personally, so he quickly took the lead.

He tugged at her hand that was still clasped tightly in his, "Follow me."

The two ran all the way through the building, finally ending up at one of the side entrances. Even then they didn't stop until they were all the way into the trees and flowering bushes that lined the hall. Finally they ended up in a clearing beneath a cherry tree, thankfully blocked from view from the building they'd just escaped. Now, even if the Zuka club managed to escape the auditorium and get outside, they'd never be spotted.

For a moment, they just stand there and catch their breath, but their hands stay tightly clasped.

As the adrenaline wears off, Kyoya looks over at Jin. She's still grinning widely, breathless laughter escaping her lips and her retractable staff clenched in her free hand. In the moonlight, she almost shines silver.

"That was so funny! Did you see her  _ face? _ How'd you even get permission to be up there?"

"I have my ways."

"Uh huh."

Jin keeps laughing, straightening her back just to move closer, pressing her cheek against Kyoya's chest. It's not until he releases her hand to wraps his arms around her that the laughter begins to fade away, a look of content replacing it. She sighed deeply and nuzzled herself closer. It wasn't often that she got hugs from Kyoya, despite the many small touches they exchanged. Sure felt nice, though.

"Jin?"

"Mmm?"

"You're very warm."

"Oh… do you want me to-"

"No, no. It is... actually quite nice."

Jin's eyebrows furrowed. She knew Kyoya wasn't one for unnecessary physical contact whereas she craved it, only allowing brief touches from the other club members. But… then again, he did seem to be both initiating more contact and prolonging it nowadays. And only with her. Tamaki's spontaneous hugs were still a source of his annoyance, yet he seemed to really enjoy the hugs from her.

Now Jin's mind was running around frantically, different puzzle pieces started to click into place. Kyoya had been steering clear of her bruised side recently, though he always asked if she was in pain or needed something in relation to her injuries, never touching her in a way that might be painful. But before the bruise and other injuries...

She lifted her head slightly off his chest as more and more memories from the past five months began sliding up next to each other, putting together a nice little picture in her head. How they had gone ice skating together at the rink, blatantly concerned for her health and feelings in a way he never showed with the others, so many almost-kisses he hadn't been embarrassed by, how he knew her better than even her childhood friends, the anger he had shown when her pictures had been taken from him, her finding those pictures taped meticulously inside of his black journal the day afterwards, Haruhi's insistence that Kyoya liked her back…

It was all true.

Kyoya  _ liked  _ her.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was quietly running back though his words, knowing he must've said something terribly wrong. Jin had gone very still in his arms and he was trying to think of an apology -though he wasn't quite sure what for just yet- when she looked up at him. There was something... different in her eyes as she stared at him. He didn't dare speak.

And, as it turns out, he didn't need to.

Kyoya watched as hesitation momentarily filled her face before she quickly pushed herself up onto her toes... pressing their lips together.

It's more awkward than either of them had anticipated. Jin had miscalculated his height and their lips didn't exactly line up, Kyoya's bottom lip almost completely missing out on their first kiss. Their noses were sandwiched beside each other, making breathing difficult, and Jin felt like her whole body was leaning to the left as she tried to keep their mouths connected. Neither of them moved, one too terrified and one -surprisingly- caught off guard, so it was a simple awkward press of her lips on his. Jin felt Kyoya's grip around her tighten just a hair, but she couldn't tell whether he meant to do that or it was a simple unconscious action.

Once her worries grew to be too much to ignore, she quickly moved back, face flushed dark red. Instantly she was full of embarrassment and regret and feared she had miscalculated the situation horribly. She tried to stutter out an excuse and escape his hold on her, but Kyoya's arms quickly locked themselves around her waist tightly. His face was blank as he stared down at her, which didn't help matters.

"S-sorry. I didn't-"

Kyoya interrupted her.

The second kiss went much better than the first, their heads tilted to the sides so their mouths fit together more like puzzle pieces and less like- Kyoya quickly stopped thinking properly as Jin's hands darted into his hair, pulling him closer to her with a moan. It felt like everything was happening all at once and, at the same time, nothing at all. Each of Kyoya's senses were reeled in and centered at this exact moment as he tried to focus in on the fact he was  _ actually _ kissing Jin Fujioka. How long had he been waiting for this? Months? All that time didn't seem real as Kyoya continued to enjoy his, technically second, kiss with her.

Third.

Was that the start of four or was this still-

Five? Or four?

Kyoya quickly stopped trying to count, hearing a groan slip out without his permission when Jin pulled away and interrupted the continuous stream, her hands now pressed against his chest.

"Kyoya… wait. Shouldn't… shouldn't we…"

The ravenet smirked, re-positioning his hands so one was cupping her jaw but the other still held her tight against him, and leaned in close again. Jin eyelids fluttered as their lips brushed, but didn't connect.

"We should…" Kyoya prompted.

"R-right. We… we…" he traced her cheekbone with his thumb and she sighed, kissing him hard for a few seconds, hands curling into his shirt. "Still so manipulative."

Jin felt more than heard the deep rumble from Kyoya's chest in response as he kissed her again.

* * *

 

Around the corner of the building, the rest of the host club tumbled their way out of the front doors. They weren't even allowed to catch their breath before Ranka was bearing down on his youngest daughter.

" _ Haruhi, you didn't tell me you had your first kiss! Is that the kind of stuff that goes on in your HOST CLUB? _ "

"It was an accident, Dad! I was only supposed to kiss her cheek but I tripped!"

Tamaki gasped, "Well, despite everything, I suppose we were lucky that Kyoya got his hands on that picture or this event would've been uglier than it was. That was good thinking, Ranka."

"What are you talking about? That's not what I asked him to do!" The man snapped, still clearly irked that his daughter had 'forgotten' to tell him about that little accident.

"Wait… then what did you ask him to do?"

Ranka sighed, pulling an emergency makeup remover out of his back pocket and started rubbing at Haruhi's face, "I wanted him to go away. Hide. Not be around us at all. I knew that those Zuka club girls would remember Jin and wonder where she was, but if Kyoya wasn't with us then they would've assumed the two of them were on a date. He's very lucky he wasn't spotted by them, or Jin would've lost the element of surprise."

The boys were shocked into momentary silence as Ranka finished up with Haruhi's eyes. The girl reached up to pull the hair-extensions out as her father began using his second wipe when the twins managed to regain their speech. It never did take long with them.

"Wait a minute…"

"Are you saying that Kyoya-senpai-"

"-and my eldest daughter are idiots for not getting together yet? Yes. Misuzu gave me regular updates over the course of your summer together. I heard all about Amaya, and your handmade waterpark, and the teas and breakfasts they shared, and even the thunderstorm incidents. As much as I hate to admit it, they are good for each other. Besides, he's a respectful boy, so I feel somewhat comfortable with him being around my daughter. Just as long as there's no touching or intimate gestures until they're married."

Haruhi rolled her eyes, peeling her gloves off, "Nēchan is way to passionate to agree to that, Dad, no matter who she's with. And Kyoya probably wouldn't deny her at least a kiss or two, at least in private, so I don't think that would work."

"Hang on… where is Jin-chan?"

"Yeah, and where's Kyoya?"

"They did get out, right? Nēchan said she'd come find us after they escaped."

The twins started running away before anyone could say anything, "We'll go look for them!"

"Hikaru? Kaoru!  _ You little-  _ Fine! Just don't get caught!"

* Time Skip *

They didn't have to look far.

The twins rounded the corner of the building and came to a stop. Kyoya had been looking in the direction of this side of the building before he disappeared, so the redheads figured it was as good of a place as any to start their search. And besides, there were plenty of trees and bushes for the two to hide in if they had been followed out, so of course the two most level-headed people in their group would escape this way.

But... there was a strange sound coming from the bushes. Their mischievous trait quickly came into play. Hikaru pressed a single finger to his lips, a signal imitated by his brother before the two slowly slipped through the leafy bushes. After a little light rustling, the redheads peeked out into a small clearing littered with a few fallen cherry blossoms.

Hikaru opened his mouth, probably to scream something along the lines of 'FINALLY', but Kaoru covered his mouth.

They had found Kyoya and Jin alright. Just… not in the way they had expected.

The two were tangled around each other in the center of the clearing, hands all over each other as their lips locked. Jin's fingers were running through the short hairs on the back of Kyoya's neck, her other hand gripping his shirt tightly in a fist, as if the boy would disappear if she let go. And Kyoya was no better. He had both of his hands gripping at Jin's hips, kissing her for the first time in a way that did  _ not _ show off his upbringing.

Hikaru and Kaoru weren't sure if what they were feeling was relief or if they were going to be sick. Partially because  _ thank God they're actually together now _ but on the other hand  _ ew, I just saw tongue. _ Thankfully, before they felt too nauseated, the two 2nd year students parted, gasping.

Jin was smiling like there was no tomorrow, her arms slipping around Kyoya's neck, "Kyoya… I really like you. A lot."

The twins could honestly say that they had never seen Kyoya like this before. For once, the well put together Vice President was short of breath and completely red in the face, but he also looked happier than ever. Like, Honey's-not-eating-a-truckload-of-sweets-every-day kind of happiness, but also a little more. It was sweet. If not somewhat disturbing to them.

He chuckled, pressing his forehead down against the girl's, "The feeling is mutual, it seems. So, Miss Fujioka, would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

Jin's response is quickly pushing herself up onto her toes to reconnect their lips. Kyoya gladly returned the sentiment, a low groan slipping out.

Ever so slowly, trying to not make a sound, the twins backtracked out of the bush and out of the little garden area. They look at each other before shivering, minor disgust taking over their bodies. That was far more PDA than they had ever experienced before, in real life or movies, and it was only weirder knowing they had just watched their senpai's making out.

Overcoming the minor spasms for the moment, they straightened up.

"Oh, Jin~senpai~"

"Kyo~ya~senpai~"

"Where are... you~?"

From deep within the bushes and trees there came the sound of quick shuffling, and soon enough Jin and Kyoya emerged. Jin was straightening out her clothes while Kyoya attempted to flatten out his hair.

"There you boys are!" Jin sighed, "I was worried you had taken off without us! Kyo-kun got himself stuck in a bush. Took  _ forever _ get him out." The twins struggle to hide their smirks. Jin was one crafty liar. But not crafty enough...

"That's okay. Come on, the others are waiting at the front of the building."

"We should get out of here."

Jin nods and hurries off to find her sister and father, fingers coming up to touch at her smiling lips when she thinks the twins can't see her. Kyoya moves to follow, but the twins hold up their hands in a 'stop' gesture. He arched an eyebrow, which quickly turned into wide eyes.

"Your lips look a little swollen there, Kyoya-senpai." Kaoru taps his lower lip playfully.

Hikaru shakes his head, "For the record, we totally thought you'd ask Jin out  _ before _ you two made out like the horny teenagers you are."

They turn around, slinking off after Jin, "See you at school tomorrow~"

Kyoya remains still for a moment, trying to decide whether he should tell the two  _ now _ that they didn't really have the dangerous blackmail they thought they had, or just let them run with it until tomorrow. Deciding it would be best to let Jin tell Ranka on her own that they were a couple, when the man couldn't tackle him into the ground and rip his head off, the boy sighed and started walking. No doubt the twins would try to use their information for terrible jokes and 'hints' for the other boys until tomorrow. This would be... interesting.

"KyOOOOOOOYYYYYYAAAAAAAA! WE NEED TO GOOOOOOO!"

He rolled his eyes, but a smirk tugged at his lips. Not even knowing his best friend would be wailing for the rest of the night how his 'precious Haruhi' had almost been forced to kiss another girl could ruin his mood now.


	39. The Door the Twins Opened!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't even write this chapter, because of the minimal to no Jin appearance at all, but thankfully I found this nifty little loophole! I hope you enjoy the ending!

 

"Hey, Boss~"

"We know something  _ you _ don't know~"

Tamaki, with as much grace and inner peace as he could muster, did not in fact give into his desire to strange the two identical boys, "For the last time today… Hikaru, Kaoru? If you are not going to tell me whatever it is you're trying to tease me with, please leave me alone."

Hikaru laughed leaned backwards over the back of Tamaki's couch, staring at the blond upside-down, "No way, Boss."

His brother copied his move, "We're having way too much fun driving you nuts."

"Sometimes I forget how twisted your humor is…" Instantly the twins are standing upright, grinning maliciously at the tall girl in front of them. Tamaki spoke up before they could, though.

"Oh, believe me, they were much worse when I first found them."

Jin cocked an eyebrow, "Worse? Do tell."

Kaoru jumped backwards up on the back of the couch, "I'll tell you. Besides, I guess you and Haruhi are the only ones here who don't know the story. As you know, Hikaru and I were always together… sort of like a single entity. And yet, it seemed like we were the only ones who knew we were also separate."

* Two years ago *

"I'm sorry… were you waiting long?"

The small girl gasped, "H-Hikaru. You startled me." The redhead smirked, lifting a small envelope between his fingers to show it off. The girl visibly grew flustered.

"I'm terribly sorry… but I'm actually Kaoru. You must've gotten our desks mixed up. Don't worry about it, even our teachers do that sometimes." The girl ducked her head. Hikaru looked at her in disdain. She was from class B. He didn't even remember her name.

"But… I did read your letter. You wrote it very well, very sincerely. I know you intended it for Hikaru, but do you think that maybe… you can grace me with your affections instead? You're quite cute in person. Hikaru has a crush on someone else, so he wouldn't be hurt, I've asked him about it. So… what do you think?"

The girl hesitated, "I… I suppose. I've never really had someone like me back before, but… if you're okay with it."

Hikaru clenched his jaw, "Is that so? Hey, Kaoru!" He turned around, where his twin was walking out of the bushes, "She said she'd be fine with you instead, wasn't that nice of her?"

"W-wait… so… Hikaru?"

"I swear, you girls never learn. How do you keep falling for it?"

The girl whimpered, tears in her eyes as she turned to start running away, "You jerk! You're so mean!"

The twins watched her go, not even feeling remotely sorry. They turned to walk the opposite way down the corridor when the pitter patter of the girl's feet stopped suddenly after rounding the corner.

They paused, then assumed she had stopped to cry and carried on, not thinking much about it. Or her.

* Present Day *

"Kaoru. Please stop sitting on the back of the couch. We can't afford to break another one." The younger of the twins shrugged before gracefully sliding back onto his feet, though he did catch the way Jin's eyes darted to the Shadow King before looking away, lips twitching up in a smile.  _ This must be what the Boss felt like when he first figured out they liked each other. Can no one else tell that they've actually crossed the threshold into a relationship? _

As it was, Hikaru was getting that crazy look in his eyes, the one that screamed he was ready to blackmail someone until their head spun, but Kaoru knew they had to be patient. Blackmailing Kyoya… that was something to be cautious of. And Jin was not pushover either. So, he lightly kicked Hikaru's shoe and jerked his head towards the couch facing Tamaki.

"I bet the actual couch would feel much nicer to sit on."

Kaoru saw the understanding, if not reluctance, in his brother's eyes, and the two quickly took residence on Tamaki's couch, one redhead on either side of him. As he'd predicted, Kaoru watched Jin take the middle seat of the couch opposite them, Kyoya quickly taking up the spot beside her. The tall girl leaned lightly against his shoulder while Haruhi sat on her other side. The younger twin regarded her for a moment as well. Had Jin told her? Or was she simply as unobservant as the Boss?

"Continue, please."

Fighting the urge to point out how Kyoya's left arm had suddenly slipped behind Jin's back to lightly grip her waist, Kaoru cleared his throat.

"Where'd I leave off… oh yeah. See, we cut ourselves off from the rest of the world, but since our family name was so prominent, the other kids in our class were told to try to get as close to us as they could. That was an immediate red flag to us, and we only pushed them away further. After that, everyone just assumed we didn't care for anyone but each other. Except, that wasn't quite true. We loved our parents and our little sister… and one other. A nanny we had when we were younger. She was… kinda the reason we turned out so twisted."

Jin leaned forward a bit, causing Kyoya to unhappily eye her for a split second before returning his attention to his black journal, "So… you admit you're a little twisted?"

"Duh."

She shrugged and went back into Kyoya's side, "Carry on, then."

* Twelve years ago *

"What are you doing?"

The maid jolted, ripping her hand away from the safe. She turned herself around in fear, worried that she'd been caught by Master or Mistress Hitachiin. Or worse, security. But… it was only those troublemaking little boys she was 'hired' to look after. It was a full time job and gave her little to no time at all to try to accomplish what she  _ actually _ came here to do.

"W-what are you two doing here?! Get back to bed this instant!"

"No… we're night exploring. This house is different when there aren't stupid people around." They tilted their heads, "Looks like we found something interesting at least."

The maid felt her cheek muscle twitch. This would make the job so much more dangerous. Now, instead of just being hunted down for those priceless jewels and large bundles of money that this family could re-earn in less than a year, she'd be on the run for the homicide of two children. But… then again…

She whipped out her favorite blade.

It wasn't like she hadn't done anything worse.

"Well then… I suppose I'll just have to keep you two quiet while I finish up, hm?"

The one of her right held up a small device. It was almost too big for his young hands, but he gripped it confidently, "Did you know that if we hit this button…" the other one lifted a finger, pointing it at the big red button in the center of it, "All of our family's security guards will come running. Maybe we should test it out? Make sure it works?"

"No!" The maid clapped her free hand over her mouth. The halls remained quite. No pounding footsteps or burly men shouting. Growling lowly, she dropped her hand, "You wouldn't dare… they wouldn't get here soon enough to save you."

The twins smiled, looking way too calm for the situation for two four year olds, "If you really want into that safe, we have the combination for you." They held up a folded piece of paper, "It's on this thing."

"If you play with us for a few days-"

"-we'll give you this piece of paper. No tricks."

The girl scowled, casting her glare from the brats to the safe behind her. She had to admit, it was far safer than what she had originally planned. And at such little cost…

"Fine. What would you like to play… first?"

"I know, I know! Let's play the 'Which One of Us Is Hikaru' game!"

About an hour later, the two boys were exhausted from playing with the maid. She had seemed tired, too, so they said it would be best for them to go to bed. They figured that after three or four days the twins would get tired of her, like they did with everything, and give her the combination.

"Hikaru? You're sure the combination is safe for tonight?"

"Yeah. It's in the piggy bank. It'll be safe til morning."

* Present Day *

"We only wanted her to be able to tell us apart. We liked her, because she didn't fake herself around us. Maybe she just didn't think we understood, but we understood enough. So, when we heard the alarms going off… it hurt a little knowing she had lied to us."

Jin blinked, unconsciously curling herself a little more into Kyoya's side, "Kao-kun… that maid wanted to  _ kill _ you. When you were little kids! How…"

"Twisted, Jin-senpai. Remember?"

The brunette fiddled with her fingers, "Not that twisted." Haruhi laid her head on Jin's shoulder, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, we realize now that we were in a lot more danger than we had anticipated, but we made it through okay."

"Besides, what she said when she left… we saw her climbing down a rope ladder outside our window and we asked her why she broke her promise. She told us… she couldn't tell us apart, never  _ would _ be able to tell us apart, and we might never find anyone who would."

Hikaru rubbed at his forehead, "That was the first person outside of our immediate family we even risked letting get close to us on such a personal level. She dropped that bombshell and ran off with a smile on her face. After that, we steadily built up a thick wall between us and everyone else, so no one would ever get close enough to pull something like that again."

"Then  _ this _ guy," the redheads threw their arms over Tamaki's shoulders, "had to come ruin it all."

The blond rolled his eyes, "I've never heard you complain about it before now."

* Two years ago *

"So, looks like you two have some free-time on your hands, hm? How about you form a club with me next school year!" The twins looked up from the fashion book in their hands, which they had been critiquing mentally, and stared in part shock and part anger at the blond in front of them.

"...Okay, who is this joker?"

"I think it's that Suoh kid. The one who was accepted late in the spring semester."

"Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, I think Dad said something about him a few months ago."

"Yeah."

The blond clearly didn't seem to either notice nor care that he was being talked about like he wasn't even there, still smiling broadly with a hand outstretched to the two of them, "Oh! You know me? I had no idea I was so popular! Well, since you already know who I am, would you care to hear about the club I'm forming? I bet you'll fall in love with the idea just as much as I have!"

_ Doubtful _ , they thought.

"It's going to start in April, ideally as soon as I move up into the high school. You'd have to come up there from the middle school for the next year, of course, but I don't think that would be too much of a problem. I've already asked Kyoya Ootori of my class to join and both Haninozuka-senpai and Morinozuka-senpai from class 1-A at the high school to join. I'd be willing to bet you both already know those three boys as well?"

Tamaki opened his mouth, probably to finally tell them the actual name of the club, when the twins rolled they eyes and snapped the book shut.

"You're annoying. Get lost."

"We don't like hanging around people, especially people like you."

"But if you're really determined to get us into this stupid club-"

"-then you must first win-"

"-the 'Which One of Us is Hikaru' Game."

Tamaki tilted his head, looking at the two boys, "You made up a game for telling you two apart?"

"Look, the rules are simple, as long as you're not as stupid as you look."

"You said your club starts in two months? Fine, you get one month to make as many guesses as you'd like. We will, however, always ask for your reasoning, and we  _ will _ be able to tell is your guess is baseless."

"Fair warning, no one has  _ ever _ gotten it right before." The twins were cackling as they walked away, "Good luck!"

Tamaki didn't respond, staring at the pool of the fountain even after they left. They smirked in his direction.  _ No way he'd be able to handle it. He just wants the boys from prominent families in his little club. He doesn't want us for- _

"I have a month, right? And if I get it right, you have to join my club?" The blond looked up at them with a confident smile, "Then I accept! Without a doubt, come April you two will be my newest members!"

The twins scowled, but left the courtyard as quickly as they could. While they were sure that their idiot of a Senpai wouldn't be able to figure out what set them apart in one measly month, there was something about his confidence that set them both on edge. And while he seemed eager to prove them wrong, they hadn't expected him to show up the very next day in their classroom.

"The one reading the book is Hikaru!"

The frowned, "Wrong. Get out of our class-"

"Then that means Hikaru is right handed!"

"We're both right handed."

"Kaoru always parts his hair on the right!"

"We switch parts everyday!"

"Um… excuse me… are you Suoh-san?"

Instantaneously, Tamaki's attention went from the two boys to the girl standing behind them, "I'm so sorry, I interrupted you, didn't I? Yes, I'm Tamaki Suoh." The girl blushed and stammered about how she had only been inviting the twins to a film festival when Tamaki announced the two would be going. They jumped up from their chairs.

"Hey! It's our decision!"

"And we don't want to go!"

They ran out of the room, trying not to make it too obvious that they wanted to escape the crazy blond. Unfortunately, he ran after them, "Wait! What about our game?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes, "You're not bad, Suoh. At least you seem to be trying harder than any of the others."

"But you're going to have to be extraordinary to try and beat us at our own game."

The game continued on for another three days, Tamaki showing up at odd times to make his many guesses. The twins couldn't even go out for a simple ice cream cone without the blond boy screaming that 'Hikaru likes caramel ice cream while Kaoru likes green tea flavored' (only to have the two boys turn and show of they had twist cones with both flavors) from the sunroof of his limo. It finally got to be really weird when he showed up at their house on Friday morning.

"Hikaru's hair is parted on the right today! Good morning!"

Kaoru fought the urge to scowl. He had drawn the short straw this morning, meaning he had to be the one to respond to Tamaki's first guess of the day, "No. You couldn't be more wrong."

"Aha! But I've made another discovery! Kaoru, you're slightly pigeon-toed… you should probably fix that."

"Hey! No they aren't!"

Tamaki started spinning in place, "I made a decision last night. Your draw at the club will be your brotherly love! How's that sound?"

_ Sounds like you're delusional, _ they thought as their car sped away. Peeking through the back window they watched as the 3rd year chased after them, his shouts growing fainter each second.

"Wow… it took him four whole days to be reduced to stalking us at home." The boys exchanged looks of concern before beginning to crack up. No doubt, this Tamaki character was entertaining. It was like a real-life version of the game Whack-A-Mole. You never know where he was going to pop up, but it was already a good idea to have a plan for striking him down.

"When he gets all dramatic and upset like that-"

"-he sounds like he's imitating a feudal lord!"

"What does he think he is? A Princely character?"

"'Come  _ back _ here,' he said! Oh man! None of the others have ever tried this hard before!"

Hikaru slowly stopped laughing, his face losing the livelihood quickly, "Kaoru… we need to end this game."

* Present Day *

"Woah, woah, wait a minute." Jin leaned her elbow on her leg, pointing at the twins, "Why did you suddenly decided to up and end that competition? Wasn't Tama-kun playing by the rules? Did you decide to just join the club? That doesn't seem to fit."

Hikaru sighed, leaned on the armrest, "No. When Kaoru mentioned how the Boss was trying much harder than anyone else we'd played the game with, he wasn't kidding. I think the record before the Boss was two days before one side or the other got bored and decided it wasn't worth it. And then… he made us laugh. We hadn't laughed like that in I don't know how long ago it was before that day, but I know it wasn't about anything nice. It felt good, but eventually I realized that the Boss was pulling out our emotions. We weren't viewing the world with our usual grey disinterest. It seemed… colorful. And spontaneous. And loud, just like him."

"Hey!"

Kaoru leaned over the blond's head, bending him in half, "We tried to play it off like we were getting bored, but in reality? We were scared."

"So, as soon as we got to school, we came up with a plan to get the Boss to leave us alone, even if he didn't give up the game."

Jin snorted, leaning back into Kyoya's side, "Like Tama-kun would ever give up on someone that easily. So, what did you say? Or do?"

The three boys on the other couch all stiffened at once. Kaoru quickly got off of Tamaki's back and the blond unfurled himself, eyes on the tile floor. Nobody seemed to want to answer, even Kyoya was watching the scene with a certain tightness in his eyes. The silence lasted long enough for everyone to feel its discomfort.

"Well… whatever it was, it obviously didn't work. So… after you told him the game was off and, I'm assuming you just walked away again, how did he get you to join the club in the end?"

Grateful for the exit Jin had given them, Kaoru smiled, "Well, once that game ended, we went searching for another to occupy our time. By the end of the day, we had still found nothing that made us feel the way the Boss and his game had made us feel. Of course… another love note fell into one of our desks that day as well."

* Two years ago *

"I see… hey, Hikaru! She said she'd be fine with you instead!" Kaoru watched as his brother stepped out from behind the bush  _ he _ had been standing near just last Monday. Hikaru looked as every bit as calculating and heartless as he always did when they played this heartbreaking game, but it was different this time. He could see the slightest bit of hesitation in his eyes. Kaoru knew how he felt. This girl might've liked  _ him _ , but he also lead her to believe that 'Hikaru' had a crush on her instead. If she thought that he was attractive, then of course she would think Hikaru was too. And if Hikaru wanted to ask her out, then who was she to say no?

Despite all of this inner turmoil, the two continued. Their words were more scathing than usual, calling her a horrible person for just wanting a cute boyfriend. Kaoru knew his brother's heart wasn't in it, and neither was his. As the girl ran away crying, all they felt was a twinge of guilt.

Hikaru looked at the pink paper in his hand, "No… you're the one who's mean." It was like he was trying to convince himself. He grabbed the top edge and tensed, ready to tear it into pieces when-

"The one who's holding that letter is Hikaru!"

The boys gasped, spinning around to see Tamaki pointing at them, his odd purple eyes gleaming. The Hitachiin's were speechless. He had come back, even after they'd threatened him. And… he got it right.

"How… how did you-"

"I got it right! I knew it!"

Kaoru and Hikaru looked at each other, not quite daring to believe, "Your… reasoning?"

"Intuition."

Well, wasn't that just a sucker punch to the gut?

"No random guesses. Why are you even guessing anyways? We cancelled the game."

Tamaki shook his head, "Look, I'm glad I got it right, even if it was a guess. At least I get to talk to you once again and get to know you better. Why do you think I guessed so many times? How was I supposed to make an educated guess if I didn't know you? That's why I listed so many possibly defining characteristics… so when I found something that  _ did _ set the two of you apart, then I'd gotten to know you well enough! It's still a little too early for me to tell, of course, but while you two may look identical, you're both very different people. So, here's my suggestion: Join my club, and perfect your 2-in-1 twin act."

"You… complete dunce."

"That's contradictory!"

"Like you two aren't the textbook definition of contradictions? That's what they call personality."

"No!" They marched over, "If we do as you say and 'perfect' our act, then no one will be able to tell us apart!"

"It's _always_ like this! This is why we don't dress differently! Or keep the same parts each day! Or sit at the same desks! How come no one can just… _tell?_ _No one_ is going to win our game, and we've known that from the beginning!"

Tamaki was wide eyed again, but it wasn't the offset look from before, "Is that why you always look so sad when someone guesses wrong? But… even if I'm not able to, at least not right now, someday… someone will show up who  _ will _ be able to tell you apart. And soon after that, more and more, as your individual personalities start coming to light. Even though you'll always be twins… you don't always have to be each other."

He turned around and started walking, then stopped, "If you two keep living in your own little world, you're never going to meet that person. You'll shut them out before they even get a chance to show you. So, why don't we open the doors of the Host Club together?" As he continued walking away, the blond called out over his shoulder, "Our first meeting will be after the opening ceremonies for the next year! Music Room 3, at the high school! Don't be late!"

Kaoru felt like he could barely breathe, chest clenching and heart pounding as that strange boy disappeared into the building. He had guessed correctly, which was a feat in of itself, but that whole speech?

He was, in a word, impressed.

Off in the distance, at the grand entrance of the school, two brunette girls looked up at the many grand buildings standing along the bright green grounds. The shorter was gaping in visible awe, while the taller smiled at her sister's reactions.

"Well, Haru? What do you think?"

"I think you should've come here instead of shipping off, Nēchan."

Jin laughed aloud, "You think I should do anything  _ but _ head off to America, Haru. But I have to admit, this is a very nice school."

"Hey… Nēchan?"

"Mm?"

"When you come back… they offered you a half scholarship, right?"

"That was the deal."

"Do you think…  _ I _ could get in?" Jin looked down at her sister, the glow in her eyes telling Haruhi exactly what she needed to know.

Behind them, a boy with black hair stepped out of the shadows and into the same sunlight, holding up an arm to look out across the same set of buildings. Two girls wearing uniforms from one of the public schools stood in front of him. He watched with interest as the turned around, the taller girl closer to him while the shorter girl's face was hidden. The tall girl had one of her arms thrown around the other's shoulders, suggesting ice cream before going home.

His eyes briefly noted the admission guides in their hands before looking at the girl's face once again. She was probably around his age, and was very pretty. Her long brown hair reached her mid-back and swayed around in the breeze.

Then they were gone, and he put the girl out of his mind.

Besides… it wasn't likely he'd see her again.

* Present Day *

Jin was smiling softly as the faint memory surfaced in her mind. The day she and Haruhi had looked at Ouran Academy for the first time. She had just turned down their full scholarship, only to be offered a half scholarship for the following school year. She must've made an incredible impression on their entrance exam. But what stuck out most in her mind was the boy she had seen out of the corner of her eye.

_ Huh. Like fate. _

"And that's our story."

"So now it's time for you to share one, Jin-senpai."

The brunette lifted an eyebrow, "Me? Like what?" Of course, she already knew what. Kyoya had told her about the twins' attempt to blackmail them with the events from yesterday, and while she was amused at how they thought they could work something like that over their heads, this wasn't really the way she wanted to tell the others.

"Oh… I dunno."

"A first kiss story, perhaps?"

She jumped to her feet, "Aaaand, that's my cue. Sorry boys, but I have some dishes to finish putting out."

As she fled the scene, Tamaki was worrying that the twins were trying to pull the beast out of Kyoya by force. Was this their attempt to push the two of them together? Make Kyoya go mad with jealousy until he felt he had no choice but to kiss her? It was as dangerous of a game as you could play, right up there with Russian Roulette!

But surprisingly, Kyoya was sitting calmly in front of them all, still writing in his journal as if as soon as Jin wasn't around he couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to the real world any longer. It was somewhat amusing.

_ Bam! _

"JIN!"

The hosts all jumped in their seats, standing and looking around just in time to watch as four strangers -three girls and a boy- ran into the Music room. From her place in the middle of the room, Jin froze and her jaw dropped as the boy, who was easily both taller and wider than Mori-senpai, ran ahead of the girls to collect her up in his arms.

"Aaron?" The girls quickly wrapped themselves around the two, "Mara? Kat? Chelski?" The four newcomers were laughing as they hugged the surprised girl, babbling at the same time in… English? The host club was too caught off guard to even speak.

Finally Jin was released from the hug and she stepped back, grinning as she looked at the four of them in turn. When she spoke next, it was in that perfect English she was often asked to demonstrate in class, "What are you guys doing here?"

One of the girls, who was around Jin's height but with blonde hair that had a red streak in her hair starting from behind her left ear, answered, "Remember how we'd only get permission to travel around Japan and see their schools if we raised enough money?"

"No way! You really did it? That's awesome!" Turning around Jin looked at the host club, "Guys, these are my friends from America! The ones who send me all the songs? This is Aaron," the tall brunet boy waved. "Chelsea," the blonde and pink haired girl smiled. "Katherine," the girl who waved next was very thin from her legs to her face, but her hair was completely black and styled into a fohawk, the tips dyed an electric blue. "And Mara." The last girl flicked a wave, a little shorter and stockier than Jin, her blonde hair cut to her jawline in the front, while the back was pulled up in a high ponytail that tickled the back of her neck. All of them clearly American.

Without missing a beat, Jin turned back to face her friends, "I'm so happy you're here! Oh! Oh! Haru!" Haruhi pretty much materialized by her sister's side, "This is Haruhi, my little sister I told you so much about!"

Haruhi grinned, also speaking in English, "Hello! I've heard so much about you!"

The four responded with their own hellos as the rest of the club began to gather around, not ones for staying out of the loop. Jin quickly began introducing them as well, "Those two are 3rd years Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka, but we call them Honey and Mori. The twins are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, 1st year students. The blond is Tamaki Suoh, 2nd year student. And this is-"

Kyoya leaned forward, right hand outstretched for a handshake while his left arm wound itself around Jin's torso, "Kyoya Ootori, Jin's boyfriend, also second year. I trust your flight was-"

"WHAAAAAATTT?!"

 


	40. How to Handle Attention Hogs!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We already know that Hikaru doesn't always play nice with people taking his friend's attention away... but what about Jin's foreign friends? And how will Kyoya react to his girlfriend's attention being elsewhere?

Jin was granted half a second to look at Kyoya oddly, then she was being shaken around by two third year students while Tamaki tackled Kyoya to the floor. With the way everyone was screaming, even she was having a hard time distinguishing all the questions. She caught a few, like the continuous stream of 'when, when, when' coming from Honey, but Tamaki's incoherent screams were beyond even her linguistic talents.

When Kyoya finally managed to wiggle himself out from underneath the half-French boy, he stood and brushed off his uniform, "Yesterday, you idiot! I asked her when we got out of Lobelia's theater. It was a spur of the moment behavior."

"So you _haven't_ been wanting to ask me out for months like you told me this morning?" The boy glanced at Jin over the rim of his glasses, continuing to straighten out his cuffs with a smirk. That, of course, only made the three boys freak out more.

"You guys are so unfair!" The twins unhappily threw themselves back down on the couch, "We wanted to blackmail you with that! How come you always suck the joy out of life?"

Haruhi looked at them, "You knew?"

"We saw them trying to swallow each other, if that's what you mean." Tamaki let out a ridiculously high note before deflating into a puddle on the floor.

"Kaoru…"

"What?" He stared at Jin, daring her to deny it, "It's the truth!"

"I hardly think a simple kiss deserves that kind of exaggeration." Kyoya cast a glance at his best friend, who let out another shriek when the kiss was confirmed. It was unclear whether his writhing was out of happiness or brain trauma.

"'A simple kiss'? Really, Kyoya-senpai?"

"That was 100% making out, and you can't tell us different."

"I was unaware you two were such perverts." Out of nowhere Tamaki suddenly started cracking up on the floor. How long had they been using that same line of him? Such sweet revenge!

Then a mental picture of Kyoya 'defiling' his 'sister' reappeared in his mind theater and he went quiet.

Honey finally relaxed enough to notice something, "Haru-chan? Are you not excited? We've wanted them together since summer break!" The short-haired brunette shrugged, but she was smiling.

"Nēchan give me a full run-through of what happened yesterday after she told Dad Kyoya-senpai asked her out. I actually had to beg her to shut up about it."

"Jin?"

The brunette looked at her American friends, who were watching the scene in utter confusion. She smacked her forehead, "I'm so sorry! I forgot you don't speak a lot of Japanese."

Mara lifted her hands, "It's okay. We've been studying since you've been gone, but… it's the speed we have to pick up on. What just happened?"

"Well… these guys didn't exactly know that Kyoya asked me out yesterday…"

"Aaaahhhh…" the four nodded.

"Yeah, so… are you going to be taking classes? How long are you going to be at Ouran anyways?"

"Only three days, and we'll be doing our own online assignments while we're down here. Mostly we'll be learning about the school days and curriculum in Japanese culture. We're staying at Ouran to get a look at private schools, and then we're heading to Higashi High for the public education."

Jin gasped, her eyes lighting up, "Higashi High? That's where Ben-kun is attending! And his little brother, Hiroshi! He's going to be so happy to see you all again!"

The others were immediately just as excited. Then Kat started bouncing on her toes, "Hey, Jin? Could you show us around Tokyo while we're here? _Pleeeeeease?_ We're not going to be around for long, there's not much sightseeing planned out!"

The brunette paused, glancing at the rest of the Host Club, "I would love too, really, but the club kinda needs me…"

"Whatever do you mean, Jin? Of course you must help out your friends!" Tamaki had seemingly recovered, back on his feet and hugging his classmate tightly, "They need your guidance and wisdom to keep them safe while in a foreign country! You can't let them down!"

"Tamaki, you and I both know that the moment I agree to spend time with them, you and the others are just going to stalk us everywhere we go." The blond attempted to act offended, but one look from the girl and he sheepishly nodded. "Basically, it's an all or nothing deal for them to make."

She turned to the four Americans, who nodded their heads eagerly. Before she could blink, the rest of the hosts were chattering away about all the different places they should take the Americans over the next three afternoons. Though it jarred her a little how quickly that agreement had been made, Jin honestly wasn't very surprised. Mara and Kat were both eyeing the host club boys with interest, while the other two looked excited about spending time with her.

_Well, this will be interesting._

* * *

 

A few minutes later, the host club and Jin's friends were piling into a train car heading for the city. They had left a notice on the doors saying the club was cancelled for the afternoon and the next two days. Jin maybe got half of the suggestion to stay for that day so their guests wouldn't feel cheated before she was physically dragged out of the school.

Jin sat down on the seat beside Kyoya and watched as her foreign friends were pressed up against the windows to have the different sights pointed out for them. Jin had to admit, the scene was cute, and it was nice to have a change in scenery during these hours of the day. Still, there was a question that was bugging her a little bit.

"Kyo-kun?"

"Mm?"

"I thought we weren't going to tell the club we got together until after the guests left for the day?"

Her boyfriend shrugged, "I figured with your other friends showing up, our plan was to be changed. It wouldn't be likely that we'd have a spare moment with just us and the club for the next few days and I didn't feel like suffering through the twins' poor attempts at blackmailing."

Jin cocked an eyebrow and turned in her seat, staring at her boyfriend.

"I also didn't appreciate the way Aaron was looking at you."

The brunette laughed, "And here I thought you'd be more jealous of Chelski! She's the one who confessed to me while I was in America." Kyoya looked somewhat shocked from that news, but before he could speak she leaned over and pressed her cheek against his shoulder, "Don't worry, Kyo-kun. Both of them are realistic, and good people. They live on the other side of the world, and I already have this pretty great relationship going on."

The ravenet smirked.

"Yeah… they wouldn't dare come between me and Haru." Jin laughed again as her nose was flicked, stretching to kiss Kyoya's cheek in a silent 'sorry'. The way he turned back towards his journal looking a little flustered informed her that the apology had been accepted.

"Those two are so cute, it's sickening." Kat leaned up against her own chair, watching as her friend and the glasses-wearing boy dove into that black journal he was holding. The rest of the club glanced at the couple before rolling their eyes.

"You don't know the half of it."

"They've been acting like that for months."

"I almost shoved them into a closet together a few times."

The Americans looked surprised and started eyeing the boy and girl a little closer. They said they had only become a couple as of yesterday, but they definitely seemed comfortable with each other. Little touches here and there, her resting her head on his shoulder, things that are often very tentatively done for newer couple that they performed without hesitation. Aaron was the one who addressed the elephant in the room.

"I always heard that PDA wasn't acceptable in Japanese culture."

Haruhi chuckled, "Well, that may be true for some of the older generations, but us 'youngins' have become pretty rebellious when it comes to those traditions. My parents were extremely loose with those rules. They held hands when we went through the parks, kissed our cheeks, and my dad never forgot to tell Mom he loved her… though that last one was more in private. Nēchan and I have always been comfortable showing our close relationship in public, besides. I'm more curious about Kyoya-senpai, actually. I figured he'd be incredibly conservative in public..."

"You may be, but there's something I've discovered in my years of knowing him." Tamaki gave his best friend a small smile, "Kyoya is very passionate in everything he does. I would only assume that would bleed out from time to time when he turned his passion to another human being."

Suddenly he frowned, "Except now I think I'm the third-wheel."

The twins cracked up, drawing the attention of everyone on the train. While she didn't know exactly why they were laughing, Jin found herself giggling along. She loved to laugh, and when someone else was laughing you could bet she'd start too, without even needing to know the joke.

Of course, with the way Tamaki was pouting, she could only assume it was at his expense.

The blond didn't get what was so funny about him being the third-wheel of his classmates, but when Jin began laughing along and Kyoya turned to watch her, well… he could refrain from smacking the twins out the window this one time.

"Jin, I almost forgot! Come here, I have a new list of songs for you!"

The brunette sighed, but stood up and shuffled up the train car, letting her fingertips briefly brush against Kyoya's shoulder as she left him alone in the seat.

*Time Skip*

"Wow… It's so tall!"

Craning her head backwards, Jin tried to spot the very top of the Tokyo Tower. The iconic landmark was a well-remembered statement in her memories of trips to the city, though she had never been up herself. Ranka was deathly afraid of heights.

"Do you want to go straight up or visit Foottown first?"

Honey slipped down from his cousin's shoulders, "I think we should go up, then go to one of the cafe's afterwards! That way if any of us get nauseous..." He left the statement hanging, but the others could imagine where he was going with it.

"Mmm."

The others agreed before making their way inside. Jin started pulling out her leather wallet when Kyoya gently cupped her hand, tilting his head toward her ear, " _Did you really think I'd make you pay on our first date?_ "

She blushed, but whispered back, " _Unless you're also paying for Haruhi and you're okay with sharing our first date with ten other people, then maybe you should save the chivalry for another time._ "

Kyoya chuckled and shook his head, pulling her hand down to rest by her side, "Well, we are going to be heading up to the Special Observatory instead of the lower deck. Perhaps I can simply pay the difference?"

And so it was decided. Each of the boys were "assigned" someone else in their group to pay the difference in the two offered tickets and then they were moving up in the elevator towards the very top of the tower. Kyoya attempted to keep his hand calmly wrapped around Jin's for the whole ride, but halfway up Mara slipped in between them to show Jin a new video. He frowned but didn't say anything that might be taken as rude or clingy. He didn't _really_ need to be constantly touching Jin, after all.

Once they were up there, the group found that the Special Observatory was empty save for them. Jin and Haruhi quickly made their way to the closest window and leaned over. Their eyes widened at the height. They were almost 250 meters off the ground! And the view was beautiful!

Mara went up to the empty spot beside Jin, pointing excitedly out the window, "Mount Fuji! I've never seen it in real life!"

"The people look like ants from up here!"

"Wow… It's like you can see the whole city from here!"

As everyone continued to look out the windows, Kyoya noticed one member of their group still lingering by the elevator doors. "Aaron? Are you not going to join?"

The brunet shook his head, "I have a thing about heights."

Kyoya blinked, "If you had said something, we wouldn't have forced you to come up here."

"No, no, I don't want to ruin your fun. Besides…" his eyes flicked to Jin and back, "Everyone else wanted to come up here."

The ravenet felt something bubbling up in his chest. It was becoming a more common feeling, he realized, ever since he had become enamored with Jin. Jealousy. Is it really too much to ask for the rest of this world to have the common decency to not lust over his girlfriend? He realized she was a rare find -intelligent, kind, brave- but really, it seemed like every boy he came across had or once had developed feelings for her.

Probably noticing the impending threat of leaving the Observation deck the hard way (through the nearest window) Aaron quickly backpedaled, "Wait! I didn't mean it like that! Look, yeah, I kinda had a crush on her when she first came to America, but you two are together, and I promise I'm not trying to pull anything! Just be good to her and we'll be okay, right?"

Kyoya's eyes narrowed for a moment before Tamaki called out to him, asking him to join them at the opposite end of the deck. Deciding not to draw out any argument, as Jin was allowed to be friends with who she wanted, Kyoya let it go.

They spent perhaps fifteen minutes up there in the end, mostly making lists of places they could see that they would and wouldn't visit. The ravenet tried to move closer to his girlfriend but found himself cut out of the group, the three American girls surrounding her. Not even Haruhi was able to slip in between them and grab her sister's attention.

The boy gave Haruhi a look and figured she was thinking the same thing as him.

They weren't going to get much one-on-one time with Jin for the next few days… were they?

* * *

 

At the beginning of the third day, Kyoya was wondering how rude it might seem if he simply dragged Jin away from her friends. He knew there were only a few hours left before they were gone, but it was difficult. The occasional cheek kisses and lingering touches from their first day as an official couple were long gone, her American friends forming a sort of force field around the brunette.

He wasn't the only one whose nerves were being tread on. The other boys had gained the collective expressions of a group whose waiter had passed their table twelve times without taking their order, and Haruhi was taking the separation a lot worse than they were. As it turns out, Ranka had invited his eldest daughter's friend's to spend their nights in Bunkyo at their home, and Haruhi was always finding herself on the opposite side of the room from her sister. Jin would try to bring her into the conversation or make tea with her, but then Mara or Chelsea would cut in and offer their assistance or answer and Haruhi would be shut out again.

It was somewhat obvious that Jin was slowly losing it, too.

They were in a open air market with at least one box of every flavor of pocky scattered around them all, waiting to be taste tested. The whole group took up two tables, Jin and the four Americans at one, and the host club at the other. Kyoya purposefully kept his gaze on the wooden pattern of his table as Jin's attention was being dragged from one topic of conversation to another.

He didn't think they were shutting them all out on purpose, it was probably just because they hadn't seen her in so long and they still had a hard time speaking Japanese fluently, but it was bothering him how little contact he'd been allowed since early Monday. And, as the American's were also at school with them (and somehow got permission to hover in _their_ classroom) the best Kyoya could do was watch her from afar for the past few days.

"I wonder how long Nēchan can keep it up."

"What?" Hikaru munched on a green tea flavored cookie, "Finding reasons to attempt to ditch us?" The redhead didn't seem to notice how the others were giving him a wide berth, worried he was less than half an hour away from another outburst like he'd had over the summer.

"No, being the center of attention for so long. I'm surprised she's still civil with them."

Tamaki tilted his head, "But… Jin is used to it, right? Her piano recitals, being in the marching band-"

"No, no, no. I mean she's an introvert. You might not expect it, but Nēchan needs time alone to recharge. You've noticed how she gets short with her answers after she'd been in public for awhile? It's because she starts… draining. Um… remember when you guys came to visit us at our home the first time? Nēchan had just gotten out of her volunteer shift and she was really snippy with you guys? She usually plugs herself into her music for an hour or so after we get home and… recharges. But without that…"

The host club had turned back to the group to see Jin staring at the table, her head resting in her hand and looking like she lacked the energy to even have facial expressions as her friends continued comparing the milk chocolate flavor to the original.

"Maybe you should tell them?"

Haruhi laughed bitterly, startling Tamaki who was sitting beside her, "Don't you think that if they listened to me at all I would've said something already? I've been ignored for the past two days, remember?"

"Hey, can we go check out the park over there?" Aaron stood up from the second table, looking across the road where a few people walked around on pathways underneath green, orange, red, and yellow trees. Mara and Chelsea stood up next, hoisting Jin up between them. The hosts couldn't do anything but trail along behind them as they started wandering through the park.

As they continued on, Katherine was the only one who looked concerned about Jin's lack of responses, glancing backwards at the host club while they walked along. She even gestured for Haruhi to come closer, moving away from her spot on Jin's left, only for Aaron to quickly take her place. The ravenette slowly fell behind the front group and looked at Haruhi.

"Is Jin okay?"

"She needs time by herself, and with her other friends. You could've asked about it _before_ now, you know."

Kat winced and looked away at the harsh tone, "I know, I know… I just missed her. I had just moved when Jin showed up. She was my best friend, and then she was gone and I had no one willing to talk to me outside of school. And when we got here you all looked at us like we were untrustworthy. I was worried you would try to push _us_ out of the loop."

"So you did it before we had the chance too?"

She bit her lower lip and nodded a little, "I'm sorry. But she looks like she's going to be sick. Are you sure it's just alone time she needs?"

Kyoya looked forward again at the question. Jin's steps were definitely slowing down, her posture deteriorating. His eyebrows narrowed, "Haruhi… you once mention that Jin sometimes doesn't take good care of herself. Did she eat this morning?"

Haruhi blinked, "I… I didn't see her eat anything."

"She didn't have any pocky, either." Kat now looked _very_ nervous, "We need to say something."

"Oh yeah?" Hikaru and Kaoru looked to be caught between their own deep scowls and expressions of concern, "And how do you suggest we talk sense into the rest of your _friends?_ "

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jin suddenly fell backwards, knocking Chelsea to the side as she swatted her hands in front of her face. The three people walking around her had backed away, which was the perfect opening for the others. Haruhi, of course, was the first to take advantage of the opportunity and immediately latch herself to Jin's side, Kyoya a close second. The tall brunette was leaning off the cement by her elbows, not hurt, but eyes still wide.

"Nēchan? What happened?"

Jin looked at her sister for a moment before she blushed, sitting up further, looking embarrassed, "A… um, grasshopper. It flew straight into my face." The others were quiet as she pointed to the side of the pavement, where an inch-and-a-half long bug faced away from them, looking completely innocent.

Then they started laughing. Even the hosts were starting to crack up, despite the irritation they were still harboring from the past few days. Jin pouted, her cheeks still red, but the corners of her lips twitched in the way they did when other people were laughing. Then she got a funny look on her face and her head slowly drifted till it was leaning on Kyoya's shoulder. He looked at her and realized what Katherine had meant by 'she looks like she's going to be sick'.

Thankfully Haruhi noticed it too. She pulled out a box of chocolate pocky and pressed it into Jin's hands, "Nēchan, eat this. Now."

Jin nodded silently, opening the box and dutifully munching at the chocolate. Color began returning to her face as they all remained where they were on the pathway. There weren't many people walking around, as it was a little chilly out and a lot of students were still at their own extracurricular activities, so they weren't worried about being in anyone's way. But eventually the laughter died down and the tension from the past couple of days returned. Kyoya and Haruhi hugged Jin a little tighter to themselves when the Americans started inching closer. They seemed well aware of the glares from the Hitachiin twins, but attempted to ignore them all the same.

"You're afraid of bugs, Jin?"

The brunette frowned, "No. I can handle _crawly_ things… it's the ones with _wings_ I can't deal with."

"That's super funny. Well, let's keep walking." Aaron held out a hand, but withdrew it when Jin looped an arm around Kyoya's neck and he lifted her off the ground. Haruhi remained plastered to her sister's side and gave Aaron and the two girls at his side the most sour expression she could muster (Tamaki thought it just made her look cuter) and the three shuffled their feet.

"Is… something wrong?"

Kat was the one who responded, "We've kinda been hogging her, you guys. She has friends here, too."

"We haven't seen her in months!"

"That doesn't mean you can't share!" Haruhi pressed her cheek to Jin's shoulder, "You didn't even realize that she hadn't eaten anything all day!"

"She used to not eat breakfast all the time… We're sorry we didn't notice how she wasn't eating any pocky."

"Guys!" Jin was standing up by herself again. Two half-eaten pocky sticks were in her left hand, and her right was balled up in a fist that rested itself on her hip. "That's enough arguing. Usually I'd be trying to fix whatever problems you have with each other, but there's no longer enough time for that. So, instead, you're just going to have to play nice or at least _pretend_ to for the next few hours, okay?"

Despite the cookies in her hand and how the memory of how she'd screamed at the grasshopper was still fresh in their minds, no one dared to argue. The brunette smiled, "Good. There's a playset a little further into the park. That's our first destination." She polished off the pocky sticks, looped and arm around Haruhi, and started walking.

The others hesitated for a moment, knowing that since the Fujioka girls probably wouldn't stand to be separated until they were at the playset, the two groups would be forced to walk side by side instead. Just the thought of it made a few of the boys feel irritated and awkward.

Then Chelsea smiled at Kyoya, "I wish you luck in any of your future arguments with her."

Just like that, the tension eased. The twins snickered at the little joke and the truth that ran beneath it while Kyoya rolled his eyes and started following the sisters, but a small smirk gracing his face at his relationship being recognized. It took them all about eight or so minutes to reach the playset, and by that time everyone had swapped their own 'How-I-met-Jin' stories and were transitioning over to 'Funniest-Jin-stories'.

"Wait, so she just… punched the newspaper president? Like that?"

"You should've seen his _face._ "

"Jin did _what?_ "

"I will never see sidewalk chalk the same."

The sisters were the only ones not talking. They were still leading the group, arms wrapped around the other, and trying not to trip each other as they stepped on as many fallen leaves as they could. As far as the others could tell, the two had made a game where the other sister earned a point every time the other stepped on a leaf and it didn't crunch. It was really adorable when, as they stepped off the cement and into the wood chips, Haruhi started running for the swing set telling Jin she had to push her because she won their game.

Jin smiled and went after her, calling out how she _always_ pushed Haruhi on the swings even when she _didn't_ win. The rest of the teenagers broke away from the pathway and started playing on the playground equipment. Some of it was too small for them, like the slides and such, but that didn't stop most of them.

The twins were quick to jump onto the wooden playset and start chasing each other over the bridges and towers, taunting Tamaki until he started chasing them as well. Mara and Kat took over the monkey bars, racing each other by Mara climbing along the top of the rungs while Kat swung herself below, tucking her legs up so her toes wouldn't brush the ground. Chelsea sat herself in the middle of the merry-go-round and Aaron and Mori stood on opposite sides of the wheel, taking turns in grabbing a pole and spinning the girl around.

And then that left Jin, Haruhi, Honey, and Kyoya. Haruhi and Honey were sitting side by side on a pair of swings while Jin stood behind them. She made a rhythm of pushing her sister, then her friend, smiling and laughing as they requested more height. Finally her arms got too tired and she said, "Swing yourselves, you freeloaders." The two just laughed, but did as she said.

Backing away so she wouldn't get brained by flying sneakers, Jin walked around to the next pair of swings. She sat down on the one closest to Honey. Not swinging just yet, but resting her arms from all the pushing.

"Aren't you going to push me, too?"

Jin wrinkled her nose at her boyfriend, "Ask me that again and I will push you _off_ of that swing."

She attempted to pout, but Kyoya reached over, grabbed the chain of her swing, and pulled her over for a quick kiss. Jin reached out to grab hold of his swing as well, but he released hers before she could. Now she was pouting, but didn't go back in for another. They were in public. She was surprised Kyoya had even risked such a little peck where everyone could see.

"Since you won't push, then I'll just have to add this excursion to your debt. After all, we did lose three days of hosting to watch you have fun with your other friends."

Just as Jin was about to make a counteroffer to never kiss him again, Aaron bet her to the punch. Now, not only was Chelsea on the metal circle, but so were Tamaki and the twins. Aaron and Mori were taking a break from spinning and the four others were slowing down from a simple blur to a bunch of giggly teenagers. Hikaru was trying to pull his brother closer to the center of the equipment, as both of Kaoru's feet were dangling off the edge and the younger twin was too dizzy to do it himself.

"You know what, Kyoya?" The others turned to look at the boy. "You sure talk big and threaten a lot of people for someone who looks like he could be knocked over with a sufficiently strong breeze."

The next thing Kyoya knows is Jin is on the ground, her arms wrapped around her stomach as she screeched in laughter. Haruhi and Honey are no better, nearly falling off their swings. Tamaki and the twins are doubled over, faces growing red the longer they laughed. The Americans were also laughing, though not as hard.

"I fail to see the humor in that statement." Even as he spoke, Kyoya knew no one was really listening. Even Mori was burying his face in his hands as he tried to stifle his laughter. Jin is gasping for air.

He opened his mouth again, but stopped himself. The others hadn't been laughing like this for ages, and after the past few days… Kyoya glanced over as Hikaru and Kaoru started asking Aaron where he came up with that line. _Perhaps I can let that one slide…_

Jin struggled to her feet, still grinning and giggling stupidly. He smirked and brushed a wood chip off her her cheek, making her face redden anew.

_Just this once._


	41. Until the Day it Becomes a Pumpkin!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jin's P.O.V. of the episode

For all intents and purposes, Jin knew she probably should've started taking bets on how long it would take for the host club's next 'adventure' to begin. Ever since her friend's visit from America last month, life had been pretty… normal. They went to school, hung out in Music Room 3, did homework, and that was it. Nothing 'Host Club' crazy had happened in over thirty days. It was kinda nice, but Jin knew it was only a matter of time before something happened.

Still, she wouldn't mind waiting for a little while longer.

She smiled as she felt a squeeze over her left hand, long fingers curling around her palm in a silent way of saying 'I'm glad you're close enough to touch'. Jin's brown eyes slid away from 'The Red Pyramid' to watch Kyoya flip another page of his journal. They were sitting in their classroom, waiting for the rest of the students to arrive before Kyoya and Ayame Jounouchi went up to the front of the room and begin their weekly class discussion. Until then, however, Jin was happy enough to read on top of Kyoya's desk, with her hand in his.

Kyoya must've known he was being watched, because he looked up from his journal and met his girlfriend's gaze. With a small smirk, he gently lifted her hand to his lip for a short kiss. Jin averted her eyes, hiding her face behind her book. Despite having already passed their first month anniversary (Tamaki had quite possibly been more excited about that date than they had been), Kyoya always knew exactly what action would fluster her the most. Whether it was footsie in the cafeteria or tugging her behind a pillar for a quick kiss in the hallways, it seemed to be his goal to shower Jin in small, hidden displays of affection that left her chest all warm and bubbly.

Just then, the ravenet stood up and set the journal down, giving Jin's hand one last caress before walking up to the front of the room. Sighing, because she always hated when their 'affection times' -as the twins had so helpfully dubbed them- came to an end, Jin slid off his desktop and into her own seat. Tamaki smiled dopily at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shut up."

"I didn't even say anything."

"You didn't have to."

Despite her tone, Tamaki was still grinning as Kyoya started talking about events and activities that would be happening around Ouran Academy over the weekend. He was acting like nothing could go wrong now that Kyoya and Jin were together, and while Jin found it sweet, sometimes she wished she could get him to focus on his own budding relationship with her sister. Seriously, how could people be so attuned to her relationship when such a cute ship was happening right under their noses?

No, she did not care that everyone thought Haruhi was a guy. That should've made them _more_ obsessed over it, if anything.

"Next item on our agenda, the class event next week."

As a few of her classmates started chattering amongst themselves, Jin turned to the blond beside her, "Class event?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you wouldn't know. After exams, we're given a few days off, usually until Halloween, before going back to our lessons. Each class tends to hold an event, like movie viewings or other social events, typically leaning towards celebrating Halloween."

"Really? That sounds like fun!" Jin smiles, then shakes her head, "I never would've expected such a prestigious school to give so many days off."

" _Well, if she doesn't like it, then why doesn't she just leave?_ "

Instantly Jin's mood darkened. She doesn't even bother looking around, preferring to watch as Ayame scribbled 'Halloween Dance' on the board at the front of the classroom. After all, it's no secret who just spoke. One of the girls in Kyoya's in-class _fan club._ Three girls would just couldn't understand why Kyoya and Jin walked into class together every day instead of Kyoya dropping to his knees in front of them to declare his love.

" _Shut up, Ai! She just didn't know!_ "

And there would be the second club in the room -forgetting about Tamaki's for the moment- the KyoJin fanclub.

Yeah, who would've thought, right? Apparently, their potential romance had been a big thing all around Ouran; not just in the host club. Back sometime in September, a boy from Class 2-B had tried to confess to Jin, only to be told she was already in a relationship with someone. After that, the story had spread through the entire school like wildfire, Kyoya's name in every single one of the rumors. It came to a head when Jin and Kyoya had walked into a hallway together and they realized everyone was staring at them. The two exchanged a glance before Kyoya slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her close.

The entire hallway had erupted into cheers.

Jin had seen a few girls printing out 'KyoJin' t-shirts in the art rooms and the term 'Power couple' was almost synonymous with that ship name. It was a little overbearing at times. Still, Kyoya didn't seem bothered by it, and so long as they weren't outwardly interfered with, Jin supposed she could ignore it all, too.

"Hey, why don't we let Jin suggest something? Surely she knows of a few fun things Americans like to do during Halloween!"

The brunette blinks herself out of her daydream and sees everyone has their eyes on her, "Oh, well… I guess there were a few things, but I'm not sure how they would appeal to you. I mostly hung out with the marching band students while in America, so it wasn't like we could afford anything extravagant. Besides, I've never seen a class even before. I'm not quite sure what to expect like the rest of you." She smiled a bit, "You all probably have better ideas than I do."

Surprisingly, Ayame was the one to look over her shoulder and smile at the other brunette, "Nonsense! Even if we don't pick your idea, I for one would like to hear about what commoners do for fun and relaxation!"

 _Do jello-shots count?_ Another couple blinks, "Well, I always enjoyed bonfire nights."

"Bonfire?"

"What's that?"

"Um, basically it's when a large group of people gather around a fire pit and you make a large fire. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's pretty fun. There's always a bunch of different things going on, like people making S'mores, playing flashlight games in a nearby field, sharing funny or scary stories, swapping jokes, stargazing. It's socializing in a very relaxed atmosphere. Sometimes, we even purchased some stuff that changes the color of the fire. I went to five bonfire nights last year and always had a blast."

By the end of her explanation, the rest of her classmates were gabbing away at each other. A bonfire night did sound like a lot of fun, and if scary stories were being swapped, then what better way to celebrate Halloween? Even the three girls who didn't like her were grudgingly agreeing that the bonfire she'd described did sort of sound like fun.

"Thanks, Jin! A bonfire actually sounds like a great idea! And everyone can wear their costumes!"

"Who seconds the motion?"

"Seconded!"

Everyone's hands went up.

Jin grinned as Kyoya smirked, "The motion passes unanimously. Class 2-A's class event will be a bonfire night in the courtyard between the high and middle school on Halloween night."

The class agreed.

*Time Skip*

The host club's guests opened the front doors into complete darkness. As they watched, a single flame ignited deep within the room. _Ooh_ -ing and giggling amongst themselves, a few of the braver girls began inching their way inside. A few more flames flickered into existence, drawing the more frightened souls further in.

Finally, they came across all of the tables and chairs the host club used. They had been pulled further into the room for ambiance. In the faint glow of the candle light, the girls could see seven shadows further in the back.

"Trick or treat, girls." Tamaki stepped forward into the light, his fake vampire teeth glistening brightly in the glow. He was in typical vampire get-up, high-collared cloak and everything, and he even had a 'romanian' accent. It made the girls more giggly as they started sitting down. The rest of the hosts came into the dim lighting, also wearing vampire cosplay. And while the clothes themselves were painfully cliche, no one was denying that the boys made it look _hot._

"What _brave_ young girls who have ventured into our lair." The three girls sitting alone at a table to the far side of the room suddenly looked up. The purr in Jin's voice had sent an unlikely thrill down their spines, and her outfit was just as daring and dark as her tone. She was wearing a victorian styled dress with a red corset and a short black and red skirt. Beneath it, she had on fishnet leggings and black flats, and a jet black cape hung from her shoulders down to her calves. She smiled coyly, her fangs looking wickedly sharp, and the way her hair was pinned up in an elegant knot gave her a timeless appearance.

"Wow, Jin…"

"You look great!"

"Are you going to be a vampire for Halloween, too?"

The brunette smiled gently before taking a seat, a hand coming up to fiddle with heart-shaped pendant hanging from her black choker, "No, I'm not the biggest fan of these fangs. And besides, I've had my halloween costume planned out since April."

One of the girls looked over her shoulder and back again, "Well, I'm sure _someone_ really appreciates your cosplay right now."

Jin smiled a little wider, but kept her focus away from the ravenet standing across the room, "Ladies, I'd like you all to know that while I greatly appreciate your support of my relationship, I do like talking to you all as well. So please, while you're here, just enjoy yourselves. You don't need to make this all about me."

The girls squealed, "You're such a beautiful person, Jin! Inside and out!"

"It must run in the Fujioka lineage to be so kind hearted!"

"Ha, not so sure about that." At the third voice, Jin turned to see Haruhi walking over, humor dancing in her eyes.

"Don't be such a downer, Haru. Well, go on, get into your cosplay, you're late. As per usual." Haruhi sticks her tongue out, and Jin responds, prompting her guests to fawn over the cute sibling love.

"Actually, Jin-"

"-that's what we came in here for."

"Boss~"

Tamaki backed away from his own guest and frowned, "What? Why aren't you changed yet?"

"From now until Halloween-"

"-you guys are going to be down three hosts, okay?"

 _That_ sure got everyone's attention. Tamaki screamed 'what' so loudly the curtains surrounding him shook.

"We're on the preparations committee for our class event. Good luck without us here for a week!"

The the blond started grilling the twins on ' _what sort of class event are you doing that requires a full week of preparations_ ', Jin got up from her chair and hugged her sister close, "You be careful, okay?"

"We're just setting up, Nēchan. Besides, it's not like I won't be seeing you every day."

"What I mean is don't fall off a ladder or have something heavy hit your head. I don't want to be worrying about you for the next week."

"Pssh, like you won't do that anyways." Despite it all, Haruhi didn't sound very upset at being doted on. Then she smirked, "And it something _does_ hit my head, I sure hope it blocks out that memory I have of you and Kyoya-sen-"

"Okay! That's enough now! You kids go have fun!" With one hand covering her sister's mouth, Jin quickly steered the shorter brunette over to the twins who all but carry her out of the room. No need to let the guests hear about the moment her sister had walked in during hers and Kyoya's 'honeymoon phase'.

Just as the doors boom shut, throwing the club room back into darkness, Jin felt a warm hand sneak around her waist and tug her into a strong chest. She gasps as warm lips peck at the back of her neck, just below where the choker rested. Goosebumps erupted up and down her arms and legs as two dulled fangs playfully poked at her bare skin before a low voice rumbled in her ear.

"You're blushing, darling." Another wave of goosebumps at the hot breath on her ear lobe, "Vampire aren't supposed to have blood running through their veins. Are you perhaps… an _impostor?_ "

As the shock began to wear off, Jin collected her thoughts enough to smirk and face Kyoya, her hands pressed against his chest, "Not at all. It would seem as though you didn't take all my blood when you Turned me, Glasses. I suppose I'll just have to live my life being an anomaly."

Hands roaming up and down the strings along the back of her corset, Kyoya leaned down a little further, "Hm, well that's why I like you so much. You're not like the rest."

He was dimly aware that he and Jin had acquired a small audience behind the nearest curtain, but couldn't find it in himself to care as the brown eyes before him darked, Jin's pupils widening in anticipation. There was a brief moment of hesitation in which he worried their 'fangs' might make kissing a little difficult, but by the time he decided to ignore it until it became a problem, it was too late.

A dark, malicious sounding cackle leaked out of one of their coffin decorations. Jin turned her head at the sound, Kyoya planting a kiss on her cheek a moment later. He can't help but think ' _Missed'_ as he gives his attention to the strange sound as well.

A lid slowly swung open, revealing Nekozawa-senpai curled up inside. For once, the boy looked completely at home in his surroundings. His shoulders weren't slouched, and while the smile on his face wasn't any less evil than before, it lacked the occasional nervous dips that came with him being in a brightly lit atmosphere.

"Ume-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Hm… two reasons. One, I overheard a few weeks ago that my old music tutor and friend is now in a relationship with a particular shadow king." He tilted his head up enough to let his brilliant blue eyes shine through the darkness. His gaze bore into Kyoya, but the ravenet simply stared back at him, uninterested, and mildly upset at how he'd been cheated out of a kiss.

Realizing he wouldn't be able to intimidate the other boy so easily, Umehito dropped his hood once more, "I have a brand new spellbook full of curses, and I personally can not wait to try them out if he ever brings emotional or physical harm to you, Jin-chan."

"If that's the case, then I suggest you simply throw the book out. You won't be getting any use out of it."

Jin pressed her face into Kyoya's shirt, enjoying how he welcomed the physical contact by tightening his grip on her.

Nekozawa's lips twitched into a small smile. That's precisely what he'd been hoping to hear, but he couldn't let Kyoya know. "Moving on, Class 1-A is throwing a Test of Courage tournament. As President of the Black Magic club, I must oblige… after all, what is Halloween without a healthy dose of pure, unadulterated terror?"

Nekozawa started his creepy laugh again as the coffin lid slowly slid shut without touching it. Jin pulled her head away from Kyoya's chest, watching with interest until her friend disappeared from view.

"Well, this ought to be interesting."

"Yes, I would imagine so."

* * *

 

*Halloween Night*

"Kotokana-san… she had her heart set on this tournament. How could I say no? I didn't want to let her down..."

"Oh, crap! He's totally pure!"

"He's got a heart of gold, Hikaru!"

High above the four first year students, a girl was crouching by the staircase wrapped in a black cloak. She smiled warmly, though no one saw it, before moving back into the shadows. Turning her face to look out the window, she nodded once and slipped into a neighboring room.

_Whoosh_

"...Um… did you guys just see that?"

"Aw come on!"

Smirking, she lifted a skull out from under her cloak and tossed it out of the room, hearing it slowly bounce down the stairs. _One… two… three..._

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

Jin stuffed her face into her cloak to muffle her giggles.

Just like clockwork, the rest of the plan played out exactly like Nekozawa said it would. In no time at all, all the 1st years were trapped, separated from each other, too. The darkly clothed boy was clearly having the time of his life, until he noticed something.

"Ootori-san, are you not going to join in on the fun?"

"No, I am not. I have… something more interesting on my mind."

He looked away from the locked door Kaoru and Class 1-A's President were now prisoners behind over to where Jin had crawled out of her hiding place. She was still giggling, swatting at Tamaki good-naturedly when he tried to sneak up behind her with that shriveled mask of his.

The blond had tried to insist that she wear a princess dress that night in an attempt to 'protect Jin's innocence now that she was in Kyoya's clutches' but Jin had shot him down. She showed up that evening dressed up like a Hogwarts student, instead: Black cloak, a Hufflepuff crest and tie, black slip-ons, white knee socks, a gold and black plaid skirt, and a white button down shirt. Tamaki had deemed it appropriate enough and let it go, but that didn't mean Kyoya didn't stare every once in awhile. It wasn't often Jin wore a skirt beside the long black one that was her uniform. He wondered where she had been hiding _this_ one.

Still, now that neither of them were needed to finish up their plan to frighten the 1st years… they did have a bonfire to attend.

"Excuse me."

He walked over just as Jin finished removing the large pumpkin off of Honey's head. It was a little too heavy to stay on the young boy's shoulders and Mori-senpai was busy getting Honey's bunny costume. The cousins had a class event later on tonight as well.

The large orange vegetable fell to the floor with a solid _thunk._

"Thanks, Jin-chan!" He hugged her and ran of to find his cousin. Jin sighed and stood up, turning around just as Kyoya reached her.

"I'm always amazed by how well you handle children."

"Hm. It's been awhile since you've said that." She smiled, "Ready to go to our own event? We're not needed here."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Jin nodded and waved goodbye to their friends as she followed her boyfriend down the hallway. They'd be using the back exit instead of the front doors tonight so the other 1st years wouldn't spot them. Tamaki had said a few days ago that he wouldn't be attending the bonfire until much later, not wanting to leave the courage tournament until Haruhi was safely out of it. The couple didn't argue, glad to have a moment to themselves (they had been preparing for this trick all week, and Nekozawa was brutal if someone tried to skip out of their meetings).

As the two walked along, Jin couldn't help but think the empty hallways and glowing pumpkin heads were a little creepy. They cast strange shadows on the floor, and the distant screams behind them weren't helping much either. But when Kyoya moved close enough to wrap a comforting arm around her waist, she managed to push those thoughts out of her mind.

There wasn't anything to be afraid of here.

"So, you decided not to dress up tonight? Or… are you going as 'The Shadow King'?" The ravenet looked down at her, an eyebrow arched, "What? It certainly is frightening enough."

The boy smirked. And, before she thought she could get away with it, added, "I could add to your debt for that comment and not feel guilty in the slightest."

"Oh, but you won't."

"And why not?"

"...'Cuz."

Kyoya stopped dead in his tracks. Jin stopped as well, mostly because of the arm holding her close, but before she could question why they did she found herself pulled into a kiss. Jin's knees nearly buckled at the powerful emotions behind it, despite the soft lips pressed to hers. Even after such a long, wonderful month, kissing Kyoya had yet to lose that simple trick of being both meaningful and passionate.

She could only hope it never would.

They drifted closer, Jin not knowing whether she was the one moving or if it was Kyoya, but not caring much either. A single finger traced her jawline, curling beneath her chin to keep their mouths at that perfect angle. Which she ruined not a moment later when she moved away to breathe.

Her eyelids fluttered open. When they had closed she wouldn't have been able to tell you, and she was met with Kyoya staring right back at her. A coy smile silently teased her about how surprised she had been by the kiss.

Kyoya got the beginnings of a soft chuckle out before she pushed herself forward, effectively cutting him off. Feeling her hair being purposefully tangled through his fingers, Jin lips curled into a smile. She couldn't help it. It was amusing to her how Kyoya, for all of his 'don't touch me' vibes, seemed to deeply enjoy holding onto her. Even those short pecks before school would have their bodies touching at least from the waist down.

Perhaps he was a cuddler, too? That'd be nice.

Despite how the kiss hadn't stopped for even a moment, Kyoya must've assumed what was going through her head. He was the one to retreat this time, watching in amusement as she came back to her senses. Jin pouted. She started to ask why he had stopped when Kyoya removed his glasses and ducked his head towards her neck. The question Jin had been about to ask came out as more of a squeak. Followed shortly after by a moan.

His first kisses were slow, trying to remember exactly which was her more sensitive spot; below her ear or in the crook of her neck.

A soft sigh echoed in his ear as he gently tasted the white skin high on her neck. A single strand of hair snuck between his lips and he withdrew to remove it, glad to make a quick note that below her ear was _not_ what he was looking for. The sighing had certainly been a nice sound, but again, not the one he was attempting to recreate.

Crook of her neck it was.

Once the hair was removed, he kissed the soft skin underneath her jawline. Then moved lower. His lips parted themselves as he dragged them lower down her neckline; indulging in the way Jin shivered against him. One hand on his right bicep, the other fisted in his jacket. But just as her neck began curving out… he hesitated.

This was only the second time they had gone from kissing to necking, and last time... Kyoya had been too rough. The bite that ended the moment had left a dark red mark on her skin for days. Jin hadn't said anything, but she had winced, which had been enough to make him stop and kiss her softly in many apologies.

He didn't want to hurt her like that again.

So, ensuring his mind was focused on the moment, he gently tugged the collar of her cloak away to give himself access to her weak spot. She gasped, hands clenching tighter onto his uniform. The press of her neck against his cheek fell away as she tried giving him more room. Her trust in him, despite how he had accidentally hurt her the last time, was both something he hadn't expected and yet something he had. He kept his teeth safely covered by lips the whole time, all the same.

Pressing one last kiss to the pink-ish spot on her neck, Kyoya wasn't even given a moment to catch his breath as he pulled away. Jin all but threw her arms over his shoulders, lips parting in a pleading invitation. As his tongue slipped out to accept, it suddenly struck him how much he enjoyed kissing her like this. Hot and deep and -some would say- messy.

The person he was before meeting Jin Fujioka would've been at least somewhat disgusted by Kyoya's willingness to indulge in 'French kissing' his girlfriend. Perhaps not even that far back. If someone had asked him four, five months ago if he would kiss his girlfriend of one month like… _this_... he would've looked at them in disgust and requested that they pull their mind out of the gutter it was residing in. But now, his argument was that it just couldn't be helped.

His other half was far too passionate to deny.

Kyoya was brought back to reality at the wonderful feeling of her fingers running through his hair. Not quite tugging but not being especially gentle either. He couldn't help but groan at the feeling of her short fingernails softly scratching his scalp.

The bloodcurdling scream from the other end of the building almost made him miss her answering moan.

One eyelid cracked open in disinterest, showing a thin ring of grey around a blown out pupil before it closed once more. Jin didn't seem to have noticed the scream at all, too busy with their battle for dominance. She had finally relented by the time Kyoya realized the screaming wasn't stopping. And it was more than simply one person. And they were gradually getting closer. Jin noticed them too.

They broke apart with a little wet popping sound, still calmly tangled around each other. Jin's eyes remained half lidded, giving her a content expression as Kyoya slid his glasses back onto his nose. Lazily, she reached up and tucked a few strands of hair back behind his ear. Leaning forward, Kyoya's lips pressed against the bridge of her nose. Not a kiss, simply resting.

Two more things they had discovered about each other over the course of their relationship: Jin got very clingy when they were alone. And Kyoya didn't mind one bit.

But the screams were still growing louder.

"We should go."

"Mhm."

They managed to make it outside just in time, closing the back entrance before the 1st years thundered past the doors, not even seeing the exit as they fled for their lives. They stayed there, palms pressed against the cool wood for a second before straightening up. Kyoya broke the silence.

"You know, I had thought we had moved on from our Honeymoon phase. Haruhi will be mortified."

"Hey! It's not my fault you decided to… woah." A bright light had caught her attention, and when the two realized what it was they couldn't help but wonder how they didn't see it sooner.

Their class's Bonfire Event was hard to miss.

Jin had seen groups of landscapers and a handful of firemen around the field for the past week, working on the pit they'd have the fire in, but the final result was still a surprise. The pit had been dug a few inches into the ground and then layered with many layers of stone and dirt until it was both safe and possible to pile an absolutely ridiculously large pile of firewood right in the center and set it ablaze.

Even from a distance, Jin and Kyoya could tell that the fire was almost as tall as they were. Shadows of their classmates passed back and forth across the orange glow, keeping a distance from the flames, the only source of light and heat in the otherwise dark field and chilly October air. They could hear laughter and a few screams from the smaller group off to one side of the party, a little ways into the dark so the scary stories could be shared with the teller's back to the flames.

Outdoor chairs and tables had been placed around the fire as well, some closer and some further to regulate temperature. A few students were holding sticks out over the flames, and Jin saw as someone quickly yanked a small ball of fire away and start blowing it out in vain as the person at their side laughed aloud, currently unaware of how _their_ marshmallow had just gone up in flames as well. At the other side of the pit from the marshmallow burners, six or seven students (it was hard to count from that distance) were taking turns chucking things into the fire, causing blue and green and neon red flames to leap out from the otherwise orange color.

"Wow… they really went all out."

"Indeed. Shall we join them?"

She nodded once before Kyoya offered his elbow. She rolled her eyes but took it. Like their classmates wouldn't tease them any less for showing up late than if they walked over holding hands, but it was whatever. Jin was already forming an attack plan for leaving a sticky S'mores kiss on Kyoya's cheek when he joined in with their classmates to tease her in the annoying/endearing way only he could.

She blushed a little darker when a sentence popped up in her head. _A very different narrative from when we were back in the school._

"Kyoya! Jin! You made it! Come here! Iwao just meshed a yellow and a blue color changer together because we ran out of green! He's about to throw it in! Hurry!"

Instantly Jin is grinning, skirting around the fire, knowing Kyoya would follow even though she had released his arm, "I hope it doesn't mix, but the colors just weave together! Throw it in!"

* * *

 

*The Next Morning*

'Everyone in Class 1-A is a Captain of All Cowards'.

Jin let the hand holding the newspaper drop down to her side and leaned back against the wall, her other hand coming up to stifle the giggles. Haruhi had a certainly _flattering_ picture taken of her falling into a dead faint while some of her classmates took off through the school like the devil was on their tail. On the front page of the newspaper. Literally couldn't have embarrassed Haruhi better herself. Jin had to give Ume-kun some credit; he was a master trickster.

"You seem to be in a good mood this morning."

The brunette peeked up at the boy joining her by their usual pillar. The sunlight flickering through the window behind him, catching the metal of his glasses but not hiding his eyes. She flicked the paper back up, pointing the front cover towards him.

"Haru refused to talk to me for an hour this morning when she found out I was in on that prank, so I don't have to feel bad for laughing at her photo in the paper."

"That seems fair."

Dropping the paper back to her side, Jin leaned her head back against the wall, lazily looking around the tiny sliver of hallway she _could_ see. It was particularly busy at the moment, most of Ouran's students swapping stories of their class's event or trying to find more details about the prank.

A brush of fingertips against the back of her hand brought her attention back to her partner, but she had a question for him as well, "Kyo-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't anyone say anything about us comes to the event late?"

It was true. For all the innuendos and not-so-innocent questions she had expected, Jin hadn't heard a single whisper of the suggestion she and Kyoya had been otherwise "occupied" before joining the Halloween celebration. It wasn't because they had known about the prank, so… what? The twins had already proved a long time ago that there will always be teenagers, rich or otherwise, who took it upon themselves to embarrass new couples when they rejoined society after a moment in private. The lack of all dirty jokes and unnecessary winks concerned her much more than if they had actually done those acts.

Kyoya, on the other hand, didn't look concerned at all, "I believe it might have to do with their fear of me. Or, more accurately, my family name. They wouldn't dare mention anything if it was just myself, after all, but they must've realized that if they were to attempt to embarrass both myself _and_ you, not even their own family's name would've been spared in the end. The twins are a different matter of course, they know us well enough, but from any of the others I simply wouldn't have tolerated it."

Jin blinks, "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or frightened."

"Perhaps it would be good idea to be both?"

She rolled her eyes, "Shut up and kiss me 'Good Morning', you nerd."


	42. Family Outings!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this marks Big Sister Fujioka's one year anniversary on FF.net. To celebrate, I made a super fluffy chapter, brought in some of my personal favorite characters, introduced new background characters, but tacked on some fluffy-angst at the end... if that's even a thing. Is that a thing? I think I made it a thing... I dunno. Hope you like it!

 

Ranka attempted to lounge comfortably in his train seat. His legs were crossed at the ankle, tucked a little bit below his seat, arms folded in front of his chest. But he couldn't seem to stop moving: tapping his fingers, bouncing a foot, which was really unlike the man. He wasn't a fiddler. His wife had been, and so was his eldest daughter, but not him.

In an effort to calm himself down, Ranka did his best to keep his mind focused on something else. Anything. The perfect weather outside. The Kane Chronicles book Haruhi was flying though on his left. His outfit? Right, he could focus on that. After all, he had made sure to look extra cute today. It wasn't often he got to spend a whole day out with his two favorite people in the world!

It had taken him almost half an hour to get ready. Late last night, Ranka and the girls had laid out their clothes for the next day so they could have an early start, but right after he pulled on his red jacket over the white blouse, Ranka had recalled that there was a perfect bright red ribbon lying around  _ somewhere _ that would match the jacket  _ perfectly. _ So, he'd hunted it down for fifteen minutes, found it buried in his closet with a bunch of scrunchies, and tied it in a neat little bow around his high ponytail. He'd been tempted to put a few curls into said ponytail, but Jin and Haruhi had threatened to leave him at home. So he had quickly thrown on a pair of dark blue jeans and settled for looking both beautiful and casual, like he hadn't put a lot of though into it. Just your typical dadmom outfit.

But the scowl marred the look.

A small elbow dug itself into his side, "Dad, quit it."

The man groaned and looked over at his youngest daughter, who hadn't even bothered to look away from her book, "I'm trying, sweetie, I really am, but…"

"You  _ promised. _ "

Ah, yes, that  _ promise _ again. Ranka rubbed at his forehead. Why he had agreed to it, he might never know, but he definitely regretted it. This was  _ supposed _ to be a happy time for them all; the Fujioka family's annual 'First-Weekend-of-November-Apple-Picking' trip at Harada Farms. It was one of those things they looked forward to every year, never skipping or moving the date around, and just enjoyed their time together as a family.

It had been a major healing point after Kotoko…

A laugh wormed its way through Ranka's memories, shattering his concentration. Scowling a little darker, he glared daggers at the couple sitting across the train car from him and Haruhi. Kyoya was telling Jin something that she must've found funny, making her press her left palm against her cheek and turning away to hide the laughter. The boy was just sitting back in his seat, a hint of pride on his face.

Then she opened her eyes and saw the way Ranka was looking at her boyfriend. She frowned suddenly and returned the stare, shaking her head minutely. With a huff, her father abruptly turned his head away.

Yes, yes, he had said that he knew Kyoya and Jin should get together and all that, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be protective of his daughter. It was only because of that  _ promise _ that he wasn't sitting in between the two of them right now. The promise he had made a few weeks ago when Jin asked if she could invite Kyoya on the family excursion. Ranka had said 'No' immediately, because it was to be a  _ family _ outing, but Jin quickly reminded him of the many times they had brought friends who weren't family before. Besides, if the relationship she had with Kyoya worked out…

He had cut her off quickly before she finished that thought. Of course, as soon as he agreed that she could invite her boyfriend along, Jin had crossed her arms and made him promise to 'behave'. This meant, in her terms: No threatening, no unnecessary noises, no purposeful separation, no bodily harm, no bribing Kyoya to keep his distance, no forcing his body in between them… the list had gone on for a while.

At first, Ranka tried to not have to actually promise anything, but both of his daughters refused to let him off the hook. When asked, Haruhi simply stated that she had to deal with them during school days, so their father should be able to handle a single day. Unfortunately, he had eventually made that promise...  _ before _ hearing about the punishment for breaking it.

So now the four of them were sitting on the train and Ranka wanted to explode. Jin, knowing what the stakes were, smirked as she turned back to Kyoya, shifting her foot against his and gently connecting their hands. The boy cast a wary glance at Ranka, but Jin merely laced their fingers together a little tighter and leaned up to his ear.

A few whispered words later, and Kyoya was sporting his own pleased expression.

Thankfully for Ranka's sanity, the train pulled into the station in Numata City only a minute later. The four walked out onto the platform, the teens side-by-side in front while Ranka brought up the rear. Jin and Haruhi were talking about the different apples they wanted to pick while Kyoya listened politely, smiling softly at Jin when she wasn't looking. The expression was so cute and perfect Ranka felt like he was going to be sick.

"HAAARUUUUHIIIII!"

Before the quartet could blink, a blond-headed blur shot between the teenagers and Ranka, bowling the shortest one over in a tight hug. Already high strung, Ranka leapt forward and hauled the boy off of his youngest daughter. When he recognized the face, it didn't make him want to let go any sooner.

"YOU?"

"Ah, hello, Ranka-  _ eep! _ \- H-How are you-  _ ow! _ " Tamaki tried for a winning smile, but it was hard to ignore the pain that came from his arm being twisted behind his back. Keeping the blond boy immobile in his arms, Ranka looked over to his daughters. Jin was helping Haruhi off the ground while Kyoya scowled unhappily at the other Host Club boys walking over to them.

_ Well, I suppose that means he didn't invite them. _

"Ranka, please…  _ you're gonna break my arm... _ "

The man rolled his eyes, "If I wanted to permanently damage you, I would've already done so." Despite the threat, Ranka released the teen and marched over to the original group. "Did one of you three invite your other  _ friends _ to join us?"

"I assure you, Ranka, I did not."

Haruhi and Jin shook their heads, but the twins smiled happily, "They didn't invite us. We overheard Haruhi and Jin talking in the hallways about inviting Kyoya on this little trip  _ weeks _ ago."

"So we figured why not check it out ourselves?"

They continued to smile despite the dangerous looks coming at them from the four they had intruded on. Honey quickly bounced forward, "Come on, Jin-chan! Tama-chan said there were hay rides!" The small blond grabbed his old friend's hand and started pulling her down the train station. " You too, Haru-chan! We've got alot to do!"

"Honey-senpai! Wait up!" Haruhi quickly followed after the blond and her sister, Kyoya on her heels. The twins high-fived and darted after them. Mori, of course, silently nodded his head at Ranka before heading off to join them all.

The girl's father hummed in thought, staring off after the group. Jin was trying to get Honey-senpai to slow down, but he refused to let go of her hand.  _ Now… there's an idea... _

"Well, we should probably follow them…" Tamaki froze in the middle of a step when a familiar hand fell on his shoulder, gripping it tight.

"No need to act so tense, Tamaki. As much as I was annoyed by your arrival… I may have a job for you and your club."

* Time Skip *

"Where do you wanna start first, Jin-chan?"

The brunette pursed her lips. The wood-woven basket hanging from her right hand swayed back and forth at her side as she looked out across the orchard, "Actually, Honey-senpai… I was kinda hoping-"

"Hey, Jin!"

"Jin-chan! Haruhi!"

The whole group turned their heads towards the new voices, eyes widening when they recognized two boys jogging across the crunchy grass to meet them.

"Ben-kun! Hiroshi!"

Jin and Haruhi ran over to greet their friends, the other boys not far behind. Skirting around the group of teens, Ranka approached the brother's parents. While the three adults began chatting, the teenagers finally calmed down enough to talk plainly.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We wanted to pick apples with you again!" Beni swiped at Jin's shoulder, just barely cuffing her shirt, "Just because you guys go to some 'fancy-smancy' school doesn't mean you can't hang out with us 'common folk' every once in awhile. Invite us out to coffee sometime, geez."

Jin responded with a light punch to his arm, "I had enough trouble inviting Kyoya along on this trip. I didn't want to stretch out my Dad's hospitality by adding you to the list."

The older Arai boy cocked an eyebrow at the rest of the host club, so Haruhi quickly spoke up, "We didn't invite the others, in case you were wondering."

At that, Beni's expression turned just as twisted as Hikaru and Kaoru's, "Oh… but you invited Kyoya… that's interesting…"

"They already know we're dating, Beni."

"Really? When did you tell them? How'd they react?"

"When Aaron, Chelski, Kat, and Mara came up to visit. It was-"

"WHAT?!" Beni's expression was thunderous, "YOU TOLD THEM ALL BEFORE YOU TOLD ME? AFTER EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER?!"

Jin didn't look fazed, crossing her arms over her chest, "One word: Go-rou."

Her friend's expression flickered for a moment before abruptly flattening, "Right. Fair enough, I guess." He turned his head to look out at the many rows of apple trees, completely missing the way the host club cast wary glances at each other. Even Tamaki had picked up on that emotional shift. But before anyone could ask about it, Ranka and Mr. and Mrs. Arai walked over.

"Jin? Haruhi? I'm going to stay at the shop with Mikio and Aika for a few hours. You kids have fun picking apples!"

Jin opened her mouth, then hesitated.  _ Dad's… letting me out of his sight? Even with Kyoya hanging around? _ Feeling a tentative finger touching her wrist, the brunette shut her mouth and shifted a little closer to her boyfriend.

"If you're sure, Dad. Do you want us to get you a basket of apples?"

"No. But you girls want apple cider, right?"

"Yes!" Haruhi and Jin answered in unison, grins back on their faces. A few seconds later and the adults were walking away, leaving the group of kids to their own devices. Tamaki tried to take control the first chance he got, spinning around on his heel to face the others.

"Alright! I say we split up into two groups! The Fujioka girls and Arai boys will go one way, and the rest of the host club will go another! This will maximize our first experience at an apple orchard and let Jin and Haruhi spend time with their old friends!"

"Or," Kyoya chimed in, looping an arm loosely around Jin's waist, sparking a small blush on her face, "I could go with Jin and her group. That would make them even at least; five and five?"

"But, Kyoya! We should explore on our own! It's like a field trip!"

"Yeah, Kyo-chan! Like the Expo we went to in the summer."

"Ah… right." Kyoya adjusted his glasses, "That same Exposition you dragged me to while I was asleep and forgot me on a bench without my wallet or phone. Yes, now I see the similarities…"

The hosts shrank a little underneath his 'stare-of-death', prompting Haruhi to speak up before one of them started crying, "Look, how about all ten of us go around together? Okay? None of us want to start an argument, right? Good. C'mon Nēchan. Oh, and bring your boyfriend. The others will follow him. He's like their Momma Duck." Jin snorted, but did her best to hide the smile from Kyoya's glare.

"Come on, Jin-senpai!"

"Where do we go first?"

Before anyone else could argue, Hikaru and Kaoru were pushing Jin forward, looping their arms through hers and steering her away from Kyoya. The ravenet hummed, eyebrows crinkling in mild confusion, but followed anyways.

Behind him, Tamaki let out a sigh.  _ Ranka is trusting us with keeping an eye on them. I  _ cannot  _ allow Kyoya and Jin to be unsupervised while we are here! _ The blond shuddered at the thought of his best friend discovering his job for the day, but he managed to quickly shake it off.

_ There's no way he'll figure out we're doing this on purpose… right? _

* * *

 

Kyoya was fairly sure Ranka had put them up to this.

Their little band of ten had been walking up and down this apple orchard for at least an hour, and not once had his hand come into contact with Jin's. Every time he got close enough for physical contact, one of the other hosts stepped in. Kyoya was positive Jin was aware of it, too, but she wasn't saying anything.

Still, it was becoming very annoying very quickly, especially when Tamaki literally hip-checked his friend to the side so he could drag Jin to another tree.

At the moment, Kyoya was watching as the rest of the group tried to coax the twins down off of a tree. Since there was no room left in anyone's basket for even one more apple, the Fujioka's suggested they head back to the barn and pay for the fruit, then enjoy some of the other attractions around the farm. But the twins weren't having it. Kyoya, not bothering to play their games, found himself standing in the background. Beni was with him, shaking his head as Hiroshi ran off to grab another ladder.

"I almost forgot how crazy your friends were…"

"Well, they are Jin's friends, too."

Beni nodded appreciatively, "Truth. But, now that you mention it, there is something I need to talk with you about-" The boy raised an eyebrow as Kyoya held up a hand.

"No need to continue. I have already been threatened by Haruhi, Ranka, Jin's friends from America, the rest of the Host Club, Nekozawa-senpai, Kagome-sensei from the elementary school, most of the tenants in her building, and, most recently, Aki Hayashi." Kyoya frowned, his hand dropping about a millimeter, "Hayashi-san also mentioned a bet that had been going around the shelter… but back to the matter at hand. A majority of them simply stated that if I broke her heart, they'd be on the sidelines watching her tear me limb from limb."

The blond crossed his arms, "You don't seem very nervous about those threats."

"If I was worried about that, I wouldn't have asked her out in the first place. Besides, I'm far more concerned that she will be the one to break up with me rather than the other way around."

Beni nodded, "Exactly what I wanted to hear. You have my blessing."

"Thank you." The two boys looked back at the tree where Jin had wrestled Hikaru back onto the ground and was now holding him in a headlock to bargain with Kaoru. "Out of curiosity… why did you seem upset when Jin mentioned Gorou earlier?"

The air around the two was suddenly charged with tension. Beni's posture stiffened, making his crossed arms display more muscle than before. The blond glared daggers at the bespectacled boy, and for a brief moment Kyoya thought he was about to be told off for sticking his nose in other people's business or perhaps even punched.

But just as quickly as Beni's defenses came in, the boy wilted. He sighed, "I guess I should tell someone… if you all noticed it. Do you remember that internship Gorou had over the summer?"

Kyoya nodded.

"Well, he really enjoyed it and the company liked him. So… they offered him a scholarship for one of the elite schools closer to their multinational headquarters… in Finland." Beni completely deflated, leaning against the tree behind him and letting his hair hang down in his face, "At first… he thought about turning it down, but I talked him out of it. Finland has  _ amazing _ schools, and it was his dream. He's gone up to that country at least three times before now and he loves it up there. But… well…"

A loud peal of laughter interrupted him, and the two boys looked up to see Hiroshi hanging upside down from a branch, Kaoru almost falling out as he continued to laugh. But the happy atmosphere didn't have the faintest effect on Beni's mood.

"We tried to keep our relationship going for a while, but two weeks ago I… I told myself I wasn't being fair, forcing Gorou to keep our relationship in the back of his mind. I was worried about him cheating, he was worried about me cheating, and we're both too busy to be thinking about each other every second of every day. He never told me he felt that way, but he didn't have too. So… I told him we should take a break."

Kyoya blinked. He hadn't expected that. From the one day he'd seen Beni and Gorou together, he'd known that they harbored some very deep feelings for each other.

"What did he say?"

"Well… he was half-panicked, half-relieved. But he told me he still really liked me… and that distance shouldn't stop us if we wanted to be together. So we decided to make it an 'open-relationship'. When… I mean,  _ if _ he comes back to Japan… then I guess we'll see."

The two regressed back into silence, watching as Kaoru finally fell from the tree and Jin made a big show about being more concerned about the tree than him. He and his twin playfully tackled the girl, only managing to bring her to her knees before Mori hauled them off by the back of their shirts, like kittens.

"I'm sorry."

Beni chuckled, but it was a hollow sound, "For what? You didn't have any role to play in our decision. Just don't tell Jin, please? I want to tell her what happened myself."

"Even so," the blond blinked as he was pulled into surprisingly sincere eye-contact, "I'm sorry that it happened to you. I hope things work out." Beni manages a small smile, but a nagging thought stops him from smiling fully.

"Hey… you alright?"

"Of course."

"No, something's off. You're a lot more emotional than I thought you'd be."

"Am I? Must be my own relationship. Jin does seem to make me more emotional about certain things… such as other people's experiences. Is that a bad thing?"

The third-year snapped his fingers, "That's it. You're comparing my story to you and Jin, aren't you?" Kyoya didn't respond, so Beni shook his head and laughed a little, "Hey man, don't do that. Jin likes you  _ way _ too much for you to be worried about that. Seriously, she did nothing but talk either to you or about you all summer long. You two… I think you'll be together for a really long time. I mean, come on, she probably spent hours pestering her dad just to let you come here today."

Finally, Kyoya's smirk reappeared on his face, "I believe she said it only took 46 minutes before Ranka promised to not attempt to interfere with us. Though his punishment for not following the rules almost gave him a stroke."

"Punishment?"

The ravenet smirked a little wider, drawing out that faint 'evil' streak he managed to hide so well, "If Ranka breaks any of Jin's rules for today, she will no longer honor his 'No Co-Ed sleepovers' Rule of Boyfriends."

Beni snorted, "Oh man… oh  _ man _ … I would've  _ paid _ to see his face! That's a surefire way to make sure Ranka behaves himself, huh?"

"You would think so. Unfortunately-"

"Hey, are you two wallflowers done gossiping? We're ready to head back to the barn!"

Jin was walking over to the two of them, all smiles and laughter that made her eyes dance with light. Kyoya took one step in her direction when Honey collided with the girl's side, babbling about donuts and cider and the other attractions on the farm that they had yet to partake in. The brunette sent an apologetic look at her boyfriend over her shoulder as she was herded back the way they had come.

Beni's eyebrows reached his bangs, "Ranka?"

"Ranka."

"Maybe Ranka will be our always."

Kyoya looked at the older boy in utter confusion, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing, just a book reference. Go on. I need to talk to Haruhi about this little… problem you and Jin have."

The way the other boy said that produced numerous possibilities in Kyoya's head, but he decided that, for once, he'd let someone else sort out the Host Club. He couldn't  _ always _ be the one to make them not act like idiots. So, he simply walked after his girlfriend and her make-shift bodyguards. After all, he was a little intrigued with the notion of apple cider.

* * *

 

_"I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I´m sure~_

_ And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door~ _

_ Now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself do-own! _

_ Cause I just can't wait till you write me you're coming around... _

_ I'm walkin' on Sunshine~ _

_ Woah-oah! _

_ I'm walkin' on Sunshine~ _

_ Woah-oah! _

_ I'm walkin' on Sunshine~ _

_ Woah-ah-oh! _

_ And don't it feel good? _

_ Hey!" _

Jin continued singing the trumpet hits as she danced on top of the hay bales. They were technically supposed to be lining the little maze for the younger children to enjoy, but the tall brunette was enjoying jumping over the grass and jamming out to the song in her head. There wasn't anyone else around, so why not? Every so often, she'd have to pause to let Honey-senpai run in front of her, but neither of them really bothered each other.

"Nēchan!"

Spinning around, the brunette quickly located her sister. When she recognized the location, her heart jumped for joy. Jumping daintily off of the hay, Jin started running towards her. Haruhi was waiting at the top of a hill, bouncing on the balls of her feet. It wasn't a very tall hill, as far as hills went, but it was big enough to be a somewhat popular place to go for sledding in the winter, and long enough to accommodate plenty of sleds. There wasn't any snow on it now, of course, but that didn't bother the Fujioka's  _ at all. _

Jin finally reached the crest of the hill, 'Walking on Sunshine' still being hummed from behind her lips, though it was much jerkier as she tried to breathe evenly. But the girl was smiling, and so was her little sister.

"Ready?"

Haruhi nodded, quickly laying down along the crest of the hill and pushing herself down. Jin watched for a while, seeing Haruhi's form slowly shrink the further she got, rolling a little to the left before disappearing into the huge pile of leaves that had been dumped at the bottom of the hill. Then it was her turn.

As the world regressed into dirt, sky, dirt, sky, dirt, Jin tried to repress the urge to laugh. The last time she'd laughed while rolling down this hill, she'd ended up with a mouthful of grass and probably more bugs than she even wanted to think about. From somewhere around the general vicinity, she heard a boy call out her name. It wasn't Kyoya. Probably one of the twins.

_ Whish. _

The world was thrust into darkness. Jin had ended up on her stomach, so she propped herself up on her elbows. Big brown eyes just barely peeked up above the pile of dead leaves, proving how deep it really was. From her hiding place, seeing as there was a blanket of leaves still covering the top of her head, she saw Haruhi trying to shake small flakes of leaves out of her short hair, either sitting up or at least kneeling to keep her head in the air.

Pushing herself up onto her knees, Jin looked up the hill and crossed her arms, fingers gently rubbing at the leaf fragments still stuck to her skin. The twins were rolling down the hill now, Tamaki running up to the top to join in on the fun. Hiroshi popped his head out of the leaves a little ways past Haruhi's spot just in time to have Beni run into him. Honey and Mori probably weren't far behind everyone else, but where was-

"Looking for someone?"

Jin looked behind her as best as she could, seeing a familiar hand offering itself to her. For a moment, she considered taking it. After all, she could feel the cold dirt/mud/decomposing leaves combo soaking through the knees of her jeans, which wasn't the greatest feeling in the world, and with the other boys distracted she might get to actually touch her boyfriend for the first time since they started this 'adventure'.

Then she got a better idea.

Jin turned around to sit properly on the ground, even though her butt was probably going to get just as dirty as her knees now were, and held out her hands, fingers splayed. Kyoya smirked at the needy position, but obliged in grabbing her hands. Except instead of pulling his girlfriend up onto her feet, she pulled him  _ down. _

Jin sort of swung Kyoya down to her left side. The leaves cushioned his fall, even though they immediately started attaching themselves to his expensive dark green sweater and black pants, slipping into his shoes and poking him through his socks in the way that only leaf piles can do. But before he could even get mad, the brunette placed her head on his chest, looping her right arm around his waist and hooking her right leg over his.

For a brief moment, Kyoya remained frozen. It was like he'd fallen into a different dimension. He could smell nothing but decaying leaves and Jin's mint scented shampoo/ conditioner. The sky above them was a perfect crystal blue, not a cloud to be seen and neatly framed by red and orange leaves that were piled up around him. It was a bit chilly today, even with his sweater and long pants, and now the dead leaves and cold ground beneath them were slowly pulling out his body warmth. The only warm parts of his body were where Jin's head rested gently in the middle of his chest and his cheeks. And it was… peaceful.

It was only when the furtive itching on the back of his neck from the leaves was too much to bear that he even bothered to move at all. Jin lifted her head as he shifted beneath her, a sheepish smile on her face as she awaited his verdict.

Chuckling deeply, he looped his own arm around her waist, pulling her over so she straddled his lap, throwing browning leaves all over himself in the process. Jin flushed at the suggestive position, which only deepened when he guided her down for a chaste kiss. He released her chin as the kiss ended, and she rested her forehead against his, noses tapping against each other with every shift. Kyoya was still staring upwards, but instead of that large sky he only saw dark brown eyes and thick lashes calming batting out a rhythm against his glasses frames. For a moment, he considered pulling them off, but the idea of doing anything that required energy didn't exactly appeal to him at the moment. Jin seemed to agree, her eyes sliding shut and a long breath escaping her nose. The boy hummed in response, bringing his hand up to cover hers, where they were resting on his shoulders.

Then Jin's leaf-filled hair fell to one side and in between Kyoya's barely parted lips.

The boy jolted upright, pushing Jin up with him. As soon as her eyes opened she realized what had happened and started laughing. Kyoya wiped at his mouth, turning to the side and spitting out leaf fragments.

"Maybe you should take a note from your sister! That's the fifth time I've  _ eaten _ your hair in the past  _ month! _ "

Jin laughed harder, looping her arms around his neck and returning her forehead to its original position. Kyoya wanted to scowl, but he couldn't find the will to with his girlfriend's apple cider breath puffing warmly against his own lips. Casting a glance to the side, where the others had all gathered in the rest of the leaves to play, he looked for the warning signs that they would be interrupted yet again today.

The only person giving them even the slightest bit of attention was Haruhi.

When the shorter girl noticed Kyoya's eyes on her, she smiled and rolled her eyes, turning around and tackling Hiroshi into a deeper pile of leaves, making Beni lunge over to 'save' his baby brother.

Knowing what receiving permission looked like, Kyoya returned his attention back to the girl straddling his lap. She stopped laughing quickly once his lips were on hers. Pulling away again, the two went back to their quiet forehead-touch-cliché. Occasionally their lips would brush, but for the most part they just enjoyed the body warmth blossoming in the space between their chests. As much as Kyoya liked it when Jin sang, or danced, or talked about everything and nothing at the same time, he was also a big fan of a little quiet time with her. Reading, working, studying, and just listening to her breathing while their friends frolicked nearby could almost be considered gifts to the ravenet.

Because when you're a part of the Ouran Highschool Host Club, quiet times are short and hard to come by.

Case of point:

"Dogpile the Lovebirds!"

That was their only warning before Hikaru and Kaoru flopped into Jin's side. Kyoya winced as his forehead and nose were harshly knocked against the brunette's before she was swallowed up by the leaves on his left, Hikaru quickly following. Kaoru, who had been behind his brother, ended up awkwardly sprawled out over both Kyoya and Hikaru's legs.

The younger twins wisely got off of the second year as fast as possible, but his older brother was a little slower in his actions. He pushed himself up onto his hands, a huge smile on his face while muffled foreign curses sputtered out from beneath the huge pile of leaves.

"Jin-senpai?" Hikaru managed around his laughter, "Where'd you go?"

He shifted his left hand closer to his right, trying to find the girl beneath him, and suddenly the leaves exploded upwards.

"Ow!" Hikaru rubbed at his upper arm, trying to wave off his brother. "Geez, Jin! I'm glad you missed my face!"

The girl finally managed to maneuver herself back up onto her elbows. Her face was flushed and clothes mused, head covered in more leaves than hair, but her eyes were angry. Hikaru and Kaoru were quelled by the look. Kyoya thought the whole ensemble was pretty cute.

"Next time you dogpile me while I'm with my boyfriend, I  _ won't _ miss."

Of course, Hikaru's shout had captured everyone's attention. The large pile of leaves went  _ whish, whish, whish _ as they all waded towards the small party of four. Jin shifted closer to Kyoya and laid her head against his shoulder with a dull  _ crunch _ , still recovering from the attack.

One look at Jin's angry face and Beni clapped his hands, "O-kay. How about we head on back inside. It's getting  _ chilly _ out here."

Jin and the twins wrinkled their noses in unison.

"That was a bad pun, Ben-kun."

"Really bad."

The blond nodded his head solemnly, "I will heed your words, but I have no regrets. And at least you three agreed on something. Now come on, I want some more cider."

* * *

 

On the outside, the barn that reigned supreme over the entire orchard looked like those typical red-door barns that you see in children's coloring books. Nothing especially flashy, but homey.

The inside was not nearly as simple, though it was definitely still homey.

Perfectly swept oak floorboards, warm air beating down towards the middle of the room from all directions, and the scent of donuts baking wafted into the main room from the bakery in the back was the all-important first impression. Then you saw all the photos lining the walls, newspaper articles of the orchard occasionally dotted among them like a timeline. There were chairs and tables littered around the large open space, a few buckets of children's toys placed in the far corner, and piles of fruits and vegetables waiting to be bought filled in the last of the space, save for the cash register and stand for cider and donuts.

The group of thirteen were sitting at the four tables closest to the left wall, perfect for when they all needed another round of cider. The elderly woman behind the register was happily chatting with them from her position, having grown instantly fond of the host club boys when they all tried a sip of her family's apple cider and immediately began praising it. Her husband and son had poked their heads out from the bakery long enough to tell the boys they now had choice but to come back again.

Mikio and Aika Arai were chatting amicably with Jin and Haruhi, catching up with the two girls. Beni and Hiroshi had told them a lot about their summer together, but they hadn't been  _ completely _ honest. Jin was all too happy to fill in some of the blanks, to Beni's horrified looks. His father busted up laughing when Jin recounted how she had taunted her best friend with his old hair fashion.

The hosts tossed in their two cents on occasion, but they mostly just listened and drank their cider. Well, most of them drank their cider. Honey was more focused on swallowing as many donuts as were available to him. His cousin was keeping a mental tally of the dough balls Honey had consumed, and he was close to breaking twenty.

Ranka was quieter than the others, if that was possible. While it might seem out of character for the Fujioka's father, he was too busy trying to figure out what Tamaki wasn't telling him. He had given the blond idiot a very  _ clear _ job; monitor Jin and Kyoya, and try to keep their physical contact to a minimum. Yet, as soon as the ten teenagers came back into the barn, covered in leaves and giggling among themselves, he had noticed that the two were hovering very close to each other, hands clasped together. Tamaki was refusing to meet his eyes.

Still, the two looked happy. Maybe that was the reason?

As the man narrowed his eyes further, trying to discern whether Jin was holding the ravenet's hand beneath the table they were seated at, his vision was momentarily blocked by the Hitachiin twins running around in front of him. He briefly noted them, wondering if they ever ran out of energy, before returning to his original activity.

Hikaru and Kaoru didn't care much that they were getting in people's way. The two were hopped up on cider and donuts and the extra energy they hadn't managed to work off when they were in the leaves. Hikaru wanted to run back outside, but Kaoru complained it wouldn't be any fun without someone else with them. And by the looks of everyone else, that wasn't happening whether they taunted Tamaki or not. So, they amused themselves by looking at the photographs pinned up all around the room. Most of them were sweet ones, some silly, and some downright ridiculous.

Hikaru had barely recovered from the photo with the scarecrow in the bridal gown when another picture caught his eye. His laughter slowly tapered off until he was silently staring at the photo. Kaoru noticed his brother's strange expression and joined him. The twins tilted their heads, confused.

They couldn't put their finger on it, but something about the people in the photo looked a little familiar. Yet they don't recognize them either. There were four people sitting down on the hay bales that had been piled up just outside the back of the barn. A mother, father, and their two children, all brunettes. Then Kaoru's eyes widened.

"...Hikaru?"

"Yeah?"

"Doesn't that lady look a lot like Haruhi?"

Instantly it's like the photo had been thrust under a microscope. The man was Ranka, a few years younger and without his makeup or long red hair. That meant the woman was… the late Mrs. Fujioka. And the two little girls sitting on their laps, grinning cutely at the camera…

"Awwww! Haruhi and Jin-senpai were so  _ cute! _ "

"WHAT?"

The rest of the host club surrounded the twins before you could say 'oops', staring intensely at the wall until they all spotted the same photograph. Then they lapsed into silence, absorbing the image into their memories.

Behind them, Haruhi and Jin approached much slower. They looked at the same photo until Jin had to turn away. Her little sister placed a consoling hand on her upper arm, but she knew it wasn't just for comfort. Every year the Fujioka's came for apple picking, they would try to avoid The Picture.

Jin was five years old in The Picture, and even now, at age seventeen, it still made her throat tighten to see her mother in The Picture. Frozen in time. Smiling, with the cusp of a laugh on her lips. Like it wasn't less than a month before she collapsed in the middle of the shopping mall, her whole body feverish. Like it wasn't less than a year before she passed away, Jin clutching and shaking her hand until she had to be carried from the room, crying for her mother. Like it wasn't the most recent photograph that Jin and Haruhi had of her, smiling and without a million medical tubes sticking out of her.

" _ Jin? _ "

The girl hiccuped, holding back a fresh wave of tears, "I'm fine."

Kyoya frowned. Looked back at the photograph, then at his girlfriend. Haruhi's hand on Jin's upper arm had tightened. The ravenet realized that, not only was Haruhi comforting Jin without overwhelming her, but the grip was also a grounding method. Keeping Jin from tumbling down into memories of her deceased mother.

The picture of their family was hurting her.

First thought that came to mind: Get rid of it.

Of course, Kyoya quickly dismissed that idea. Even if it was a painful memory, it was important. Jin had told him about how her family had been coming to this orchard since before she was even born. Everything about this place, even the picture of her mother, was important and kept her memory alive. Getting rid of the picture would cause far more harm than good.

However, it was her family from the past. As far as he could tell, there were no recent pictures of the Fujioka's. Probably because it would've been another heartbreaking reminder that their mother was not with them.

Except… what had Jin once told him? It was a quote from that television show 'Supernatural'. She had really liked that quote…

" _ Family doesn't end in blood. _ "

"Kyoya?" He'd spoken out loud without meaning to. Whoops. The ravenet looked up, face blank as he tried to bring up the idea. Jin no longer looked to be on the verge of tears, at least. More curious as to why her boyfriend had zoned out and whispered something that she hadn't managed to catch. "What are you thinking, Glasses?"

"I think it might be time for your family to take another picture."

Haruhi and Jin's face flashed with pain, their eyes glancing over to The Picture and back, "Kyoya-senpai… it's an idea, I guess, but-"

"It wouldn't be the same… just the three of us."

"Three? I believe the number you are trying to pronounce is 'thirteen'." Jin just looked confused now, so Kyoya took her hands, "Family doesn't end in blood, right?"

Oh boy, now she looked like she was really about to cry.

Jin's lower lip quivered before she shot forward, hugging Kyoya around his neck, " _ Yeah… yeah, you're right. _ "

*Time Skip*

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Can't you two sit still for  _ five seconds? _ "

"Nope!"

Tamaki growled and tried to get up, but one look at Ranka and he quieted down.

"Come on, you two! Settle down! It's gonna get dark soon and we have to take this picture  _ now! _ " The Hitachiins finally sighed, slipping down one hay bale onto their seats, but not looking happy about it. Jin just smiled and faced the front again.

All thirteen members of their little party were seated in a triangle-like pattern on the hay bales. From left to right in the front was Kyoya, Jin, Haruhi, Hiroshi, and Beni. In the spaces between his daughters was Ranka. To the right was Mikio and Aika, beside their sons, and to the left was Takashi, with Honey on his back. Behind them, there Tamaki, then Kaoru, and finally Hikaru. Tamaki had tried to make a fuss that Kyoya was in the front with Jin and he wasn't sitting by Haruhi, but Kyoya had mentioned that he was  _ dating _ Jin. The blond's face flushed a bright red and he quieted down.

Behind the camera was the same woman from the checkout counter. Her son had stepped in for her while they took the photo, but they were only five minutes away from closing time so it almost wasn't necessary.

"Okay, everyone, just a few more adjustments! Haninozuka-san, could you lean to your left a little more please? Perfect! Ah... all of you scooch closer to the middle. Come on, act like you like each other! Perfect! Now, get ready... and... smile!"

Kyoya gave the camera his usual closed lip smile, but his left hand was suddenly given a warm squeeze, lithe fingers tangling themselves with his. In the split second before the flash went off, his lips parted into a slight grin. Not overly flirty, like the one he shared with the girls at school, just a little small smile with his top row of teeth.

He turned to face his girlfriend, who was conveniently looking off into the distance.

"You did that on purpose."

"I just wanted a bigger smile from you, Glasses."

He rolled his eyes and stood, helping Jin onto her feet beside him, "Fine. If all you wanted was the smile then I suppose I'll let that one slide."

"No, no, no! Don't go too easy on her, Kyoya-senpai!"

"Soon  _ no one _ will be frightened of you! She's making you soft!"

The ravenet glanced up at the twins, who were climbing over Tamaki's lap, despite his protests, and smirked, "I suppose that could become a problem. But even so, I'm sure Jin will take my place at the top of their fears."

Jin stuck her tongue out at him before walked off, hand still entwined with Kyoya's, "Shut up. Let's head back to the station. Bye, Ben-kun! Bye, Hiroshi! I'll text you about that coffee date later!" The Arai boys waved back, splitting away from the group with their parents as everyone started heading home. Kyoya didn't say anything, however, content with simply walking beside Jin and thinking about coming back to the orchard next year and finding their photograph among all the others. The idea left a warm spot in his chest.

Behind them was a different story, Ranka 'sneakily' berating Tamaki for not following along with their plan.

" _ Our poor third wheel can't catch a break today, can he? _ "

Jin's laughter echoed across the rest of the orchard.

 


	43. Mori-senpai Has an Apprentice Candidate!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ritsu Kasanoda attempts to navigate the Host Club and the member's ties to each other while also trying to fix his own problems... and in the end making a situation much worse for himself than he started with.

 

Haruhi tilted her head to the side, watching Tamaki and his first guests of the day interact. He was talking in a low voice, slipping into a slightly different dialect that didn't quite fit his french accent. But that didn't seem to matter to anyone else. The girls in front of him still wiggled around in delight. In the end, Haruhi just added it to her mental list of 'Reasons I Don't Understand Other Girls'.

Frowning, she looked down at her outfit. It was a light blue hakama, very loose fitting around her legs and upper body. As she continued to inspect it, something swept against her cheek. Sighing, Haruhi lifted her head, her fake ponytail swinging as it fell back into place. The extension felt weird. Even though she used to have long hair, very rarely had she ever put it up, and never in such a high ponytail. Also, fake hair doesn't feel as nice against skin as real hair. Just a fact.

' _ Late Edo period samurai'. Exactly how is this appealing to the girls at this school? _ The brunette plucked at a piece of lint that had attached itself to her sleeve.  _ Why did Renge pick this as our cosplay? I would've thought she'd pick something more… flashy. _

Haruhi heard a particularly loud chorus of shrieks and saw Tamaki darkly eyeing a small group of girls who had wandered too close. Her left eyelid twitched and she asked her questions out loud.

"You're serious?"

"Don't you know that a lot of girls are totally fascinated by the late Edo era?"

"Well, Nēchan thought it was an interesting topic when she first learned about it, but other than her I can't say I've noticed."

The twins rolled their eyes, "You and your sister should never be used as an example for the general populous."

"Wait… where  _ is _ Nēchan?"

Kaoru lifted a hand, pointing over to a far corner, "Where else? The guests have been requesting her and Kyoya-senpai left and right."

True to the redhead's words, the Power Couple was off by their lonesome, standing in front of each other. Or… 'lonesome' was a bit of a stretch. From behind a nearby wall, the 1st year students could see at least seven girls watching them, and there were probably plenty more behind the three other walls that somewhat separated Jin and Kyoya from the others.

Inching closer, Haruhi noticed the way Jin's hands wrung tightly around a broom, her apron skirt shifting as her right foot shifted around the tile. Renge had refused, point-blank, to let the elder Fujioka dress as a samurai. She said it would've ruined the historical aspect of the cosplay, so the tall brunette was playing the role of a maid at the Ikeda Shop, instead.

On a side note, she was also playing the role of a maid who had fallen in love with a samurai. Three guesses as to who was filling  _ that _ role.

The girls they could see were whispering and giggling amongst themselves as Jin ducked her chin into her chest, having just finished her 'confession'. It had been a really short one. A simple "don't go", but it was efficient and cute. Their audience held their breath as Kyoya cupped Jin's chin, redirecting her gaze back up to him.

"You're a foolish girl… you realize I am forbidden from love? And you are forbidden from loving me?"

Jin's lips trembled, but her voice was steady as she replied, "Yes… foolish."

The brunette looked away, but Kyoya kept a light grip on her face, not allowing her to turn her head. He regarded her for a moment before smirking, more for the benefit of the guests watching their interactions than anyone else's. He leaned in close, reclaiming Jin's attention. They froze like that, making the guest's freeze.

" _ I suppose that makes me a fool, too. _ "

One of the girls squealed, a sound mirrored from behind another wall off to the right. Haruhi rolled her eyes before pretending to vomit into the nearest trash can. The twins nodded along with her reaction, but in total honesty they were a little bit impressed. Looks like the Power Couple played the 'Forbidden Love' card just as well as they did… though they'd never admit it.

From the middle of the 'room', the couple was still acting out the scene. Jin blinked a few times, like she was trying to process Kyoya's confession.

"You…. you mean…"

"Yes?" Kyoya moved closer, his hands gently caressing her cheeks.

"Are y _ - _ " Jin snorted suddenly, eyes squeezing shut as she pushed one hand against his chest, her other hand attempting to muffle her snickers. Her boyfriend paused, confused.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No, it's just…" she snickered again before gesturing to the back of her head, where her hair had also been pulled up into a high ponytail, "Your hair…" The ravenet frowned, reaching up to smooth out the extension.

"What about it?"

She didn't respond immediately, too busy laughing. The girls around them were talking with each other, a few somewhat disappointed Jin wasn't in character any more, but also a bit curious as to why she'd broken character in the first place. Kyoya's hair? What was funny about it?

Finally, she took in a deep breath, peeking up at the ravenet through her eyelashes, "I just… I'm remembering the last time you had a fake ponytail…" Jin almost doubled over, laughter even louder now that Kyoya's cheeks had tinted pink.  _ Oh… right. _

The ravenet made a mental note to smack Tamaki once again for forcing him and the other hosts into dresses, makeup, and long hair last May.

The guests were still watching them, evil curiosity for what made the almighty Kyoya Ootori blush glinting in their eyes. The ravenet was suddenly cautious. If they tried to ask the twins for information… the twins that were grinning widely at him from only a few feet away… he had to change the subject of gossip. Now.

_ Bam! _

Jin's laughter was cut short. She gasped as her back collided with a nearby wall, hard enough to jar her, but soft enough to not hurt. Her wrists were in a tight grip, held high above her head. Half of the music room fell silent.

" _ AAAAHHHHHHHHH! _ "

Haruhi ducked her face back into the garbage can as Hikaru and Kaoru rushed to catch the girl who promptly fainted. The others were hopping up and down, screaming and holding each other.

Jin and Kyoya were the only ones who remained still. The brunette's eyes were wide in surprise. She tried to twist her wrists experimentally, but Kyoya held fast, keeping her pinned to the wall. Eventually the surprise faded, leaving only a questioning eyebrow in its wake. Amused, Kyoya readjusted his grip, drawing a little closer so they could whisper.

" _ I know that you could easily break free, but would you mind playing along for now? _ "

" _ Why would I want to leave? I can list twenty girls off the top of my head who would pay good money to be where I am now. _ "

The ravenet chuckled, " _ That may be, but I can think of only one girl I'd find pleasure from recreating this moment in a more… private setting. _ " Jin shivered, breath catching in her throat. Her tongue darted out along her bottom lip, an action that did not escape Kyoya's attention.

"Alright, Lovebirds! You've made your point! Think you can call it a day?"

"I don't think Haruhi ate enough lunch to endure much more of this."

Jin rolled her eyes, the moment gone, "Then maybe Haru shouldn't  _ watch _ ." Even so, she pushed herself away from the wall, breaking Kyoya's grip on her wrists without much of a struggle. The two exited the make-believe world they'd created for their guests just as Haruhi "recovered".

She wrinkled her nose, "That was quite a history lesson, Nēchan. I was unaware you were actually playing the role of a concubine..."

A mock gasp is her reward, but Kyoya merely pulled out his journal, scribbling down a few notes as he talked, "You can thank Renge for that performance, incidentally. Her idea to not cast ourselves in particular roles was quite the stroke of genius. The guests can fantasize freely today, but they seem to like a little bit of our personal lives to be thrown in, regardless of the… minor historical inaccuracy"

" _ Minor. _ Good grief."

"Oh, come on, baby sister!" Jin's smile was trained on Haruhi, but as she spoke her right hand occasionally darted upwards to bat at Kyoya's fake ponytail, making it swing from side to side. "Just because  _ you're _ outfit actually reflects a specific character doesn't mean the  _ rest _ of us can't have a little fun with our roles."

"Odd, but I'm still weirded out whenever I see my older sister kissing the scary guy who controls our debt." The taller girl rolled her eyes reaching up to the back of Kyoya's head when he suddenly snagged her wrist for the second time in the past hour. Unconcerned, she met his hard gaze with an innocent smile.

"Does it truly bother you  _ that _ much?"

She hummed, "Not really. I'm slowly getting used to it actually. It works for you." The ravenet huffed and held their eye contact for a moment longer before releasing her wrist. Though he did offer a miniscule smile when he was rewarded with a kiss to the cheek.

Jin winked at her sister, who was pretending like she wanted to run back to the trashcan, "He's not so scary. And I thought you said you-" Jin stopped. Her head whipped to the right just as Mori grabbed a spear resting nearby and stabbing the point straight through one of the fake walls.

The girls swooned.

The hosts gasped.

"Mori-senpai?"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

"Why the sudden lunge?"

"What's going on?"

Jin walked over to her old friend, the others trailing behind at a safe distance. She raised an eyebrow at Mori who calmly pulled the weapon out of the wood, gesturing her towards it with a slight head incline. The brunette stepped forward to push the wall aside.

"We have a trespasser."

The eight high schoolers looked through the opening Jin had just made. Sure enough, a very angry-looking boy was sitting on the floor, glaring up at them. He was a red-head, but unlike the twin's ginger-orange hair, his was actually bright red. Like a stop sign.

His face scrunched up even more before he launched himself up off the floor.

"TAKASHI MORINOZUKA!"

Everyone but Mori took a hurried step back, and Jin couldn't help but give him credit for sticking with his stoic expression. The mystery boy's face looked bloodthirsty! If Jin had seen someone with  _ that  _ expression jumping out at her, she would've screamed and kicked his face in without a second thought!

"...senpai!" Jin blinked as the boy humbly bowed, face practically kissing the tile, "Please, take me on as your apprentice!"

…

…

…

"Huh?"

Even Mori was momentarily struck dumb (though you had to look really close to be able to tell that's what it was) as the boy kept his position on the floor. Jin stared at the strange boy for a few moments, up at her friend, then back down.

"Maybe we should close up shop… this sounds like another adventure."

* Time Skip *

"Ritsu Kasanoda. Class 1-D. Heir to the third generation head of the Kasanoda syndicate… the most powerful gang in the continental area."

"Huh."

"He was admitted only this past year into Ouran Academy. Bright red hair, fixed expression, and very reserved. Has few friends. His classmates call him 'The Walking Blizzard'." Jin, who was reading the paper over Kyoya's shoulder from her place behind the couch, smiled a little when he skipped over the words that read 'mean appearance', 'bad dreams for three months', and 'end up in the hospital'. Looks like he was learning a few things about hurting people's feelings. She was tempted to kiss his cheek again, but abstained.

"Seriously? Why would a human weapon like yourself want to be Mori-senpai's apprentice?"

Ritsu looked blankly at the six of them. His expression was still hard, but the longer Jin looked at him the less it seemed to be true anger. More… resting bitch face.

Finally he sighed, looking at the floor as he spoke, "Could you not call me a human weapon? Yeah, I may look tough, but that's not  _ who _ I am. I was just… y'know, born with a mean lookin' face."

"Well at least you're aware of it, Casanova."

"Kasanoda."

"Right, but back to it, Casanova-"

"IT'S KASANODA! DO YOU WANNA DIE?"

Jin didn't even blink when three pairs of hands were suddenly gripping at her skirt and school jacket. Though it was kinda cute how Haruhi started looking around for the blond who had been sitting beside her not two seconds ago.

Immediately the red-head jolted, his eyes widening apologetically before he withdrew back into his seat cushion. The action took the edge off his fierce expression, if only for a moment. "Sorry about that. This  _ always _ happens! Ever since I was born!" He put his head in his hands, a whole backstory tumbling out of his mouth. The hands released Jin one by one. Hikaru and Kaoru's because they were bored. Tamaki's because he was interested.

Jin amused herself with watching Kyoya attempt to write every detail he could. Every time Kasanoda took a break for effect, the brunette reached down, plucked the pencil from Kyoya's grip and scribbled a word or two he had missed before returning the utensil.

But when Kasanoda mentioned how lonely he was, she stopped. Loneliness. That was something she understood perfectly.

"It's like they forget I'm just a kid, like everyone else. I don't- I just… wanna play, sometimes."

"Play?"

Kasanoda jolted, staring at the pretty girl who had just sat beside him. A small glance to the side told him the other hosts were just as surprised as he was, except for the one brown-haired boy sitting on the other couch.  _ Wait, aren't they siblings? _ Ritsu didn't pay much attention to the rumor mill at the school, having been a subject of it for so long, but he did know about the two scholarship students. A brother and sister who had top marks in their classes and were extremely popular due to their involvement in the host club. But he couldn't remember their names.

"Uh… y-yeah." He found himself staring into her big brown eyes, and was surprised to not see any fear in them.

"What kind of games do you want to play?"

Another moment of hesitation, "Kick the Can."

She smiled and chuckled, "Pretty awesome game. Good choice."

"Thanks." He tried for a smile, but a cleared throat to his right brought him back to reality, "But I don't have anyone to play with. So… it's not like I can find out for myself. I don't know how to interact with regular people! Morinozuka-senpai… that's why I need your help!"

Jin tilted her head as the redhead turned towards the 3rd year.  _ Why Mori-senpai? _

"I need your secret to having so many friends when you're just a mean looking as me!"

_ Oh… boy. _

The ravenet looked flat out offended. His mouth actually fell open as the 1st year continued, "You're expressionless, distant, and hardly ever talk! Plus you've got a mug that looks like a watchdog from Hell, so, how come you've got so many friends? What are you doing that I'm not? Please, teach me your secrets! I'm begging you!"

Jin had her face pressed into the couch arm. She knew she shouldn't be laughing, but Mori's horrified expression was  _ too _ funny! 'Watchdog from Hell'. Priceless!

" _ Hey, Takashi? You okay? _ "

" _ I'm just a little lightheaded. _ "

Jin bit down on her fist, somehow managing to stand up and move closer to the others. They were all staring at Kasanoda from his place on the floor, save for Mori who had his face buried in his hands. The twins muttered something about helping out with the redhead's problem as Jin reached the couch. She crawled onto her knees to peek over the back of the furniture.

"Not this time, gentlemen. Kasanoda wants to be Mori-senpai's apprentice, so it's up to Mori-senpai to decide what to do. We shouldn't get involved in this."

Jin raised an eyebrow and glanced over at her sister. Haruhi met her eyes.

_ Is Tamaki… really  _ not  _ getting involved? _

_ I think so. What brought that on? _

_ Do you think someone talked to him? _

_ I don't think so. If it wasn't you and wasn't me, I doubt it was anyone else. _

"Tamaki?" The hosts looked over at Mori, who lifted his head up and shot them all the biggest 'HELP ME' face he could muster.

"Oh, well, if you insist Mori-senpai, I will do whatever it takes to assist you! Now lift your head, Bossanova!"

"Kasanoda."

"From now on, you may address me as 'King', okay, Bossanova?"

"Ka-san- _ oda. _ "

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!"

"Ah! Yes!"

A slight tap on her side stopped Jin from listening to Tamaki's speal. She glanced down at Kyoya, who was back to staring at his journal. But his right hand was lightly gripping the bottom hem of her jacket.

She spun around to sit properly, "Yeah?"

"It's come to my attention that Kasanoda might not be well informed on what our club entails. He doesn't seem overly familiar with our personalities besides Mori-senpai's. And as he's distanced himself from everyone at this school, it's likely he's out of touch with many of the rumors that circulate the Academy."

Jin tilted her head. All of that may be, but why was Kyoya telling her about this now? Was it really that obvious to everyone else how Kasanoda clearly didn't know her name when she had spoken with him?

Kyoya was quiet for a few seconds. His hand had released her jacket when she'd turned around, but she had grabbed it before he could pull away. The hand was limp in between her fingers as she poked and prodded and bent and traced the lines and joints. He'd always found her interest in fiddling with his hand odd and somewhat cute.

"Kyoya?"

"It's possible he does not know you are 'off the market'."

Jin stopped toying with his pinkie and just stared at him, "Are you… jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous. He hasn't hinted to being interested in you, yet."

The brunette opened her mouth, but just then Tamaki announced, "I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of Mori-senpai's charm comes directly from Honey-senpai!"

"Say what-now?"

"T-takashi?"

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, NO!" The elder Fujioka jumped off the couch and marched to her old friends, leaving behind an unhappy boyfriend. He thought about what she was about to say before Tamaki decided to start insulting their friends.

"You're an idiot."

Kyoya looked over at Haruhi in surprise, "I beg your pardon?"

"Just translating for you, Kyoya-senpai. You wanted to know what she was about to say, right? That was it. Don't worry, though, she meant it in a really endearing way. She calls me an idiot like that sometimes, too."

He couldn't think of a response.

Meanwhile, Jin had scooped up the small blond boy and cradled him, "Don't you dare start thinking that way! Tamaki is just being a moron!" She glared at her classmate as Honey clutched at her neck. Mori-senpai was on his feet, hovering around the boy and girl with more emotion on his face than she could recall ever seeing before.

Tamaki merely ignored the impending meltdown going on behind him, and continued, "Unfortunately for you, I can't let you borrow Honey-senpai as he's in a long-term lease to Mori-senpai."

"TAKASHI, ARE YOU RENTING ME?!"

Jin released Honey as his cousin yanked him out of her arms, frantically shaking his head. Hands newly freed, the brunette marched over to the others and promptly smacked Tamaki upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Would you  _ quit it? _ You're gonna give Honey-senpai nightmares about being abandoned!"

"What?"

Jin pointed over to the 3rd years who both looked to be on the verge of tears, "Look, do what you must to help Kasanoda, but try to stop mentally scarring our friends!"

"Oh. Ah… right then. Hikaru? Kaoru? I have a job for you!"

* * *

 

"Big brother Morinozuka! I wanted to say 'Good Morning' to you!"

Jin paused in her walking, hearing Kasanoda's voice carry across the commons. Kyoya and Haruhi took a few extra steps before realizing the third member of their morning commute wasn't with them. They cut off their conversation about the possible rain shower later in the day and turned back around.

"Nēchan?"

"Check it out."

The three watched as Honey greeted the 1st year… and the resulting scary 'right back at'cha Haninozuka-senpai'. Only Mori-senpai didn't cower in fear.

Jin tilted her head. Something was… off. But it wasn't just because Kasanoda wanted to carry Mori's bag to his classroom. She realized the danger exactly three seconds before the flower pot crashed against the cement where Kasanoda used to be standing.

Thankfully, Mori had sensed the disturbance as well, shoving the 1st year away. Jin ran across the grass towards the other trio. Mori noticed Jin's frantic expression as she approached and, on instinct, shot his arm out in front of him, striking the second pot and sending it flying.

The other students were whispering among themselves when Jin finally arrived.

"What the heck was  _ that? _ " Mori grunted in response, the two of them craning their heads backwards, staring up at the rooftop the plants had fallen from. But there was no one there.  _ Hmmm... _

"Mori-senpai, are you okay?"

"You aren't hurt, are you?"

"Come on, up you get." Kasanoda broke off his eye contact with the broken pot and looked up. The Fujioka girl was offering him a hand, like she intended to help him off the ground. He gave her a confused look, though it probably just looked angry to everyone else. Her expression grew pained for a split second, but that was all he needed. She wanted to help, but his scary appearance was making it hard on her.

"No, it's alright. I'd probably just pull you down with me." Ritsu tried to wave her off, but she grabbed his right hand and yanked, pulling him straight to his feet. He stumbled a bit, but then his mouth dropped open. "Wha… How…"

"I'm stronger than I look." She released his hand and looked over at Mori, "And… I've been Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai's friend for a long time. I suppose you could say I've picked up on a few things."

Kasanoda blinked. So… Fujioka was closer to Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai than he'd known. And if she wasn't afraid of  _ him _ , then she probably wasn't afraid of Morinozuka-senpai when Haninozuka-senpai wasn't around either. Then…  _ oh. _

Embarrassment flooded his being. He should've known.

"So, ah… what's your first name? I don't really know."

"Jin. And my brother is Haruhi. You don't have to call us by our last name, that would be confusing."

"Then, Jin-senpai… I apologize if this question is out of order, but are you and Morinozuka-senpai..." He let the question hang, too embarrassed to ask 'are you taken?'

As it was, Jin's face went from its usual light tan into a really dark blush, "What? Me and Mori? No! Wow… you really don't listen to the rumor mill around the school, do you?"

"What? The rumor mill?"

"I'm dating Kyoya Ootori."

If possible, Kasanoda was more confused than he'd been a few seconds ago, "Ootori-senpai? You mean-"

"Me." Kyoya came up from behind the girl, looping an arm around her waist. Kasanoda felt like he'd been hit upside the head with a bowling ball. Ootori-senpai had been the  _ last _ person he'd expected Jin-senpai to be with. How had  _ that _ happened? Now he was really glad he hadn't explored further into that little crush of his. Ootori-senpai would've had his  _ head _ if he'd developed feelings for his girl.

Ritsu shook his head, trying to shake his thoughts back into order, "Okay, whatever. Right now we have bigger issues. When's the next time the host club meets up?"

* Time Skip *

"Morinozuka-senpai has gotten on someone's bad side! I saw it! They're out for him!"

Jin blinked. That's what he meant by 'bigger issues'? Did he not realize how both of those pots would've hit  _ him _ this morning? As far as she could tell, Mori-senpai wasn't the 'scary-faced' person in danger. Apparently, Tamaki agreed with her train of thought, telling 'Bossanova' to 'not worry his pretty little head about that'. Of course, he wasn't very worried about Kasanoda being injured either, jumping straight into Operation: 'Turn Bossanova into an Angel'. Jin scoffed and plopped down beside her boyfriend, watching as he documented the morning's incident.

"'... _ Bossanova then proceeded to mistakenly assume that Jin Fujioka was in a relationship with the…  _ wrong ravenet?' Really, Glasses?"

"It's true."

"You're an idiot." She kissed his cheek and stood, wandering over to the whiteboard where the others had gathered. Kasanoda hung back, watching in curiosity as Ootori-senpai didn't move for a while before jumping up and following after his girlfriend.  _ So they really are a couple. That's kinda strange. I wonder how that happened… _

"Hey, Kasanoda?" The redhead looked the other way, where the younger Fujioka sibling was smiling at him, holding up a tea tray, "I know it's a little weird talking to the Host Club at first, but you get used to them after a while. That being said… you might want to take their suggestions with a grain of salt. Even with Nēchan over there to get rid of the completely ridiculous ideas, there's only so much she can do, y'know?"

"Well, thank you, I guess. But it's not like I have much of a choice, and Morinozuka-senpai seems to trust them. Um… you're Haruhi Fujioka, right? Jin-senpai's younger brother?"

The brunette smiled a little brighter, "That's right!"

Kasanoda watched as Haruhi set a cup of tea down in front of him, "Thank you, again. But why aren't you helping the others with the plan?"

"They don't need me. And besides, I kinda wanted to talk to you. After all, I was also admitted into Ouran when I got to high school. Guess we're buddies that way."

" _ Buddies? _ "

_ Do I have… a friend now? Why are my cheeks so warm? _

"Haruhi, do you like to play 'Kick the Can'?"

"Eh… not my favorite game in the world. But it might be fun every once in awhile. And I'm sure Nēchan would love to play, too." Haruhi turned to face the redhead fully, a huge smile on her face at the idea of playing with her older sister like they used to when they were kids.

Said smile knock the breath out of the other 1st year.

_ He reminds me of a chick! _

"Bossanova!"

"Yes!" Ritsu almost blushed at how high his voice was, but could you blame him? This entire club was giving him the heebee-geebee's! But at least they were gonna help him out, right?

_ Right?! _

Wrong.

Eight teenagers stared, blank faced, at the boy in front of them. He didn't look any less angry or unapproachable than the first time they'd met him… except now he had on a pair of black kitty-cat ears.

"...A cat-monster."

The hosts nodded along with Honey's declaration and retreated into a circle.

"How did that not work? Renge said-"

"Renge's not right about everything, Tamaki." Jin was holding onto Kyoya's black journal, crossing out idea after idea that had anything to do with animal appendages. Their most recent plan had ruined cat ears for her. She refused to let fake dog-tails join that list.

Tamaki shook his head, "But they're the perfect lovely item!"

"Please, be realistic, kitty ears aren't going to change how people perceive him. He still looks mean."

_ Next item on to-do list: Videotape Kyoya saying 'kitty ears'. _ Jin muffled her laughter as best as she could, receiving a soft poke to her side as the twins pulled out a maid outfit to drive the nail further into the coffin. At that moment, the brunette was all but certain that the hosts weren't really trying. But they  _ were _ pushing for something else. She'd have to ask Tamaki about it later.

"Sorry to bother you, but is the Young Lord Kasanoda in here-"

Everyone froze as a strange boy poked his head in, his eyes bugging as he spotted Kasanoda standing in the middle of the music room wearing kitten ears and a maid dress. Jin couldn't help but shut her eyes and wince. Poor Kasanoda.

Immediately the red-haired boy was in the newcomers' face, vehemently denying that the dress was his idea. His face was red, but it was more embarrassment than anger. And despite how the boy he was towering over looked scared out of his mind… when Kasanoda threw the stupid costume off and bolted from the room, the other boy chased after him. Jin tilted her head.

_ Oh. _

" _ Not an image change… _ "

* * *

 

Jin hummed softly when Haruhi knelt down beside Ritsu. Her sister hadn't hesitated to be the one to talk to the scary boy while the others waited in the shadows, especially since the Fujioka's both knew that Kyoya would be a little against Jin being in that position instead. Still, possessive boyfriend or not, Jin was glad that her sister was taking the opportunity to be someone else's rock. It was a little bittersweet… watching her baby sister grow up.

She leaned back a little, Haruhi looking away from the sparrow in her palms to tell the tall boy about another bird. One who lived at the animal shelter and was the friendliest bird she'd ever known. Jin felt her boyfriend's chest bounce once with a short chuckle from behind her.

"Look out!"

The couple jolted apart, watching with surprise as Honey jumped out from his own hiding spot to kick a can of red paint that was flying through the air. Jin was immediately on the defence. If the blond hadn't kicked that can off it's original course, it likely would've struck the two 1st years. As it was, splashing the red paint all over her sister was a much better alternative.

Jin looked to her left, where the can had come from. She ran off in that direction, hearing Kyoya follow Tamaki in the other direction instead.

The brunette dashed around a corner and saw Mori struggling to hold down two tough looking guys. Without hesitation, she jumped into the fray and quickly had one of the two in an arm lock. With a nod exchanged between the two students, they half marched half dragged the attackers out into the open, insults and slurs falling from the stranger's lips with every step.

"Is this how you wanna play, Kasanoda? Using dirty tricks?" The rest of the club looked over in surprise at the quartet. Kyoya took a step forward when the boy in Jin's grip tried to stomp on her toes, but calmed down when the offender let out a pained scream. The brunette winked at her boyfriend before returning her attention to the guy at her mercy.

Kasanoda walked a little closer, "What's going on? Did you throw that can at us?"

"Don't sound so surprised! First you kidnap our Gang Boss's kid, and now you've set your lackeys on us! Just give us the kid and we'll be outta your hair!"

"Kid?" Jin jerked the other guys' arm, making him whimper, "What kid?"

When neither of the attacker's answered, the twins stepped in, expertly tying the two up tightly. They took the guy in Takashi's grip first, since he was the one still shouting insults, but Jin's hands were freed frighteningly quick all the same. Sometimes the ginger-haired boys made her nervous with how well they could tie up a person.

"Wait… what's going on?"

"Don't you get it? Takashi was never on anyone's bad side. They were after you." Ritsu gaped, eyes wide as they darted between Mori, Honey, Jin, and the two wriggling balls of rope.

"Me? But then… why… you've been helping me this whole time? Why would you do that?"

Mori exchanged an amused glance with his cousin and old friend before patting the 1st year on the head, "We can tell who the bad guys are." Jin couldn't help but grin at how touched the other boy looked with just one sentence.

Looking past the shocked boy, she saw her sister fiddling with her paint covered sleeve. Another chuckle wiggled its way up her throat before she caught her sister's eye.

Haruhi grimaced,  _ I should probably go change. _

_ No kidding. Good thing there are spares for all of us in the changing room. _

_ There are? _

_ Yeah. With all the spills and messes everyone makes, how could we not? _

_ Fair point. _

_ Need some help? _

_ Shut up. _

Breaking eye contact and effectively ending the conversation, Haruhi spun around and started walking back towards the school. She offered a quick comment to Tamaki when he asked where she was going and was released without much of a fuss. Jin felt her lips twitch in amusement when she noticed her own boyfriend cocking an eyebrow at her sister and his best friend. So she wasn't the only one who noticed, huh?

"You  _ dumbasses! _ "

The group startled at the sudden noise. While they'd been distracted, another teenager had joined their midst and kicked the tied up attackers onto their backs. It was the boy who had tried to chase Kasanoda down when he fled their club room. But he looked  _ furious _ now.

"Young lor-"

"Shut up! You've said enough today! Don't you get it? I left on my own, and  _ this _ is why! Now get  _ lost! _ "

The two did their best to scurry away, but ended up just using their feet to wriggle behind a nearby hedge, as they couldn't crawl to their feet fast enough.

"Tetsuya? What's going on? They just called you…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry to tell you this way, but in all honesty I didn't want to tell you at all. Not until I was sure." The boy knelt in front of the 1st year, ignoring the wide eyes staring at him from all angles, "I am Tetsuya Sendo, son of the Godfather of the Sendo syndicate."

He let out a humorless chuckle, "I was always opposed to the cut-throat ways of my syndicate and how my father handled its business. One year ago, I got into a fight with my old man and… I ran away. It was raining. I've never been as afraid or anxious as I was that day, sitting on a dirty sidewalk without even an umbrella. I had nothing. No food. No shelter. Nothing but the clothes on my back. But no one even bothered to help me. They passed by like I didn't even exist."

Tamaki slipped up behind Jin and gripped her school jacket. The brunette didn't even have to look at the boy to know he was holding back tears as best as he could. And she couldn't blame him. Tetsuya's story was a real tear jerker.

"But then I met you, young lord. You stopped and offered me your umbrella. In that first moment of knowing you I could tell what kind of person you were, despite the stories my father had told me about you. In that moment, I knew where I wanted to be. I joined the Kasanoda syndicate, and you welcomed me with open arms. Young Lord… I know of your self-consciousness and you're sometimes more awkward than most people, but you're also more kind-hearted than most people. And not just me, either. Everyone in the whole syndicate knows. They just don't want to embarrass you, so they say nothing."

Tetsuya shifted forward a little bit, "I hope that you'll allow me to remain at your side, Young Lord. I'd like to become more like you… oh! Almost forgot!" He fumbled with his jacket's pocket for a moment before pulling out a small umbrella and offering it, "Your umbrella! That's the whole reason I came here in the first place! It looked like rain and we can't let our Young Lord catch a cold! Everyone would worry themselves sick!"

For a moment, Kasanoda remained still. Like he was still processing all the information that had been thrown in his face. But then he smiled and snatched the umbrella.

"Right. I'll just keep this on me."

The other boy merely snickered, standing up properly, "Yeah, you do that."

"Um…" the red head rubbed the back of his neck, which was slowly growing redder the more his friend smiled at him, "I should… I should apologize to Fujioka- Haruhi! I should tell Haruhi I'm sorry. It is my fault he got paint all over his uniform."

"Haru-chan's back in the club room. We have a few spare uniforms up there for this reason!"

"Oh? Thanks, I'll be right back!"

He glanced at Tetsuya once again before running off, umbrella swinging around in the air. And while they couldn't see it, everyone could hear the smile in his voice when his new friend asked if they could play 'Kick the Can' later on. Jin grinned and patted Mori on his arm.

"So, was that as bad as you thought it would be?"

The 3rd year grunted, but smiled all the same. His eyes flickered over her shoulder a moment before the brunette felt a hot tickle on her ear.

"Jin… perhaps it should be brought to your attention that Kasanoda is off to see Haruhi who is changing clothes?"

The way the girl abruptly stiffened spoke a million words.

*Time Skip *

"Hey, Haruhi? You in here?"

Kasanoda hummed, glancing around the empty music room.  _ Huh. He's probably in the changing room. _ The tall boy walked over to the closest of the two sets of double doors. He peeked in and saw only a kitchen-like setting. Shrugging, he retreated and went to the doors in the back. Knowing Haruhi was behind those doors, he didn't hesitate to walk in.

"Haruhi, I wanted to apologize for-"

He stopped. Haruhi's back was to him, showing off a single strip of cloth stretching across her upper back. A bra strap.

At the sound of a new voice in the room, the brunette slowly looked over her shoulder. Her face went beet red and she clutched the singlet to her chest, "G-get out! Stop staring at me!"

Kasanoda could seem to move. He was frozen, eyes wide, mouth agape.

"Ah… AH… MA!"

_ BAM! _

The next thing he knew, Kasanoda was sprawled out on his butt, back in Music Room 3, and the door leading to the changing room was shut. Leaning against it was Jin Fujioka, but it wasn't the Jin that he knew.

Her head was tilted downwards, brown eyes ice cold as she glared at him. Her shoulders were raised, hair tussled a little from the sprinting it had taken her to get there, and expression murderous. But the worse was an acid green aura that was spreading all around her. The color was practically dripping off her, taking on a more evil appearance. Like the dark green of trees in a horror film.

Through his panic, Kasanoda was brutally reminded of an attack dog from her expression.

"That… was a  _ big _ mistake."

 


	44. The Fujioka's Past!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jin Fujioka's backstory. This has been a long time coming.

 

"Jin-chan? Wake up, sleepyhead. Your daddy's here."

" _ Mmmm… Uh, ba. _ " Pudgy hands wiped clumsily at tired eyes, little Jin Fujioka letting out a really big yawn. And no surprise; it was almost four in the morning!

Maaya Inoue smiled softly as the little girl slowly woke up. Jin was so cute! When her neighbors had asked if she could babysit their daughter at the last minute sometime yesterday afternoon, she hadn't been able to refuse. And besides, Jin was a sweet child. Babysitting the little cutie wasn't even hard to do, and it only made Maaya more excited about starting a family of her own...

When the little girl's big brown eyes opened fully, she offered a happy smile and babbled nonsense, reaching out for her father who had just caught her attention. Ranka rushed over and scooped Jin up out of the temporary bassinet, hugging his daughter close.

"Were you a good girl for Inoue-san?"

" _ Bababababaa… _ " Jin grabbed the tip of her father's nose, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. The man merely grinned wider before turning back to his neighbor.

"Thank you so much for this. I'll be back later today to get the bassinet."

"It was no trouble, Fujioka-san! Jin's a delight!"

"Isn't she though?" Ranka poked at the girl's belly, making her laugh a little before it morphed into another yawn. Suddenly tired, Jin snuggled her face into her father's chest, probably about to fall back asleep. The action was so cute, Ranka felt like his heart might explode. Even at four o'clock in the morning, this was turning out to be a perfect day.

Cheeks beginning to hurt from how big his grin was, Ranka nodded once more to his neighbor before he walked out of the apartment. He got a few steps away before a soft voice called out behind him, "Happy birthday, Jin-chan!"

In the darkness of the early morning, Ranka couldn't see his daughter from her spot against his chest, but did feel her shift a little at the sound of her name. He kissed her brow and whispered his own happy birthday. He'd have to see if the hospital allowed for birthday cakes in their rooms. There was no way he was going to let his daughter experience her first birthday without an actual cake to celebrate!

The train ride to the hospital was quiet and smooth. A few random train-goers cooed over the sleeping girl with her father, but Ranka was too excited and nervous to pay them much attention. He hadn't gotten a single phone call in the half hour he'd been away, but it was still nerve-wracking to leave his wife all alone at the hospital for such a long time. As for the excitement part…

Walking through the whitewashed halls of the fourth floor, Ranka gently woke his daughter once again. She whined a little, but still blinked her cute eyes up at her father in expectation. It was times like these that the man really appreciated being gifted with such a perfect child. Even at just one year old, he could tell Jin would be an amazing person. And that wasn't just because she was his daughter! She was a really pleasant child to be around. Rarely cranky, rhythm oriented, and fairly advanced for such a young age. There was a certain intelligence that shone in her eyes when people spoke to her. Enough so that her father was one of the few family members who still used 'baby-talk' when they doted over her.

The little girl let out another big yawn just as her father opened up one of the many doors in the hallway. The room was quiet and softly lit, the gentle sound of a heartbeat monitor in the corner almost lulling Jin back to sleep.

The two walked closer to where Jin's mother was resting on the hospital bed. The moment she saw her, the little girl babbled a little more and held out her arms. But then she noticed her mom was already holding something else. She blinked a little, curiosity for what was in the bundle of fabric taking over.

Kotoko, noticing how Jin was watching the blankets in her arms, smiled softly and shifted her grip to turn the cloth around.

Instantly, Jin's eyes were glued to the small face peeking out from between her mother's arms. She went still, entranced. A nod passed between her parents before her father softly sat down on the bed, close to her mother's shoulder. Jin was seated in an upright position in her father's lap, eyes still fixed on the small human next to her.

" _ Jin? Meet your little sister. Haruhi. _ "

Being only one year old, the whispered words didn't really mean all that much to her. But the seriousness of her mother's tone did. She continued to stare until Haruhi started to shift. Slowly, the baby blinked it's eyes open, and Jin gasped. Ranka couldn't help but join in, seeing his second daughter's eyes for the first time as well. They were big and brown and soft, just like Jin's.

The two girls continued to stare at each other for a long time before Jin hesitantly reached forward. From within the bundle, there was a slight movement before Haruhi began sniffling. Her big sister withdrew, hurt reflecting in her eyes.

Thankfully, her father could tell what the real problem was. With a slightly trembling hand, he reached over and untucked a small section of the blanket swaddling his second daughter. Haruhi's tiny arm reached out, her eyes still stuck on her big sister. Slowly, so she wouldn't scare her, Jin reached back.

Haruhi didn't hesitate to wrap her fingers around Jin's, and the bigger girl gasped aloud once again. For once, her hand wasn't completely wrapped up in one that was far too big. The hand now resting in hers was actually just a little bit smaller, something she'd never experienced before.

Jin smiled, " _ Ahh...daaba! _ "

At her sister's babbling, Haruhi giggles in that cute, adorable babyish way. Her sister mimics her, continuing to spout out nonsense so her sister would keep laughing.

Just behind them, the sisters were unaware of the tears rushing down their parent's faces. Kotoko looked up at her husband, a watery smile on her lips, "Well… I don't think we'll have to worry about them not getting along."

* * *

"Fujioka-san!" Pausing with one foot on the bottom step leading up to his apartment, Ranka turned around. Of course, as soon as he saw Hisoka Adachi walking closer, his feet were both planted on the cement.

"Hi! Oh, how have you been? I haven't seen you in forever!"

The older man laughed in response, "Not surprising considering you have two little girls in the house. And I've been just fine. Business is booming downtown, I'll probably have to hire some more hands around the shop if it keeps up! But how about you? How're Jin and Haruhi?"

Ranka squealed, clutching the grocery bags close, "Oh, they're just little  _ angels! _ Jin doesn't let her little sister out of her sight!"

"I'm not surprised," Hisoka shook his head, well aware of the Fujioka's antics, "I see the two of them playing around the complex all the time. And wasn't her first word 'Haru'?"

"It was." The brunette pouted, "I'm still not sure whether I should be more upset about that…"

His colleague laughed again, "Well, I should probably head home, now. And you should probably deliver those groceries. It was nice to see you again, Fujioka-san!"

"You too, Adachi-san!"

With a reinvigorated pep to his step, Ranka bounded up the steps to his own apartment. He enjoyed talking with his neighbors, or at least the ones who didn't avoid his dress-wearing self like the plague, and considering his conversations with them always seemed to involve talking about his little girls it was never a burden to exchange a few words with the cohabitors of his complex.

"I'm  _ hoooome~ _ " Hip-checking the door shut, Ranka was immediately gifted with the sight of his wife's smile. Kotoko was currently washing the dishes from lunch, her hands softly scrubbing at the ring of broth left around the inside of a bowl.

"Welcome home, dear!"

"What's with that smile?"

Almost immediately, Kotoko's expression turned mischievous. It was a look that prompted fear in the court rooms of Bunkyo, but only hinted at lovely surprises when seen at home. "I never could hide anything from you." Turning back to the sink full of bubbly water, she tacked on in almost total nonchalance, "Haruhi said her first word while you were out."

The bags in her husband's hands immediately fell to the floor, "She  _ did? _ And I MISSED it!? What did she say?"

"Daddy!" At that moment, little Jin bounded out of the living room, a huge grin on her chubby face and hair swinging side to side, "Daddy! Daddy! Haru said 'Nēchan'! Haru said ' _ Nēchan _ ' _! _ "

Ranka blinked, then looked over at Kotoko. She nodded, a proud 'Mommy' smile on her face. For a moment, the man couldn't think of what to say. So, not only had 'Haru' been Jin's first word, but now her little sister was already calling her 'Nēchan'? His daughters were far closer to each other than he had anticipated.

He took one glance at Jin's face. There was a light pink tinge on her cheeks, her big brown eyes sparkling as she waited for her father to respond. She looked so happy...

Heart efficiently melted, he scooped the little girl up into his arms, "Well then, since you two are so important to each other, you have to promise me one thing, alright?"

Jin nodded, an abnormal amount of understanding in her returning gaze. Absentmindedly, Ranka mourned the fact that his eldest had, once again, ripped out the cute pigtails he'd put her hair up into earlier. They never did seem to stay in for long.

"You have to promise me that you'll always look after Haruhi, okay? No matter what. You're the only big sister she has."

Another curt nod, "I  _ promise _ , Daddy." Jin's face was set so seriously, Ranka couldn't help but worry he had just made a mistake. If Jin really took his words to heart-

"Nē… Nē… Nē-cha! Nē- _ cha! _ "

Jin began squirming in her father's grip, spinning around and kicking her legs, "Comin', Haru! Nēchan is comin'!" The moment her duck socks touched the kitchen floor she was running back into the living room. And all the while, her parents could still hear Haruhi stumbling through the word 'Nēchan'.

"Oh… that's  _ precious! _ "

"Isn't it though?"

* * *

 

Pencil lead softly scratched across the paper in Jin's lap. Shifting a little within the blanket cocoon she'd wrapped around herself, the brunette lifted her head to peer out of the living room. From her spot on the chair, she could just barely see her Daddy's left shoulder as he washed dishes. He'd been quiet for a long time, and it made her worry.

Though, she'd also been quiet.

Looking back down at her math homework, Jin's pencil hesitated over the paper. She was tempted to ask Daddy when Mommy would get to leave the hospital, but she didn't dare. The last time someone had asked him that question, she'd been woken up in the middle of the night by her Daddy's crying.

She still didn't understand fully what was going on. All she remembered was her Mommy's hand had been really warm right before she'd fallen in the middle of the grocery store. And now she was at the hospital. Jin didn't like the hospital. It felt sad.

"Nēchan?"

Jin's head whipped up again. Staring at her from the edge of the couch was Haruhi. Her baby sister took one look at her face and started climbing up onto the cushion with her.

Unfortunately for Jin, Haruhi was using the blanket to climb. The soft fabric pulled away from the brunette's left side and she hastily shoved her newly revealed hand back into the retreating cover. Instantly, she winced. The back of her hand was still a little tender after her last piano lesson.

Jin didn't know what to do. She didn't  _ purposefully _ disobey Noa-sensei! But she liked playing the piano… and she liked to play it fast. She had learned to not complain when Noa-sensei told her to practice the same song two weeks in a row. She'd learned to play with "proper" technique, even if that meant ignoring the book's instructions she had memorized and copy Noa-sensei instead, though it felt weird with her hands. But the one thing she couldn't seem to stop doing was picking up tempo.

She had tried to explain, without whining, that the nursery rhymes she was playing were  _ supposed _ to be faster, but Noa-sensei always got out the ruler when she tried to speed up...

Tugging the blanket further over the back of her reddened hand, without accidentally making Haruhi slip off the couch in the process, Jin tried to ignore the stinging she felt across the back of it. She shouldn't complain. Noa-sensei told her that a lot too.  _ Stop complaining all the time! You're lucky I'm even teaching you at such a low price! _

And besides, the ruler had broken in half today. So, even though they had half an hour left in their session, Noa-sensei had told her to go home.

Except, she didn't go home. Not right away. As there was no where else for her to practice, Jin liked to sneak down the hallway of the high school music hall after every session. The nice janitor, Itami-san, would always unlock the big concert hall just for her, where a beautiful grand piano awaited. And that was the big reason she didn't complain to Daddy about mean Noa-sensei. If she didn't have lessons, she wouldn't get to play anymore at all! And she liked playing her songs for Itami-san. He'd sit in the first row and be her one-man audience member, giving her a standing ovation whenever she deemed her concert 'over'.

"Nēchan, whatcha' doin'?" Haruhi partially collapsed herself against her older sister's side, ever-curious eyes raking up and down the paper in Jin's lap. Almost immediately, Jin felt better.

Settling a little more comfortably against Haruhi, she smiled brightly down at her, "Math homework. Want me to teach you?"

Haru nodded her head eagerly. She loved it when her onēchan taught her what she'd learned in school. Being a grade ahead just made her feel closer to her idol, as Nēchan was also teaching herself math a year above her classmates.

"See these numbers, Haru?" The smaller girl nodded. She knew what numbers were. "This problem says 'three plus four'. 'Plus' means we add them together, okay? Hold up three fingers, Haru."

Doing as she was told, Haruhi lifted her pointer, middle, and ring finger, proudly holding them out for her sister to see. With a cute giggle, Jin lifted her left hand and did the same, only she added her pinkie as well. Four.

She made sure to keep the red back of her hand facing  _ away _ from her sister.

"Now, to add, we count all of the fingers together." Jin touched her left pointer finger with her right one, "Count with me, Haru."

Haruhi nodded once again, "Okay, Nēchan."

Together, the girls began to count, "One, two, three-" Haruhi paused, her forehead creasing a little as she tried to remember the next number. Jin paused as well, brown eyes casually waiting for her sister to think about it. She knew better than to try and give Haruhi the answer. It wouldn't help her sister learn at all and just hurt Haru's feelings.

"...four… five… six, seven!"

Haruhi giggled and almost clapped her hands, but stopped when she remembered she was supposed to be holding up 'three' for her Nēchan. Of course, Jin just smiled and giggled along. "See, Haru? We got seven! That means that three…" she gently shook Haruhi's three fingers, "plus four…" she gently shook her four fingers, "equals seven!" And she pressed her raised pinkie up next to Haruhi's ring finger, showing all seven fingers side by side.

"Wow…" Haruhi's eyes were wide, as if her sister had shown her the wonders of the universe, rather than how three plus four equals seven.

"Wanna do another one?"

Ranka smiled softly from the opening between the living room and kitchen. His hands gently rubbed a soft red towel between them, absorbing as much of the dish water from his skin as it could. It was a small smile he gave his two daughters, but a genuine one nonetheless, which was more than he could say for this past week.

Not wanting to interrupt their sibling moment, he hung back and just observed. Haruhi was quickly catching on to the whole 'adding' thing, and was now asking what the 'half-plus' symbol was. Jin said it was a minus sign, and started talking about subtracting. It was the simple amazement in Haruhi's eyes, and the unbound pride in Jin's when her sister helped solve a problem, that gave Ranka's heart the lift it so desperately needed. In this moment, he could believe that everything was going to be okay. The sun would rise tomorrow. The birds would sing. And his daughters would remain just as inseparable and loving of each other as they always had been.

Somehow, with Jin and Haruhi, things never seemed to be as bad as they were.

* * *

 

Jin couldn't stop shaking.

Oh, how she wanted to, but nothing was working.

The seven year old tried to call upon that firm strength she had used when she'd told her Dad that she didn't want to continue taking piano lessons from Noa-sensei. Or when she'd been forced to swallow her own feelings to gently coax Haruhi out from underneath the coffee table and sing a lullaby, covering up the sounds of rolling thunder. But nothing was working.

Her left hand clenched tighter around air, where there would usually be a slightly smaller hand to grip back. But right now Jin's grounding method was at a doctor's appointment, getting an upset tummy looked at. Dad seemed to be taking her and Haru to the doctor's a lot now.

Swallowing harshly, the little girl managed to take a few steps forward and knock on the huge doors looming above her. She felt like her tummy had dropped all the way to her toes as a responding squeak answered, the doors swinging open for her.

A man was waiting for her on the other side, though he looked confused when he saw it was only her. In his hands was a tiny pile of papers. Ones Jin recognized.

Quickly, she bowed to the man, "H-hello."

"Hello, there." His eyes squinted slightly, like he had a puzzle piece in his hand and was trying to decide the most likely place it would fit, "Are you," he glanced down at the paper, "Fujioka-san?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hm."

The girl repressed the urge to start rocking onto her heels, shakily pushing her red-framed glasses further up along her nose.

"Where are your parents, Fujioka-san?"

"Um, Dad's with Haru at the doctor's."

"And your mother?"

Jin suddenly became very interested in her shoes, voice going flat as she answered, "Mommy's in Heaven, sir."

The man shifted, his light brown eyes flicking to the side, "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, sir. It happened last year. Can we continue without my dad?"

Though he still looked embarrassed, the man shook his head, "I'm terribly sorry, Fujioka-san, but we need to speak with whoever filled out your forms to make our final decision."

"I filled the forms out."

There was a slight pause, during which Jin looked back up at the man. His eyes were playing ping-pong with her and the papers in his hands. For another few moments, nothing was said. Then the man crouched down to her level and gestured for Jin to come closer. She shuffled forward, hand shaking a little as he offered her a pen from his pocket and the back of the bottom paper.

Not really knowing what he wanted her to write, she just signed her name.

The man held up the first paper to compare the two signatures. At first, his brows are furrowed. Then his eyes widen. He looked down at the girl, who offered the pen back.

Clearing his throat, the man reclaimed his pen and straightened up, "Well, then. Fujioka-san… if you could follow me this way."

The two walked along a wide cement sidewalk. Big buildings surrounded them on all sides, Jin watching with large, curious eyes as men clad in karategi rushed in and out of the many doorways. A surge of shyness swept over the seven year old every time someone's eyes passed over her only to snap back in confusion or interest. She couldn't help but note that she had yet to see a single woman. Or child.

Thankfully, they reached the central dojo quickly. Shoes were changed, and before Jin knew it she was standing before the head of the Haninozuka dojo. The man was undoubtedly the largest and meanest looking person she'd even met, with large muscles and wild brown hair all over his face. The only thing that kept her from backing out then and there was the sight of the two boys at the man's side. They actually looked to be around her age!

One was blond and very short. He was probably younger than she was, but his big brown eyes had that same intelligence that Haru had. The other was taller, with short black hair and piercing grey eyes. Probably older than her, and he looked really serious.

They exchanged a glance with each other before refocusing on her.

"Greetings, Fujioka-san." Haninozuka-san boomed out before swiveling his scary gaze to the man who had lead Jin there, "Joshuyo-san… where are this girl's parents?"

"Apologies, Haninozuka-sensei, but neither of her parents could be here and… she filled out the forms herself. Her father signed at the bottom, but the rest was filled out by her hand."

All three boys standing in front of her stared at Jin in surprise.

"Is that so? That is… interesting. Well, Fujioka-san, I suppose we can get started then." Haninozuka-san gestured to the boys on his left, "This is Mitsukuni Haninozuka, my eldest son, and Takashi Morinozuka, my eldest nephew. Considering you are only a year younger than these two, I have asked for them to stand in and assist with the proceedings. Does that make you uncomfortable at all?"

Despite the shocking news that the small blond was actually older than her, Jin shook her head, "No, Haninozuka-san." She gave the two boys a small smile and a little wave. It actually made her feel a little better knowing she wasn't the only child in the whole dojo. Mitsukuni smiled back and returned the wave. Takashi only gave her a small smile, but it was a very nice one. His eyes softened.

"You marked in your papers than you want to specialize in karate?"

Jin nodded, "Yes, sir."

"Hm. Well, as it is, Mitsukuni is also specializing in karate. If you were to be accepted into the dojo, you two would be spending a great deal of time together." The man's eyes narrowed a little before he looked down at his son, "Mitsukuni? Lead Fujioka-san through a few basic motions. Nothing that requires stretching, of course."

"Yes, father."

Despite the almost hollow way Mitsukuni responded to his dad, he was still smiling at Jin as he approached her. Joshuyo-san frantically retreated to the edge of the room, probably awaiting further instructions, but Jin did not miss the slightly fearful way he regarded the small boy approaching her. Why was that?

"What's your first name?"

Jin blinked before smiling a little wider, "Jin."

"Okay, Jin-chan. Shift your right foot back, like mine, and watch carefully." Mitsukuni situated himself on Jin's right side, a few steps in front of her so she could imitate his moves. Of course, this way he couldn't see the girl, but knew that he didn't need to. Right now, it was his father who needed to assess Jin's promise.

Jin licked her lower lip as she did her best to copy Mitsukuni. Punch left. Right. Fists at the hips. Left. Right. Hips. Block left. Block right. Punch. Punch. Kick!

The blond was going really slow, taking a short pause in between each movement to let Jin copy before continuing on. Though he couldn't see how well or poorly she was doing, Takashi's eyes were widened a little. It tempted him to take just a quick peek.

"That's enough."

Immediately, Mitsukuni stopped all motion, bringing his hands behind his back and facing his father respectably. Jin mirrored his movements once again, and he couldn't help but hope she'd get in. He liked her. She was nice and cute and really smart. And, unlike the boys in his and Takashi's class, she didn't look at him in fear or overwhelming expectation.

Interestingly enough, his father was looking at Jin almost like he was impressed.

"Fujioka-san, I just have a few more questions for you before I make my final decision. Joshuyo-san. Mitsukuni. Takashi. You are free to go."

Joshuyo-san was quick to follow his sensei's orders, but the other boys were hesitant. Jin suddenly looked very small and vulnerable, standing alone in front of Mitsukuni's father. Still, not daring to defy a direct order, they slipped through the doorway that lead further into the dojo.

Then pressed their ears against the other side to listen in.

Jin was nervous again. When she'd been following Mitsukuni's movements (she had to think of some sort of nickname for him… Mitsukuni was just too long) she had forgotten about everything else in her life. Her mean classmates. Her mother. It had been nice. And Mitsukuni and Takashi (yeah, he'd need a nickname, too) had been the first kids around her age who didn't treat her like she was glass about to shatter. Or like she had some sort of a disease. She wanted to hang out with them some more…

Haninozuka-san knelt down in front of her, "Please," he gestured to the floor she was standing on.

The little girl knelt. He could tell she was nervous. But only because she was young and he had many years picking up the signs of said emotion. This girl was a curiosity.

"Why do you want to join my dojo?"

Jin took in a deep breath, trying her best to not fiddle with her clothes too much, "I… I need something to do. The counselor said it would be good for me. But, I also wanna keep Haru safe."

"Who is Haru?"

"Oh… my little sister, sir. With Mommy gone… and Dad working a lot… it's my job to keep Haru safe, now."

"You're here to learn how to protect your little sister," Haninozuka-san summed up. Once again, this little brown-haired brown-eyed girl had shocked him. He had already seen for his own eyes how quick of a learner she was, following his son's movements with incredible accuracy. And now… such a grown-up view of the world. Such a big job she had given herself. So much life and sadness and strength in this little package.

"Have you thought of the costs? You'll have less time to spend with your friends or other after school activities. And the dojo will not be responsible for your grades in school. You will be required to travel here each and every day to train, and put in everything you have."

Jin looked him in the eye, a passionate fire burning within them as she responded curtly, "I don't have any friends left, sir. I have no interest in the after-school activities my school provides, and I am ranked first in my class. I can do this, sir."

Against his will, Haninozuka-san smiled gently. Something he hadn't done in a long time. He stood up once again, prompting Jin to copy.

"Please, call me Haninozuka-sensei."

The girl's eyes sparkled as they exchanged a bow.

"Welcome to the Haninozuka Dojo."

* * *

 

"What are you doing?"

Jin jumped in her seat, hands splaying across the tabletop as she came back to earth. Looking up, see saw Beni Arai watching her with a confused look in his eye. Blushing deeply, the girl was suddenly terrified.

She had only officially met the boy about a month ago. She had been pouring over a German book in the library when he'd walked up to her, asking about how she could be so advanced in a third language when he was only just starting his second. It had been pure luck, in her eyes, that he hadn't already known her as 'Weird Girl', or else he wouldn't have even bothered coming up to her in the first place. Of course, he heard it not even a day later, but it had been too late.

They only talked in the library after school, of course. Mostly, the two did homework with the barest trace of conversation, but that was more than enough for Jin. She had no one else, after all.

Just today, she'd been forced to skip her lunch. All because of that stupid assembly! With the school schedule adjusted just a little for the day, Jin had been given two choices. Go to lunch and risk having her food dumped all over her in front of her little sister, or skip it. Since the first option would've resulted in Haruhi running over to Jin to help her, which would open up the door for the bullies at school to set Haruhi in their sights, Jin had chosen the path of lesser evil.

But it would seem the universe just wasn't on her side today.

Every day, Beni Arai would sit across from her in the library and do his math homework. And every day, always between three and four, he would excuse himself to use the restroom, leaving his books out and trusting that no one would approach Jin other than the kind librarian or a teacher should one pass by.

Except today he had finished sooner than usual. He had just recently decided that his dirty-blond hair looked much better when it wasn't up in pointy spikes, so today he didn't have to redo them up after a long day of school.

Meaning he had caught Jin red-handed.

His math homework and notes were turned around in front of her, a random page in a notebook of her own covered with math of her own. Answers to his homework.

Jin fleetingly wondered if this is what a panic attack felt like.

Of course, she hadn't expected this arrangement to last for long.  _ Sooner or later _ , she had always reminded herself.  _ Sooner or later he's going to learn whatever it is the other kids don't like about me, and he won't want to spend time with me anymore. Or he'll start to bully me, too. It's not a matter of 'if', but of 'when'. Will it happen 'sooner' or 'later'? _

Maybe this was it, then. Maybe they didn't like that she was smarter than they were. After all, this started out when her mom had died. And from then on, she was seen as an outsider. Different. She didn't have a mother, and she was a different person because of it. So, with them already thinking she was weird, and having her ace all of her tests… her weirdness and her intelligence somehow got connected in the middle of it all.

Well, if all of this was because they couldn't accept the fact that Jin was smart-

"I'm correcting your math homework. All of your answers are wrong."

Beni continued to stare at the girl. Deciding to ignore the impending blowout, Jin looked back at the boy's homework, "You wrote that eight times seven is sixty-four, but it's actually fifty-six. And right here you wrote that nine times six is forty-five, but I think that's just a writing error."

The blond was still just staring at her. Oh… how she wished that she didn't have to take the train from her school to get to the Haninozuka dojo in time for her lessons. Things would've been so much easier if she could've been allowed to go home after school every day, spend some time with Haruhi, and then go hang out with Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai. But no. The universe had to be stupid and make her stay after school every day, meet a nice boy, and then have her ruin it by doing his math homework every day because she got so  _ bored _ doing her own and-

"That's amazing."

She hesitated, "What?"

"You can do my math homework? We just learned multiplication tables  _ today _ , how can you already do it? I mean, your neighbor is a translator so I sort of understand how you mastered English so quickly and got tricks to learn another language… but you never mentioned the math thing!"

The blond quickly took a seat next to the girl, going over her answers while she gaped at him, "I… I don't… I just like math."

"Do you think you can help me? I  _ hate _ math so much, I can never understand my teacher!" Jin was completely floored. Beni was smiling at her, still going on about how cool it was that she liked math and could do stuff above her grade.

Hesitantly, she smiled back, "Sure… um, what do you need help with?"

As the eight year old girl and nine year old boy started going over multiplication tables, a group of three girls watched them from behind a nearby bookcase. They glared daggers at the girl, while one of them was also sneaking a glance or two at the cute boy as well.

Oh, no. This would not do at all.

* * *

 

" _ I can feel your halo! _

_ Halo! _

_ I can feel your halo! _

_ Halo~ _

_ Ooo~ _ "

Jin's head slowly bobbed in time with the music echoing around her bedroom, her eyes fixated on the white sheet of paper on her desk. A blooming flower stared back up at her, outlined in grey pencil lead. After a few more seconds of staring, the girl's head stopped bobbing and leaned in close to the sketch again, her right hand coming back up to add in another shadow to separate one petal from another.

She leaned back again, looking between the sketch and the sakura she had picked up off the ground. The cherry blossom was resting by her mug full of pencils, providing an inspiration in the midst of Jin's most recent block.

Unfortunately, it did nothing to block out the day she'd had. Just another one to pile on top of the three years worth that she had in her bank of bad days. The triplets had gone another step forward in their torment, dumping three entire pails of turkey gravy they had stolen from the school's kitchen on top of Jin's head.

Of course, the dean of the school, the triplet's adoring aunt, hadn't said a word about it. After all, the triplets had been smart enough to wait until the end of the school day and not do it in front of anyone who would speak up in Jin's defense.

It had been all Jin could do to not cry. Or go ballistic on the girls with 'Haninozuka' magic. But she wouldn't dare, because there would be no doubt as to who would be kicked out of school if she did. Instead she had run as fast as she could to the Haninozuka dojo, completely ignoring the buses and trains. Thankfully, her bag had been spared the humiliation, giving her a fresh uniform to change into once she got there.

Of course, she had taken a quick shower before practice started. Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai had held her when she cried afterwards. Honey offered to ask his dad to say something to the school, but Jin refused. She was already feeling a little better just knowing that she had friends who supported and liked her. Though the bullying was ripping her apart on the inside, she could battle against it with all the good in her life.

She had Haruhi. And Dad. And Honey-senpai, Mori-senpai, Chika, Satoshi, Beni, Arai, and all the kids she babysits and tutors in their complex. Last week she'd managed to trick Eiko, her cousin, that she was terrible at ice skating. Her school was holding a volunteer day at the animal shelter just a few minutes away from her home in the coming month, and she was actually very excited about it. Her new glasses were in, a nice, sleek black frame to replace the red that had been the source of so much teasing.

Her life was good.

She was fine.

She-

Her arm slipped forward and a long line of pencil lead sliced her pretty picture in half.

"WAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAA!"

Out of nowhere, Jin began crying hysterically. It just hit her. All of the emotions she had been struggling to repress came flooding out. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried. It was like there was this hot iron being seared against her chest, constricting her torso to try pushing out the tears and screams faster than she was capable of.

By the time Ranka was flying into her bedroom, Jin had run out of air and had regressed to breathless bursts of crying. Her father scooped the eleven year old into his arms as best as he could before carrying her to her bed. Haruhi was instantly at her side, tears in her own eyes as she watched her big sister, her hero, break down.

That knowledge only served to make Jin cry harder, her voice cracking every so often as her vocal chords were abused.

" _ Nēchan… _ "

Jin made a strangled gasp before going ridged. Her body was curled in on itself, face buried in her father's shoulder as she shook. Fresh tears were still trickling down her face. The ones that weren't absorbed into her father's pink blouse dripped off her chin and onto her pant leg. A strong hand pet her back soothingly. It made her tired, but she couldn't find the strength to actually sleep.

In the real world, far away from the brunette's fragile state, Ranka listened with an open mouth and broken heart as Haruhi recounted the daily horrors Jin had been forced to face day in and day out at their school. Her old piano teacher's constant physical and mental abuse. The triplet's unprecedented reign of terror over her sister. The Dean who refused to listen to complaints against her angelic nieces. And the refusal of help from any of their peers. No one even bothered to bring a teacher into the situation, and since Jin kept Haruhi at a distance at school, there was no one there to defend her.

Ranka stared down at his little girl. Drained. Beaten down. Ridiculed. She was shaking still, holding onto him like she had the day she was born.

" _ Oh… my poor, strong baby, _ " he kissed the top of her head before pulling her closer, " _ What has the world done to you? _ "

Haruhi shifts closer until she was able to wrap her arms around Jin's middle, resting her face against her big sister's shoulder, and crying with her.

* * *

 

Vivaldi's 'Winter' danced in the air of the Bunkamura Orchard Hall. The piano solo was precise and heartfelt, a magnificent ending to the three hour recital of Ouran Academy's Classical Music club... with a special guest for the finale. Over 2,000 audience members watched in wonder as the public school girl their children had mentioned poured her heart and soul out into the piece. It was easily understood why she had chosen 'The Four Seasons' as her piece.

Jin Fujioka's heart was racing as she flipped her collection of music sheets to the very end of the booklet. She was hardly looking at them, mostly using the pages as a way to pace herself. It was a huge surprise to the girl that her hands were steady enough to play still. After all, the right side of her body felt like it was on fire, considering all of the eyes that were glued to her form, and she had been playing the piece for almost twenty straight minutes.

_ Breathe… Just breathe, Jin-san. _ Kagome-sensei's voice hummed in her ear, almost as if he were still standing beside her.

And just like that, she was back in her rehearsal room, no one to see her save her teacher. Kagome-sensei, the music teacher for Ouran Academy, a prestigious school near her home, smiling with pride as her lithe and practiced fingers danced over the keys.

The final notes faded into the silence and Jin was almost caught unawares. Was she really done already? Shyly, the girl withdrew her fingertips from the keys, and looked away from the instrument.

Uproarious applause.

With a shaky smile, Jin managed to stand and bow to her audience. They were also on their feet, clapping and smiling at the girl's reaction to the praise. She peeked to her left and saw Kagome-sensei crying behind the curtain, though she wasn't sure if it was because of her performance or because he knew it would be her last.

She wasn't going to pursue music as her career, to the devastation of her favorite teacher. No, she was going to go into something math related, she was sure of it. Making music and art was amazing, she loved tutoring the kids in her apartment complex, and putting in hours at the Hōmusuītohōmu Animal Shelter was a great use of her time, but her true passion was math. All she had to do now was be strong enough to keep pursuing it.

Out in the crowd, Jin could just barely make out a few faces. Her father and sister were in the front row, standing between the four Arai's and Misuzu-chi, her pseudo-uncle. They were cheering her on the loudest. After giving them a big smile, the brunette then looked out a little further and noticed another familiar four heads of hair. Honey-senpai was on Mori-senpai's back so he could see her over the crowd. Their brothers, Chika and Satoshi were at their sides, applauding with everyone else. Jin couldn't help but grin wider, glad that they had come.

She recalled not even a week ago when she had turned down an arranged marriage between herself and Honey-senpai. It had been a shock, to say the least.  _ Who still did arranged marriages? _ But also, she had worried that Honey would be upset that she didn't want to marry him. She didn't want to hurt his feelings if he loved her, and they'd talked about it a little before she made her decision clear to Haninozuka-sensei. Honey had told her he didn't see her in a romantic light either, but until this moment she hadn't been sure.

A warm wet feeling tickles her lower eyelids. Taking in a quick breath, she blinks a few times to get rid of it. Having her contacts slip out at the end of her final recital would just be embarrassing.

* * *

 

"You've got everything you need, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you need to double check?"

"My bag's already being loaded on the plane, Dad."

Ranka nodded, wringing his hands together, "Right... I knew that. I'm just... just..." he suddenly started bawling, jumping forward and hugging his daughter close. Jin went willingly, smiling through her own silent tears as her father hugged her to death. Pushing herself up onto her toes, the brunette was able to rest her chin on her father's shoulder, a testament to her steadily increasing height.

For another few seconds, the two continued to hug in the middle of the airport. A clock overseeing the lobby where the Fujioka family stood in read 2:24am, obvious in the dark circles underneath the eyes of everyone rushing around the tile. Even Haruhi Fujioka had to stifle a huge yawn as she waited for her turn to say goodbye to her big sister.

With a great sniffle, Ranka pulled away from his eldest daughter, cupping her face with a hand. Jin smiled softly, "I'll be back before you know it, Dad." Not trusting himself to speak, Ranka merely nodded and withdrew, taking out a tissue to dab at the corner of his eyes as Haruhi went to take his place.

The girls hugged tightly, the smaller of the two almost being lifted off her feet entirely. Haruhi tried to tell herself not to cry, but it wasn't working. Hot tears were still starting to spill over onto her cheeks, wetting Jin's t-shirt sleeve.

" _ I'll miss you too, Haru. I'll call you every day, alright? _ "

" _ Alright. _ "

Pulling away a little, Jin swiped the pad of her thumb across her sister's cheek, stemming the tears, "Hey, don't cry, Haru. I'm not leaving forever."

"It feels like it."

A soft sigh escaped the taller girl, "I know. But think about it. In less than a year, I'll be back. We'll be students in that fancy Ouran Academy place with all of those rich, silver-spoon jerks," Haruhi snorted softly at that, "And taking on the world together. Sound fair?"

"Yeah..."

Smiling a little wider, Jin picked up her backpack and shouldered it. Pulling a ticket out of her pocket, she re-read the boarding time.

"I have to go."

Haruhi nodded, taking a small step backwards to join her father. Jin gave them both a brave smile, before locking eyes with her little sister.

_ Less than a year. _

The short haired girl smiled.  _ Less than a year. _

Turning around, Jin walked off to the gate. Her family watched as her form grew smaller and smaller… until she disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

 

A little less than three months from turning seventeen, it was like Jin Fujioka's life couldn't get any better.

Who would've thought?

Getting into a prestigious school with her baby sister, both with scholarships that proved every day that they were intelligent and worth something? That alone was phenomenal after her horrific elementary and middle school years. Then add on her group of both old and new friends, whom she got to see every day in the perfect balance between her education and hobbies, and it was like she was in Heaven.

And  _ then _ give her a solid relationship with a really great guy who looked at her like she was composed or starlight...

Whenever she thought about it she became overwhelmed with giggling.

Her talents were being recognized, and her intelligence was undisputed. She was loved in every sense of the word. At the shelter she was respected and trusted. At home she was loved and treasured. The drawings she created of the hosts sold out 24 hours after she completed them. Kyoya and Haruhi sat in after hours to listen to her play the piano from time to time. Chika had asked her to come into the middle school's karate club every week or so to bring a fresh look to the group.

Some days Jin wasn't sure if she was actually living in the real world or if she was stuck in a coma-induced fantasy.

But right now, fantasy or not, she was about to rip Ritsu Kasanoda's head off.

 


	45. Tamaki's Unwitting Depression!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of 'Shit! Kasanoda, shut your mouth before Jin kills you!' moments in this one.  
> Also, there's a lot of Jin and Haruhi's sibling bond that I played with, including holding one back from a fight, teasing to the cringy degree, and protectiveness cranked up to eleven.  
> And, of course, domestic KyoJin.

Kasanoda couldn't do anything but stare in horror at Jin Fujioka. Her glare had reduced her big brown eyes to only the narrowest of slits, which were currently attempting to char off his face with sheer force of will. The staring contest went on for five seconds as Kasanoda struggled to force out half-formed words. The words that morphed into an actual scream at the sound of a heel clicking against the tile floor in his direction.

The boy tried again as he scrambled backwards, "M-my… ba-b-" He backed into something solid. Looking up, he was met with the twins staring down at him.

" _ PEEPING TOM! _ "

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

His shaking legs refused to lift him to his feet, so Kasanoda settled for crab scuttling away from both the redheads and steadily approaching female. Their combined glares sent a shiver all the way down to Kasanoda's tailbone. He felt lightheaded.

"I-It was just an accident! I swear it! It all happened so fast I swear I'm not a pervert!"

A short blond suddenly appeared in front of him, nearly scaring Ritsu out of his skin.

" _ Of course you would say that… _ "

" _... a sure sign of a guilty conscious. _ "

_ Oh god. Oh god. _ Ritsu was unsurprised to find himself praying at a time like this. Now, not only was Jin staring at him like she wanted to redecorate the walls with his insides, but Haninozuka-senpai was joining in with her?

"S-s-so… Haruhi is… a girl?"

The four hosts surrounding him flashed red glowing eyes, snarls kicking up another notch. "How much of her maidenly incognito did you see..?"

Ritsu swallowed, then decided being truthful would be in his best interest, "I… she was changing… and I kinda saw… her underwear?"

" _ YOU SAW MY BABY SISTER'S UNDERWEAR!? _ "

The windows were still rattling from Jin's shouting when one of the twins grabbed Kasanoda from behind, "We're left with no choice then!"

"Time to induce amnesia!" He screamed again, trying to cower behind arms that were being held down. The twin still in front of Ritsu lifted a metal bat and reeled back, Jin watching from over his shoulder with a sadistic grin on her face.

"That's quite enough, Hikaru. Leave assault and battery to the professionals."

At Kyoya's insistence, the twin holding the bat immediately handed it to Jin who took his place, holding the bat in a death grip as she smiled maniacally. Kasanoda's life flashed before his eyes, but he only reached his middle school years when Kyoya spoke up again.

"Jin, Darling, if you kill him I'm afraid we won't be able to bail you out of jail for quite some time."

"Tsk." The girl snarled but tossed the bat to the side. She turned around and stalked over to her boyfriend's side, "You're right, Dear. Forgive me; my emotions are getting the best of me right now."

"Understandable."

"Hey! Would you two stop being so calm about this? The Boss is so in shock he can't even move!"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at the dead-eyed blond before readjusting his glasses, "I am aware, but we must play this smart. Kasanoda." The red head flinched, "Since the proverbial cat is out of the bag… let's talk."

The Power Couple locked their gaze onto Kasanoda at the same time, and he could swear his entire being was starting to burn away from the intensity.

Kyoya had started his own aura to match his girlfriend's. A dark purple that was tinged black around the edges. Kasanoda thought the best description for it would be of the fires most likely to be lit in the deepest pits of Hell. And it only got worse when it started mingling with Jin's, swirling around like two of the world's deadliest poisons... coming together to make something unholy.

The good news was, Kasanoda was not longer quite as shocked that the two of them were together. They looked very much like the iron-clad rulers of Hell. Kyoya Ootori, with his cold eyes and ruthlessness. And Jin Fujioka, with her boundless anger and cruel determination.

Jesus, how had he ever doubted it?

Kyoya smirked, "Haruhi is compelled to hide the fact that she is female due to certain... mitigating circumstances that bind both her and her sister. And while we can't physically force you to cooperate, exactly, there  _ is _ something I would like you to bear in mind. Coming from the sort of family you do I'm certain you hear all sorts of juicy little rumors… enough to know what is true and what is not. Take the Ootori family's private police force, the Black Onion Squad. It is said they can be mobilized against our enemies in the blink of an eye."

Jin's grin had grown to 'Cheshire Cat' levels by the time Kyoya was back to smiling pleasantly, "You  _ have _ heard of them… right?"

Inside Kasanoda's head, he had a sudden realization.  _ So  _ this  _ is why they were so confused when I called Morinozuka-senpai a watchdog from Hell! It's because he's not… HE'S JUST THE DISTRACTION SO EVERYONE AT OURAN DOESN'T NOTICE THE HOST CLUB IS COMPOSED OF HELL'S ROYAL COURT! _

The changing room door burst open, "Guys, knock it off! Stop scaring Kasanoda! You too, Nēchan! He only saw my bra clip, and I'm sure he's more embarrassed about it than I am."

She didn't look happy about it, but Jin did lower her hackles. The green aura retreated a little bit, but stayed out just enough to contently weave with Kyoya's. Nodding her head, Haruhi turned to the other 1st year and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry about all of that. I forgot to lock the door, that was my bad."

"Uh…"

"Look, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone I was a girl just yet. I'd like to do that myself when the time is right, if you wouldn't mind."

"Sure! N-no problem!" Ritsu managed to force out. He was pretty sure that Haruhi's offer was the only one in his best interest to come of this intervention, so it wasn't like he could refuse anyways. But on the other side of the spectrum…

"So… now that you know Haruhi's a girl…"

"Are you planning on developing a crush anytime soon, Bossanova?"

"A  _ what now? _ "

"Nēchan!" Haruhi quickly jumped to Kasanoda's defense once again, grabbing her sister's left arm before she could launch herself at the poor boy, "The twins are just being stupid, let's just… go home! And that goes for all of you!"

There was a great deal of mumbling from everyone at Haruhi's demand, but Kasanoda took off like a shot. With their reason to stick around now gone, the hosts slowly began to pack up. Haruhi shook her sister's arm, interrupting the glare she was sending after Ritsu's vapor trail, "Come on, Nēchan. Kiss your scary boyfriend goodbye and let's go home before you kill someone."

Not entirely happy but not willing to upset her sister either, Jin took in a deep breath and focused on calming down. Her aura dissipated completely as she pressed a quick peck against Kyoya's lips before following her sister out the door, leaving her boyfriend behind to deal with his disintegrating best friend.

The two girls walked down the hallways of Ouran in tense silence. Jin was glowering darkly at the tiles passing beneath her feet, knowing the route out of the school well enough to not have to watch where she was going.

After two or three minutes of the awkwardness, Haruhi cleared her throat, "Nēchan?"

"Mm?"

"I just want you to know that I  _ could _ hear you guys from inside the changing room."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And if you and Kyoya-senpai start calling each other 'Boo' and 'Bae', I may hang myself."

Jin's face went completely red, her anger at Kasanoda briefly forgotten, "W-what?"

"' _ Darling _ '? ' _ Dear _ '? When did you two start using pet names for each other?"

"Haru! It's not like that!"

"Do you think Kyoya-senpai would ever call you 'Baby'?"

" _ Haru! _ "

"No? Yeah, a bit much for him. 'Babe'?"

" _ Shut up! Before someone hears you! _ "

Haruhi smirked as her sister began hauling her down the school hallway, "What about 'Sweetheart'? That would work. 'Sweetie'?"

Sudden inspiration caused the smirk to turn downright evil, "' _ Mommy _ '?"

" _ When did this turn into a sex thing?! _ "

* * *

Overnight, the weather decided to reflect Jin Fujioka's mood and turn frosty.

She mournfully stashed away her bike in the family's storage space by the back of the apartment complex and dug out the winter apparel in exchange. She and Haruhi arrived at Ouran wearing scarves and gloves and winter coats, both of them rushing into the school building to escape the cold temperature.

In her haste to warm up, Jin nearly ran right into Kyoya, who was waiting for her just inside the front doors.

"Good morning." He caught her right before she fell on her face, "You're running later than usual." He exchanged a nod with Haruhi before the shorter girl hurried off to her own side of the building, calling out a goodbye to her sister along the way.

Jin replied before turning back to her boyfriend, "C-couldn't bike to school today and the station was p-packed." She put her gloved hands on his collarbone, stretching for their 'good morning' kiss when she paused. Her eyebrows knitted together, staring at her right hand. Before Kyoya could ask what she was doing, Jin slipped her glove off and replaced her hand.

"You're warm."

"My car is typically warmed up before I even set foot in it on days like today. Must better than walking from the train station, I hear."

Immediately the brunette shifted closer, pressing her newly bared hands in between their bodies to warm them up. Humoring her, Kyoya tugs Jin to the side of the hallway and holds her close. One hands goes to her lower back, the other strokes at her hair. Which is cold. Ice cold, in fact, against his warm fingers. He frowned when he noticed something missing from Jin's ensemble.

"Why don't you have a hat on?"

"C-couldn't find it." Now that various parts of her were warming up, the cold parts were becoming much more prominent. Thankfully, Kyoya's whole person was radiating a comfortable level of heat. She sighed softly as the tip of her cold nose buried itself into the crook of Kyoya's neck and shoulder. And even though she knew it probably wasn't all that great for him -she felt him shiver when she did it- Jin didn't hear him complain.

All around them, passing students pointed them out and cooed about the cute scene. The girls especially. A few were taking pictures and comparing them to Renge Houshakuji's Moe Moe Ouran Diaries depiction of the couple. Some of the art was spot on with this exact moment! It was no surprise, really. KyoJin was like their own reality fairy tale: Soulmates from different worlds who met by circumstance.

Can't get much more Disney than that.

Jin, of course, didn't pay the whispers any attention, finally putting a little space between her and Kyoya now that she felt a little warmer, "Sorry for treating you like a personal heater." The ravenet smirked, using his left hand to cup Jin's cold cheek. The girl sighed against his palm, turning her head towards the warmth.

The smirk wavered, "You're still cold."

"It'll pass. Ouran's heating system is marvelous."

"Hmm," Kyoya cupped her other cheek, stroking her cheekbones with his thumbs and determinately ignoring the students melting over the action across the hall, "As much as I hate to ruin the moment and make you upset, we do, unfortunately, have something to discuss before class."

Instantly, Jin's eyes were open and trained on him, "Discuss what? Why would it upset me?"

"Kasanoda."

"Oh." She glared at his collarbone, "Right."

"What did you think I was going to talk about?"

Jin shrugged, shifting her head so Kyoya's hands cupped around her cold ears, "I dunno. Overheard one of your fangirls say something about your father. I didn't listen to her, really, but…"

Kyoya shook his head, a small bittersweet smile on his face. He placed a gentle but quick kiss to the girl's perfect forehead, meeting her confused expression head on, "I promise you, Jin, you don't need to worry yourself about my father no matter what others may tell you. However, I  _ am _ worried about you for today. Kasanoda will, most likely, be returning to the club room this afternoon. Will you be alright with that? I could request that he not visit until a week has passed, if you wish to let the situation settle down a little more."

"You're so cute when you're sweet." Jin took Kyoya's hands in hers, removing them from her face entirely, "But, no. I'll be alright with it, I guess. I can't stop Kasanoda from talking to my sister, and I can't stop Haru if she wants another friend outside of the Host Club. I'd be more concerned about Tama-kun not being civil."

"Is that a promise that you'll play nice today?"

"Not entirely. I'll defend my sister to the death, and Kasanoda knows it. So, just as long as he's afraid of me, I shouldn't have to worry about it. On the other hand… I won't rule out letting loose a punch or two."

Kyoya regarded his girlfriend closely. Her eyes were fixed on his school jacket's lapels, hands playing mindlessly with his own. She was much more nervous and irritated than she was letting on. Whether it was for Haruhi's benefit or her own or perhaps even Kyoya's, he knew Jin would be in full 'Mother Hen' mode come hosting hours.

_ Adorable. _

Deciding that she needed a break from her serious attitude, he pulled his hands out of her grip and grabbed both ends of her 'Hufflepuff' scarf instead. Jin was able to look at him in curiosity for a second before he was tugging her up gently for a short kiss.

She giggled against her will, "Idiot."

"What happened to 'Dear'? I quite liked that."

Jin's face flushed and she spun around, "We should probably get to class." She started walking away, with Kyoya's sleeve pinched between her thumb and forefinger, and determinedly avoiding his confused expression.

_ As you wish, Darling. _

* Time Skip *

"I'd like to request… Haruhi Fujioka."

Jin gritted her teeth as the girls around the room gasped in shock. As much as she'd expected it, seeing that Kasanoda had feelings for her sister in real life irked her in all the wrong ways. But it was only partially because of the incident from yesterday...

_ STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP! _

Jin looped her arms underneath Tamaki's arms just before his knees gave out. Renge, of course, was popping up out of the ground, her eyes shining with glee as she rallied the other guests around her. So… they all thought Kasanoda was gay. And now they were obsessed with him. And Haruhi. Together. Instead of Tamaki and Haruhi. Selective attention, much?

The brunette rolled her eyes as she eased the blond to the ground, his back against a pillar and out of sight from his otherwise 'occupied' guests.  _ Just another reason I don't understand girls. _

"Exactly what has the pillar done to be the source of such a glare?" Jin jumped, surprised to hear Kyoya's voice just behind her.

"What?"

"You were glaring at the pillar. I wanted to know what it had done to offend you."

"Oh." The girl frowned and looked around the pillar, watching as the host club's guests stared at Kasanoda and her sister, " _ It _ didn't do anything, but I needed to vent my frustration somehow."

"Oh dear, what's gotten under your skin this time?"

"I don't understand how some girls can be so obsessed with relationships that they aren't even  _ in. _ Or, okay,  _ fictitious _ or  _ celebrity _ relationship I can understand a little. If the people are unobtainable, then what's the harm? But relationship in their own school? You can think it's cute, I guess, but  _ obsessing _ over it?" She hesitated at her boyfriend's smirk, "What?"

"You do realize that all of  _ my _ guests are obsessed with  _ our _ relationship, correct?"

The brunette crossed her arms and leaned up against the pillar, not reacting when Tamaki began cuddling her leg like a security blanket, " _ Not all of them. _ "

"Are you speaking of the six guests our relationship cost the club?" Jin's head lifted, her eyes widening as Kyoya began flipping through his black book, "Yes, there were a few guests of mine who were… less than thrilled once I was 'taken off the market' as it were, but while we lost six guests who could not come to terms with reality, the club also received a sudden spike in girls who wished to speak with the hosts strictly around our relationship. A good majority went to the two of us, of course, but there were plenty who went to Haruhi and Tamaki, and the other four boys received similar jumps in popularity."

Jin's lips parted as her boyfriend made a few marks to the page, "Since we, as hosts, are often viewed by these ladies to be just as unattainable as whom you call 'celebrities', it's not as strange as you make it out to be. And, if I may point out, their obsession with our happiness was a great boost to the club's sales. Quite a few have requested drawings of the two of us, even though they're aware you don't take requests. Perhaps if we had led them on for a little while longer…"

"If you two had waited any longer-"

"-Jin-senpai would've received you wrapped up in a bow with mistletoe dangling above your head for Christmas."

"Courtesy of everyone in Ouran Academy."

The tone in the twin's voices was too sharp to qualify as teasing, but Jin knew their irritation was not with them. Leaning away from the pillar as far as Tamaki's grip would allow, she curled her lip at Kasanoda's failed attempt to keep his cool around her sister. And couldn't those girls  _ shut up?! _

"Kyoya-senpai, get him out of here!"

"He's getting along with his goons, he has no reason to be here!"

Kyoya smirked, flipping to another page calmly, "On the contrary; he's a paying guest. He has every right to be here."

"Your  _ girlfriend _ probably thinks otherwise."

As one, all three boys looked over at Jin, who continued to face the two on the couch. A few seconds passed by before she pressed her face against the pillar, right hand coming up to pound at the marble.

"I. Want. To.  _ Hate. _ Him. But. I.  _ Can't. _ "

"WHY NOT?!"

The girl growled and pretended to bash her forehead against the stone, "How. Many. Friends. Does. Haru.  _ Have. _ At. This. School?"

Hikaru stomped his foot, "Plenty! She doesn't need another one!"

"And he's scaring the guests!"

"Oh, I think not." With the tip of his pen, Kyoya pointed towards the girls who were screeching over Haruhi and 'his' special guest. Almost half of them were on their phones, too, calling in their friends from their lessons and other clubs. No doubt in about five or so minutes the place would be overrun.

The twins looked down at the boy whose face was halfway covered with Jin's skirt, "Hey, Boss, are you done being shellshocked, yet?"

"We could really use our ' _ King _ ' right about now."

The four looked at the boy expectantly. Usually, calling him 'King' got him to snap out of every funk he managed to get himself into. It was like a fail-safe reset button. Unfortunately, he just gripped the black fabric tighter, a soft whimper escaping with every exhale. Jin was now efficiently pinned, her skirt drawn so tightly around her legs that she couldn't escape his hold on her. But she simply patted his head softly.

"There, there, Tama-kun."

The twins grabbed the blond by his shoulders and tried to haul him away. Jin squeaked, her hands grabbing at her skirt's waistline, "W-wait! Guys, stop! He's still got a grip on my skirt! S-stop!"

Groaning, Kaoru leaned down by Tamaki's ear, "Unless you want Kasanoda to catch Jin-senpai in her underwear, too, I suggest you let go of her."

The blond didn't show any sign of understanding other than letting go of the brunette's skirt, but that was enough for the 1st years to toss him out onto the front lines. He began walking like a robot towards Haruhi as her sister struggled to pull her skirt up. Jin's face was completely red, though she was glad that her white button-down was big enough that it had remained tucked even when her skirt had dipped a few centimeters.

She felt the blush spread down her neck when she turned around to see Kyoya awkwardly looking away.

"Um…"

"I saw nothing. No need for you to be embarrassed."

"Then why are you?"

The boy didn't answer, but she couldn't help but note his slightly pink cheeks.

" _ That. Moron. _ "

Jin cleared her throat and shifted closer to the twins and Honey-senpai, who had joined them in watching. Hikaru yanked out his cell phone and began punching at the keys. He only waited for about three rings before they saw Tamaki pick up.

"Earth to Boss: Snap out of it! The longer you sit there like an idiot, the worse this situation becomes for all of us! Now, listen to me carefully… do you  _ want _ Haruhi and that two-bit thug to hit it off? If you let that happen, she'll spend the rest of her life as a  _ MOB WIFE! _ "

Jin, though she was still a little embarrassed by the skirt incident, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Hikaru's statement. Yes, Kasanoda was doing his best to flirt with Haruhi -however poorly- but in the end she wasn't very concerned about the two of them actually getting together. He didn't really seem like Haruhi's type. As much as he was a sweetheart beneath that scary face, he was also in a dangerous line of work and was going to make his living based on fear. Having seen Jin faced with fear and bullying her whole life, it was unlikely Haruhi could live surrounded by that for the rest of her life.

Even so, it got Tamaki to snap out of it.

By breaking his phone into little pieces.

_ Oh boy... _

* * *

" _ DADDY WON'T STAND FOR THAT! _ "

Haruhi's eyes widened and she craned her head over the back of the couch, pleading with her eyes for Jin to step in before Tamaki could do something crazy. That  _ was  _ his crazy voice, after all. She was shocked when she instead saw hesitation in her sister's eyes.  _ What? What was she hesitating for? _

For her sanity, Jin quickly changed her mind once Tamaki pretty much ripped Kasanoda off the couch, dragging the heavier boy as far as he could from the brunette before standing him up. The blond whipped a finger in the red head's face and shouted.

"As her father, I FORBID YOU FROM SEEING HER!"

Jin paused, only a few steps away, and face-palmed.  _ Tamaki… you complete  _ dunce.

"Wait… as her  _ what? _ You do realize that's not possible, right?" Jin's hand moved down to cover her mouth, shaking her head as Tamaki got a panicked/far away look in his eyes. "Are you married to her mom, then?"

"Um… no."

"Did you  _ adopt _ her? Her sister?"

"...No."

"Did you  _ raise _ her?"

"That was more… Jin."

"So you  _ aren't _ her father." Tamaki's lips puckered, like he had just swallowed an entire lemon's worth of lemon juice. Before he could fall flat on his back in a dead-faint, Jin slipped over and caught him once more. With a sigh, she looped her arms under his arms and around his chest, dragging the humiliated President away.

"Jin-senpai," she paused. Kasanoda hadn't moved from the spot Tamaki had hauled him too, so when he spoke his voice now reached the rest of the room, "I've noticed you staring at me and Haruhi a few times today. Did you... really raise Haruhi?"

The brunette paused, thinking the question over, "I suppose so. I did my best."

"But you're only one year older. That hardly gives you any right to control Haruhi's life… wouldn't you agree?"

Ritsu's eyes flashed as he turned to face the girl, ignoring the wary expression on her face. Finally, he wasn't making people afraid and the people who had helped him were now  _ angry _ with that? All because of a stupid mistake? And even Jin, whom he'd thought would be much more fair about the whole thing, had only glared at him throughout the day! How was that fair?

"Because you are  _ not _ Haruhi's  _ mother. _ "

Honey gasped, arms nearly popping Usa-chan's head off.

Mori's eyes widened, frozen half-in, half-out of his seat.

The cell phone tumbled out of Hikaru's hand, his and his brother's jaws dropped.

Kyoya froze in place.

Haruhi's hands went to her mouth.

_ Thud. _

Tamaki didn't even react to being dropped face first on the floor.

Immediately, Kasanoda realized he had stepped over some sort of a boundary line. Jin, his senpai, was staring at him as though he had physically backhanded her across the face. All of the girls surrounding them had gone quiet, not daring to even whisper among themselves. The excitement had disappeared.

One glance at the barest hint of a tear in the corner of Jin's eye told him he had  _ really _ fucked up.

Suddenly, Jin's hands clenched into fists. Her usually soft brown eyes shone with murderous intent as she stepped over Tamaki's collapsed form. She wasn't smiling creepily at him like yesterday, but that somehow made it worse. This anger wasn't maniac. It was  _ intentional. _

" _ No _ ," she whispered, " _ You're right. I'm definitely  _ not  _ Haru's mother. I'm just the big sister. Nobody important. _ "

"I… I didn't mean that."

" _ Yes you did. You said that to hurt me. You said that as if I haven't been there for her our whole lives. Our mother died when we were young, and Dad had to work double shifts most of our lives to support us. I was  _ all  _ she _ had."

"I-I didn't know!"

" _ I am her confident, secret keeper, advisor, caregiver, best friend, big sister, and only sibling. I kept Haru at an arm's length when we went to school so my tormentors would never think to change targets. I sang her lullabies when she had nightmares. I made her lunches on the days when there was only enough for one. I protected Haruhi with everything I did, and didn't, have. _ "

The two were now nose to nose, and even with the anger burning it's way out of the girl's body, Kasanoda couldn't stop staring at the single tear collecting in her eyelashes, " _ But you're right. I have no authority to try and guide my baby sister through her life because… as you've made quite clear already… I am not her mother. _ "

The girl spun around on her heel and walked away, grabbing Tamaki by his wrists and dragging him away. She blinked and quickly wiped the resulting tear away. Around the room she could hear the girls whispering thoughts on what she had said to the red head and giggling, not having a clue as to what had really gone down between them.

Jin deposited the blond behind the pillar again and licked her lip, avoiding the concerned looks of all the boys around her, "I… I need some air. Give me five minutes alone, please." And she left.

"Hey… Kasanoda." The boy looked around in fright. Haruhi was standing there, looking at the ground. "Why did you say that to Nēchan?"

The boy swallowed, "I swear I didn't know about your mom… I didn't know! I didn't mean it! I thought… I thought it was like what Tamaki-senpai was rambling on about."

Haruhi rubbed at her right arm, "It's something that's still a little painful when we bring it up. It wasn't your fault that you didn't know about our mom."

"Could…" now it was Ritsu's turn to look away.  _ How can I ask that of her? I hurt Jin-senpai and Haruhi with my carelessness. Maybe I really am a monster. _

"You want me to tell you the story, huh?" Panicking at the girl's capability to read people's intentions, the boy tried to say no, but Haruhi merely touched his forearm, "Listen, Nēchan needs some time to calm down. I should be able to tell you the story before then, and you can apologize. Nēchan's not one for grudges, and she knows that you didn't know. Once the shock's worn off and you tell her you're sorry, she'll forgive you."

"Okay."

Haruhi lead the Class D student back to their couch just as Tamaki slowly pulled himself out of his most recent freak out. As his vision refocused on reality, the first thing the blond noticed was his best friend's gaze fixed on the doors leading out of Music Room 3. Then on Haruhi and Kasanoda talking quiet-like on the couch. The other hosts looked like they'd just come back from a funeral.

"Wha' happened?"

"Casanova… said something he should've left alone."

"Let's leave it at that, Boss."

Nodding, the blond attempted to sit up, but only managed his elbows, "I need… I need to sort this out."

"Sort what out?"

"Supposing I'm not Haruhi's Dad," he pressed his hand over his forehead, eyes going wide as he considered his next words carefully, "then, why is it I find her so utterly adorable? When she's with other boys, I become jealous… but I have no right to be so protective of her. And I'm not her sibling either, like Jin, or have their history..."

Kaoru suddenly leaned forward, a calculating expression taking over, "Oh, really? Then what's was with all those times you said 'nobody gets to marry Haruhi', 'nobody is allowed to see her in a cute swimsuit', 'no one is allowed to kiss her'... shall I go on?"

"Um," Tamaki went a little red, "I just wanted to preserve her innocence."

"Preserve, huh? Interesting. So, you're saying you don't want her to grow up. You don't want Haruhi to change from what she is right  _ now. _ And this 'family' setting is what's making that happen, right?"

Hikaru looked up at his brother.  _ What's he going on about? _

"I… I-I don't quite follow."

Kaoru's jaw dropped. He looked up sharply, "Kyoya-senpai, you want to weigh in on this? Please tell me I'm not completely crazy."

The ravenet was still staring at the doors, so the younger twin sighed and switched to a softer tone, "Kyoya-senpai, Jin-senpai will be okay. She said five minutes. It's been three. If she's not back by 3:24, you can go look for her."

Finally, the glasses wearing boy looked away, thumb flicking along the edge of his journal, "You're right. My apologies... I must be smothering her."

"I don't think so. You're just worried, we all are, but please be our voice of reason for another one and a half minutes."

Kyoya's mouth twitched into what was almost a smile, "Very well. Yes, you do have a point. Tamaki  _ is _ delusional, anyone could see that just by spending five minutes with him, but I never thought he was  _ this _ stupid."

"Yeah, Tama-chan's completely blind when it comes to himself and his own feelings! I wonder why he's so good with helping others figure it out?"

On the other side of the room, Kasanoda was cradling a warm tea cup in his hands, his heart heavy, "Oh, I see."

Haruhi sighed, reaching out to pat the boy's shoulder, "Like I told you before, you didn't know. You didn't mean to set her off. You thought she was being unfair to me and herself, so you spoke up. In any other situation, I might've thanked you for it, but you should apologize as soon as- Nēchan?"

While the two groups had been talking, Jin had slipped back into the music room. She silently sat down on Haruhi's right side, hands in her lap. Once more, the room quieted.

Kasanoda swallowed. Jin's eyes didn't look red or swollen from crying, so that was a good sign. But she wasn't showing a lot of emotion either. He wet his lower lip, well aware that a certain glasses-wearing boy was probably drilling holes into the back of his head.

"Jin-senpai?"

"Mm?"

"I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to attack you so personally. You didn't deserve it. I was just mad and you took the hit and-"

"I forgive you."

Ritsu blinked, almost dropping his tea cup, "Wait, what? Really? Just like that?"

"Yeah. You didn't know. It's not fair of me to hold you to those words when I didn't trust you with the whole story. It's my fault." The brunette looked over at the boy on the other side of the couch, "You're a nice guy, Kasanoda. I know that. How about we forget about what just happened, alright?"

The boy nodded, even though all three of them knew that he would be beating himself up about that sentence for a long time. It made Jin feel a little bad knowing that, but at the same time she felt it was a good learning lesson. If he wanted to have friends and keep them, he couldn't just throw his anger around at people carelessly.

Haruhi smiled a little bit, "You know, now that I'm thinking about it... Nēchan, you did sort of take on a mother-like role for me. Yeah, I never took you as anything other than my onēchan, but you cooked for me, helped me with my homework, cuddled with me when I had a nightmare. You're more like my surrogate mom than your boyfriend is."

Jin couldn't help but snort out a short laugh. Even Kasanoda chuckled.

"And I suppose Tamaki-senpai acts a lot like Dad. If it weren't for a few things like their age and hair color, they could almost be mistaken as twins."

Jin raised an eyebrow.  _ Welp, there's no way Tama-kun didn't hear that. Which means he's probably snapping out of his latest melt down. I should go back over there. Kyo-kun's probably worried about me anyways. _

"You two keep talking. I need to go tell Kyo-kun I'm alright."

Haruhi nodded as Jin slipped back across the room. Tamaki was kneeling down in the middle of a makeshift circle of the other hosts. Kyoya was watching his blond best friend with an amused expression, "And... we've lost him yet again."

"You're surprised?"

At her sudden appearance, Kyoya went from amusement to worry in a split second, though the only things that gave it away were his eyes and his arms dropping to his sides, "Jin? Are you-"

"I'm  _ fine _ , Glasses. Like I said: Five minutes. I forgave Kasanoda. It was a little bit my fault too, for not telling him."

"You are far too forgiving."

Jin shrugged, "I gave up on grudges a long time ago. They take too much of a tole on my mental and physical health to really justify them any more." Kyoya's eyes narrowed a bit, but before he could ask another question the guests let out a massive gasp. The hosts looked over at the only occupied couch. Had he just confessed? Haruhi looked a bit confused, so maybe?

Kasanoda seemed to think similarly, blushing and looking away, "I-I mean, if you want that, that is."

Despite everything that had gone down in the past 24 hours, Jin felt her heart go out to the poor boy. She'd felt just as terrified the night she and Kyoya became a couple. Right after she'd kissed him for the first time and thought she had seriously misread the signs. It was a really nerve wracking moment, and Jin hoped Haruhi would let him down gent-

"Absolutely! That way you and I could get more acquainted!"

Jin's hands came up to her mouth, pressed palm to palm in a prayer position and just barely touching the tip of her nose with her fingers.  _ Oh boy... oh boy... I know that tone. Kasanoda just leave it at that! She doesn't understand! Haru doesn't understand you're talking about 'more than friends'! _ The room went quiet, hearts thudding in time as the class D student leaned closer to the girl at his side.

"Fujioka-san, I…"  _ Thump, thump, _ "I… I just wanted to tell you…"  _ Thump, thump, _ "I just wanted to tell you… that I'm…"

Jin's eyes shut right as Haurhi smiled, "That you're really excited to have someone you can relate to! I know I am, a conversation like this is a rare treat for me. I think we'll be great friends!"

"Great… friends?"

Taking in a deep breath before letting it out, Jin reopened her eyes. The guests were watching with sad, disappointed faces as Haruhi smiled at her 'friend'. Kasanoda looked like someone had just strangled a kitten in front of him. The tall brunette leaned up against the pillar and shook her head, a hand coming up to her forehead.  _ You know, I'm no longer quite as shocked that Haruhi rejected Hiroshi's confession. How is it she can never tell when someone's interested in her? _

Suddenly, everyone in the room was rushing Kasanoda, offering to be his friend and crying at his ordeal. Even the twins and Honey were crying, offering games and Usa-chan to try and cheer up the shellshocked boy. Mori, Jin, Kyoya, and Tamaki were the only ones not crowding the couch.

"He's going to be just fine."

Jin nodded at Mori, then pressed her fist to her mouth. There was a small smile trying to fight its way onto her face, and she was attempting to repress it. The situation wasn't really all that funny, but still...

"This amuses you?"

"No! I mean... yeah. It shouldn't, but my sister just unknowingly friend-zoned someone. As much as my heart breaks for him, it's kinda hilarious. I'm sorry, don't tell Kasanoda!"

Kyoya offered a smirk before looking down at his friend, who was staring at the large group in confusion, "What's the matter, Tamaki?"

The blond hummed, tilting his head a little, "When I think about how Bossanova must've been feeling... my heart goes out to him." He hummed again, unaware of the knowing looks being passed around him by his friends.

* Time Skip *

"I'm glad it's warmed up since this morning." Jin glanced up at Kyoya out of the corner of her eyes, "You know, I really thought you would've wanted to sit out of the games for today. Maybe be our referee..."

"I couldn't let you hide all by yourself, now could I?"

Rolling her eyes at Kyoya's attempt to pretend he didn't want to play the game at all, Jin hummed softly to herself as they strolled through the maze. It was actually pretty peaceful out here. Just the two of them, the barest sound of laughter echoing in the distance as their classmates played the 'commoner' game. When was the last time she and Kyoya had gone on an actual  _ date  _ date? There was the time they went momijigari, but that was way back in early October. Recently... it was that coffee shop a block away from Hōmusuītohōmu. Kyoya had surprised her and taken her out for coffee during her lunch break. That was last week.

A light squeeze to her waist brought Jin's attention back out into the real world.

"You stopped humming. Where's your mind now?"

"Just thinking about the last time we had some time to ourselves."

"If I do recall, I suggested another date only a few days ago. I've yet to hear your answer..."

Jin sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder, "Kyo-kun, I think it's really sweet that you want to take me to the Universal Studios in Osaka, but..."

"But what? I know how long you've wanted to go see their Harry Potter world. It's not nearly as crowded now as it is in the summer."

"It's so expensive, Glasses! And I  _ know _ you're going to try to buy the expensive souvenirs that I personally can't afford and there's no reason for you to waste that sort of money!"

"I'd hardly call it wasting... but what if we came up with an agreement? I pay to get us in, buy the food, and I'm allowed to procure  _ one _ gift for you if I so choose. Does that sound fair?"

Jin was still blushing faintly from the 'hardly call it wasting' bit, but she nodded and shifted more comfortably against Kyoya's side, sighing as his arm tightened a little around her waist, "I think we can work something out."

"You have this Saturday off, correct?"

"Yeah, and it's supposed to be sunny that day. Saturday it is, I guess."

With a kiss to her temple to seal the deal, the two continued walking along. Jin wondered briefly why Kyoya never wrapped an arm around her shoulders or at least held her hand more often, but brushed it off. Kyoya wasn't really the type to do those overly affectionate/carefree versions of contact. The waist thing was a little more hidden, intimate, and also sort of claiming.

The thought ended as she, Kyoya, and the twins came upon Tamaki and Haruhi's hiding spot. It was another gazebo. Noticeably smaller than the one they'd been in when the club dealt with the Newspaper club just before summer break. The blond and brunette were huddled underneath and looked up at them in surprise. Then Tamaki frowned.

"What are you guys doing? Go away! This hiding place is only for Haruhi and me!"

"Oh really, what kind of rule is that?"

"And why do you and Haruhi always have to hide together in the first place?"

"Idiot! It is perfectly normal for a father to hide with his daughter!"

"Some might argue you on that."

Jin smiled and crawled underneath the table, tugging Kyoya along behind her, "You realize  _ I'm _ the only one here actually related to her, right? I'm pulling rank on you, Tama-kun."

"Then why is Kyoya here?"

"Boyfriend rule. Don't you know 'Kick the Can' and 'Hide and Seek' are relationship games? When one of them is 'it', they look for the other one first before anyone else, and when neither of them are it they hide together."

"And make-out." The twins tacked onto the end, crawling in between Tamaki and Kyoya, but quickly began attempting to climb over the blond to get to Haruhi. Thankfully, that distracted Tamaki from freaking out over their comment, instead deciding to rage-whisper at them to go away. Haruhi, however, gave her sister an 'are you kidding me', look.

_ Oh please, I'm not going to make-out with him while you're here. _

_ So you do make-out with him. _

_ Usually when you're not around. _

_ Usually? _

_ You did see us that one time, remember. _

_ Why'd you have to remind me? _

_ And then there was that time at home. You got home earlier from the store than I anticipated. _

_ THAT'S why you changed into a turtleneck sweater? _

_ It was kinda cold that day... but yeah. _

Haruhi started pretending to puke into the bushes surrounded the six of them when Kyoya tugged Jin backwards into his lap, " _ We need to conserve space. _ "

" _ Uh, huh. _ "

" _ Though, I am curious about this game that we're playing. _ "

" _ Curious? About what? _ "

" _ Well, for starters, why even kick the can? _ "

" _ Hey, get off me! Nēchan, help! _ "

Jin lifted a foot and gently shoved Tamaki off her sister as he and the twins rolled around in the grass.

" _ Next time, you and I are hiding by ourselves. These guys are too noisy. _ "

" _ And that's your only reasoning? _ "

" _ Shut up, Glasses. _ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you get mad at me for giving Kasanoda that a**hole line, please keep in mind that I came up with it for a chapter where it would've been Haruhi saying that to Jin. I figured this way I could still have that character development and not rip your hearts into a million pieces after setting them on fire. Forgive me?


	46. For the Heart of Jin Fujioka!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little trouble in paradise

" _ Flight 241, Detroit to Tokyo, is now disembarking. Please be sure to collect your baggage at the baggage claim on level 1. _ "

A boy with short, spiky brown hair quickly muscled his way past a mother and her two young children, hands gripping at his backpack and carry-on suitcase with white knuckles. He was finally here! All those months…  _ pining _ … and finally he could see her!

The most perfect human in existence!

His little bunny!

His girlfriend!

_ Jin Fujioka! _

* * *

Quite a few miles away, Kyoya Ootori sighed in content as his cool grey eyes looked out the window. Two lithe arms were crossed over his shoulders and upper chest, holding him a little closer to the warm body he was leaning up against.

Jin rested her left cheek against the top of her boyfriend's head as they lounged in the window alcove. This was truly a rare treat for either of them, having a spur of the moment lunch date such as this. Even though it was now far too cold to have a picnic outside, they were plenty comfortable in the little seating area beneath the window.

Jin's back was to the wall, Kyoya head resting contently against her collarbone. His left hand was resting across his stomach while his right slowly traveled up and down the black tights covering the leg placed between his body and the window. Jin's skirt had made this particular seating arrangement a little difficult the first time they'd attempted it, but now that she was wearing either black tights or knee-high black socks to school, it was much less embarrassing for her to lift her skirt above her knees and -silently- call herself the big spoon.

The remainders of the boxed lunch the two had shared was neatly packed away into Jin's bento box, resting on the floor to their left as they contently waited for lunch time to end.

After a few more moments of this silence, one of Jin's hands removed itself from Kyoya's chest, resulting in a soft growl of warning from the boy before it morphed into a pleased hum. Jin smirked as she gently ran her fingers through Kyoya's short black hair. Her short fingernails provided a pleasant scratching on his scalp, making the boy roll his head forward so she could reach more of it.

Jin smiled and conceded, pressing a kiss to the back of his head before continuing on. Who would've guessed the famous Kyoya Ootori was a cuddler? Though she'd never say that out loud, just in case Kyoya got mad. She liked these moments too much to risk it.

The moment that was abruptly shattered at the sound of Jin's phone going off. The girl actually jumped a little before reaching into her pocket and pulling the offending device out, reading the screen while her boyfriend leaned his head back again.

"Who is it?" Kyoya knew he probably sounded irritated at the interruption, but he kinda was... so he wasn't going to apologize for it.

"I've gotta take this." The brunette pulled herself out from underneath her boyfriend, who probably would've protested a lot more if she hadn't pressed a quick kiss to his lips, "I'll tell you about it later. See you in class, Kyo-kun."

Kyoya opened his mouth to protest, but Jin pressed the accept button and walked off, her bento box in her left hand. Sighing at the date interrupted, the boy swung his legs to the floor and stood up, stretching as he did so. His back and sides felt uncomfortably cold as the shared body heat he'd had with Jin disappeared. Perhaps the twins were right, he was becoming soft. Such public shows of affection were a little beyond his previously set personal rules, but he couldn't truly find himself minding.

Now, if only Jin had told him who had called her, then perhaps he wouldn't feel the need to chuck her phone from the top of the school at the next given opportunity.

* Time Skip *

"Hey, Kyoya? Have you noticed-"

"All of the phone calls and emails Jin has been receiving today? I have."

Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "Do you… know anything about them?"

"Unfortunately, no. Jin told me she'd explain in class, but then amended it to before club hours, and just recently changed it to tomorrow morning. I'm sure by then it'll change too."

The blond got a confused look on his face, "Huh… I wonder what's going on. She looked worried the last time I saw her on her laptop…"

Kyoya didn't respond, but he had noticed that, too. In fact, these phone calls had pulled out a number of emotions in his girlfriend. When she'd entered class after lunch, she had seemed very put out and distance. And just a few seconds ago, he had seen Jin grinning almost ear to ear into the phone before slipping out into the hallway along with the rest of their end-of-the-day guests. When he voiced his curiosity, the brunette attempted to reassure him that he'd know all about it as soon as everything was settled. And he would've been totally fine with it…

...if she hadn't been avoiding physical contact with him since she took the call at lunch.

Against his better judgement, there is a sort of nervousness settling deep into his gut.

With only a few days left until his eighteenth birthday, Kyoya had briefly wondered if that was what Jin was so preoccupied with. Only he would've assumed she would have brought Haruhi, Tamaki, and the rest of the club in on it if she was planning some sort of celebration. But the others were just as lost as he was. They weren't saying much about it other than asking Kyoya if he knew what the phone calls were about -as proved by Tamaki only moments ago- but it was clear the odd behavior was worrying not just himself.

She wasn't…

Kyoya immediately shook that idea out of his head. There was no way. Jin wasn't that kind of girl. But he was having a difficult time coming up with alternatives off the top of his head.

With a sigh of frustration, he walked back to his usual hosting table. Perhaps if he lost himself in work he could ignore Jin's strange behavior until she finally took the time to explain what was going on. He only hoped it would be resolved before his birthday. Call him old fashioned, but he did want his girlfriend for more than twenty minutes to himself on "his" day, not having her constantly disappearing to the corner of the room with her phone or… her laptop.

Kyoya stared at the HP laptop resting just across from his own computer.

_ I shouldn't. _

He walked around the table, one slow step at a time.

_ She could come back at any moment. _

He sat down.

_ I don't even know her password. _

He opened her laptop and was faced with her lock screen. A butterfly resting on top of a dog's head. He clicked the space bar once. The photo dimmed and a line for the password appeared. Kyoya kept his eyes on the door while his hands typed in Haru1Fujioka on a whim.

Denied.

"It's 'green and purple roses 17'."

"No capitals."

"No spaces."

The sudden voices made Kyoya whip his head around. It was the twins, of course, and they looked oddly concerned. But before he could ask why they were helping him, or how they knew Jin's computer password, they began backing away.

"You didn't hear it from us."

_ Hm. _

Kyoya looked back at the computer screen and entered in the password, just as Hikaru and Kaoru had said. Log in.

'Green and purple roses 17'. It actually put a little smile on his face. So, she thought of him every time she logged onto her laptop, did she? That was actually really… sweet of her. To think she could've used a password focused around Haruhi, the most important person in her life… it was a nice symbolism.

But it also made him feel horribly guilty.

_ What am I doing? _

Betraying her trust.

An internet browser was opened up in front of him. There were a few tabs open, including the host club's website, the weather forecast for the upcoming week, and her email. A few months ago, he wouldn't have even hesitated. In fact, he probably would've just traced her emails from his own laptop, or called her phone company and have them trace her calls. But now...

Instead of clicking the email tab, he shut the laptop.  _ I should've have even considered- _

"Kyo-kun… what are you doing?"

Icy cold regret washed over the ravenet as he twisted in his seat. Jin was walking towards him, her eyebrows creased as she looked between him and her laptop.

"I didn't read anything, I swear it. I closed your laptop before I did. I'm sorry."

"Read? Read what?" Suddenly her eyes widened. She stopped walking. "My emails."

"I swear, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Then why did you do it? Really? Under what circumstances would you read my emails behind my back unless you thought I was doing some shady shi-" Jin gasped. A brief flash of pain echoed across her brown eyes, confirming Kyoya's worst fear… she had figured it out.

"You… you thought I… I that I would  _ ever _ …"

"No, I didn't! I swear-"

"How could you think I'd  _ cheat _ on you?"

Her hands went up to cover her mouth as the rest of the host club quickly retreated into their corners of the room, watching the couple with fear in their eyes. Kyoya found himself oddly grasping for words.

"Jin… I promise you… I never thought that."

"Why else would you look in my emails unless I was… there's nothing else that… you wouldn't have thought…"

The ravenet sighed, "What did you think I would do? You wouldn't tell me what the phone calls and all your emails were about! What if you were in some kind of trouble? You tend to think you're invincible, so it's impossible for me to tell if it's something I could help with!"

"Of course I would tell you if I was in trouble and I couldn't handle it! That's called  _ trust _ you Dummy! Maybe you've heard of it?"

A strange anger was bubbling up in the two. They hadn't gotten mad at each other like this since they became a couple, and they were trying to maintain boundary lines in their heads, which made them even angrier. It was kind of like when someone tells you to 'calm down' and you immediately extend your saltiness on the topic for another fifteen minutes. Only this time they were telling  _ themselves _ to calm down and not anger the other too much, to which they responded internally:  _ Well they deserve to know how mad I am! _

"Of course I know what trust is! Now if only you could practice what you preach! Why all the secrecy? If it's nothing bad, then just  _ tell me what's going on! _ It's not that hard, Jin!"

"If I told you, you'd do exactly what I'm trying to avoid and get the rest of the club involved and use your family names like some sort of 'Fast Pass' past my problem instead of working through it like  _ normal people! _ "

"Oh, so rich people are incompetent?"

"I never said that!"

"Are you quite sure about that?"

Jin screwed up her mouth before straightening her back and announcing to the whole room, "Aki Hayashi wants to hire me as a paid employee at the animal shelter."

The room went quiet. Even Kyoya's eyebrows shot up.

"As that is obviously against Ouran's school rules, he has been debating with the School Board all day about changing me from a volunteer position to employee status. I have been the center of a large windstorm of emails and phone calls with either updates on the debate or providing my viewpoint on the matter. It's kind of a big deal, considering how long we had to fight to allow even the volunteer status when I first started school here and it could really go four different ways. I could suddenly have an actual job that I am paid for. Nothing could happen at all. I might lose my volunteering privilege from the Board and be forced to quit at the shelter. Or, everything could quickly go sideways and I could be expelled for disobeying school policies."

Her eyes flashed angrily, "And the reason I didn't tell any of you, is so no one playing a part in the decision could suggest I'm using Tamaki's influence as the Chairman's son to win. Unlike the rest of you, I actually have to  _ fight _ to get permission to do things!"

Jin's chest was heaving a bit, staring directly at the shocked and embarrassed look on her boyfriend's face.

"Jin… I'm so sorry I-"

"No, Kyoya. You're only sorry now that you got your information. Please tell me exactly when you stopped trusting me to be loyal?"

"I never thought you were cheating on me!"

"Then what was it? What made you so adamant on finding out what was going on that's you'd read my emails behind my back?"

Kyoya blinked, trying to remember. If he hadn't been worried that she was cheating… why  _ had _ he looked into her computer? That wasn't like him.  _ Or was it? _

"I just…"  _ What? Wanted to know? Through any means possible? _ That was almost just as bad. He couldn't go stalking Jin for the rest of her life. She needed her space, her privacy, and his trust. "I'm sorry."

"You're just, you're sorry."

_ Yes. I'm so sorry. _

Jin shook her head a little, hurt still echoing within her eyes. Kyoya felt hollow. The last time he'd hurt her like this, emotionally, was back in the summer. Their last day of summer, actually. And that hadn't been nearly as painful as this.

On the far edge of the room, Tamaki and Honey were clutching at each other as they watched, looking very much like they were the ones in the argument, not witnesses. Haruhi wasn't even able to do that. Her back was pressed to the back of the couch and, on occasion, she'd cover her ears with her hands. The twins were kneeling beside her, ready to give her a play-by-play of the action once the couple finished arguing. And Mori was simply staring at the two.

All six of them were worried about the same thing: that their friend's relationship was going to end much quicker than they had hoped. Meaning, never.

Kyoya, for his worth, didn't give up. He took in a deep breath and let his thoughts settle, "You're right, Jin. I was… completely unfair. But I promise, it wasn't that I don't trust you. I didn't trust myself to be what you deserve, and I was worried that you had found someone better for you. If-"

_ BAM! _

"LITTLE BUNNY!"

The room went silent as the doors exploded open. Standing in the middle of the doorway was a boy. He had short, mousy brown hair that kind of stuck out all over, like he'd just rolled out of bed. Standing somewhere around the twins' height, he had on a pair of scruffy blue jeans, an old t-shirt, and blue and grey tennis shoes. But his most defining feature was the crazy, wild look in his eyes as he stared directly at Jin.

The girl was staring right back with wide eyes and an open mouth. But before Kyoya, or anyone else for that matter, could ask who this guy was, her face fell flat.

"Oh… sure… WHY NOT?" She spins around and starts screaming at the ceiling, shaking her fist, "IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO, UNIVERSE? THINK THIS IS THE WORST SHIT YOU CAN DUMP ON MY LIFE? FIRST THE SCHOOL, THEN KYOYA, AND NOW THIS? THAT THE BEST YOU FUCKING GOT? COME ON! BRING IT ON! I'M RIGHT HERE!  _ BRING IT! _ "

The strange boy gasps and rushes over, "My little bunny shouldn't be using such foul language!"

Jin quickly retreats, shoving at him so he can't grab onto her and growls, "I'm not your little bunny! Get it through your head that I'm not your girlfriend,  _ Thomas! _ "

She was moving backwards so fast she ran straight into Kyoya. The boy put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, but his glare was focused on the newcomer. Thomas, apparently. He opened his mouth to deliver an inquisitive and yet claiming remark when Jin brushed his hand off.

"Don't think I'm not still mad at you, Ootori!"

With another generous shove at the brunet's chest, the eldest Fujioka ran from the room, Thomas right on her tail.

For a moment, no one said anything.

"Who… was  _ that? _ "

Haruhi stood up from behind the couch, where the twins had forced her to watch Thomas's introduction, or lack thereof, "I have no clue. Nēchan never mentioned that guy before..."

She scooped up their bags and winter apparel as she went to follow her sister out of the room, but stops and spins around when Kyoya takes a step after her, "I really don't think you should be the one talking to her right now, Kyoya-senpai."

The boy watches in shock as she walked away, slipping out of the room without another word.

"Takashi, what just happened?"

"Jin and Kyoya are having a rough day."

"Yeah-"

"-no kidding."

* * *

 

" _ Nēchan? Nēchan, are- _ Eep!"

" _ Shh! Do you want him to find us? _ "

Flicking on the lights, Haruhi looked around the janitor's closet her sister had just pulled her into. She had received the text from Jin about five minutes after they first left the music room, telling her that she'd found sanctuary in the closet just to the left of Jin's classroom.

The elder Fujioka leaned up against the wall and slid down to the floor, burying her head in her hands as she did so. Haruhi sat beside her.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know. I mean… I've been worried sick about Aki and the Board… and now I have to deal with Thomas on top of that. Oh my god, Haru, I thought I'd gotten  _ rid  _ of him! He's the reason I turned down staying in America for another year!"

"You could've stayed?"

"I was debating it, but Thomas made that place  _ Hell _ for me!"

Haruhi frowned, "You never told me about him."

"I don't like bringing it up." She sighed, dropping her hands and staring at the mop just across from her, "He was my stalker. You remember how Renge acted around Kyo-kun when she first showed up? An Otaku?"

"How could I forget?"

"Crank her delusions to eleven and you've got Thomas.  _ Obsessed _ with Japanese culture to an unhealthy level, and he somehow convinced himself that I was his dream Japanese waifu. He pretty much stalked me for half a year before we left."

Haruhi straightened up, "How come you never told me this?"

"I thought I'd gotten  _ rid of him! _ I don't like talking about him either. Remember when Aaron and the others visited a while back?"

"Yeah."

"Did you notice how they didn't talk about Thomas, either? He's like… a taboo subject. He took secret photos of me and covered the inside of his locker with them. He tried following me in his own car once.  _ And _ he bought two tickets to homecoming and kept trying to sneak one of them into my locker or desks so he could say we were going together."

Haruhi's mouth had fallen open, so Jin just continued, "He is obsessed and completely out of his mind! I don't even know how he might react if he found out you were my 'brother' or if he never found out."

"... _ Is this going to be like middle school again? _ "

Jin closed her eyes, "I think… it might have to be."

Haruhi nodded, though it still left a sour taste in her mouth. She was finally in a place where she could be as close to her sister as she wanted to, and now...

"What about Kyoya-senpai?"

The taller brunette looked towards the door, not meeting Haruhi's eyes, "I'm still a little pissed at him, and this Thomas situation is only going to make things worse. I guarantee you that I will not be able to having another one-on-one moment with any boy for as long as he's here. Definitely not with Kyo-kun after Thomas saw him put his hand on my shoulder today. I'm going to try and get a hold of his parents or maybe his school later tonight. But once that happens... I'll probably forgive him. I'm starting to notice some self-confidence issues, and he's not going to stop apologizing until he's sure I've forgiven him."

The sisters sat in silence for a while, Haruhi gently leaning her head on Jin's shoulder to provide gentle comfort. "You realize that with you and Kyoya not hanging around each other all the time, you two are going to become right terrors to deal with, right?"

"Well, let's hope we focus that anger on Thomas and he somehow gets the hint."

"How likely is that?"

"Minimum to none."

"Lovely. Think we can sneak out of the school without Thomas spotting us?"

"Unlikely. He's probably waiting in the bushes outside."

"Ready to try?"

"Sure."

* Time Skip *

"Young man, you  _ can not _ be here."

"But... but my little bunny  _ needs  _ me! Tell him, Jin!"

The brunette snarled, even as her face flushed, "Please get rid of him, Amori-sensei." The history teacher nodded once before somehow managing to muscle the boy out into the hallway amid Thomas's screams to be released. Jin buried her face in her hands as the rumor mill picked up around her.

" _ I heard he's trying to force Jin into an arranged marriage! _ "

" _ Do you think that's why Jin and Kyoya didn't have a good morning kiss today? _ "

" _ Kyoya looks so angry... why aren't they talking? _ "

" _ You don't think they broke up, do you? I wouldn't be able to stand it! _ "

" _ Poor Jin! She looks so embarrassed! _ "

Dear god, make it stop!

_ Ring! Ring! Ring! _

As the bell rang for lunch, Jin was the first one out of her seat and into the hallway. The rest of class 2-A could faintly hear the strange boy shouting at Ouran's security when he caught sight of the brunette once again. The whispers grew in volume as they began filtering out of the room. Kyoya, however, remained seated. He rested his elbows on his desktop and put his head into his palms.

"Kyoya? You alright?"

The ravenet leveled a hard glare at his 'best friend' before dropping it, "What's your analysis?"

Tamaki sighed, "You can't keep ignoring Jin."

"You think I'm ignoring her? I've been trying to talk to her since last night!" Kyoya groaned and straightened up in his seat, "I don't understand how she expects us to move past this if she refuses to speak with me about it."

"Kyo-chan, you need to focus on Thomas-san first." Honey and Mori managed to slip into the classroom while the other students were walking out. "Once he's gone, then Jin-chan can focus on forgiving you."

Kyoya nodded, leaned back in his chair, "I suppose you're right. Does anyone know where we stand on that?"

"I do."

Haruhi and the twins walked in, making the entire host club accounted for... minus Jin, of course. Kyoya thought it was strange; it used to be an incredibly rare sight for all of them to be in one place at the same time without it being a club activity, but now it was almost commonplace. Lunches, study sessions, even those childish games they had played with Kasanoda typically ended with them all together and enjoying each other's company... without any other benefits.

"Nēchan called Thomas's parents last night. They didn't even know he came down here, he told them he was going on a trip with some friends." Haruhi sighed and sat down in one of the empty seats scattered around the room. "If I were you, Kyoya-senpai, I wouldn't worry about it until Thomas was gone. Once that problem's settled, then you can try working out your problems with Nēchan, but until then she might not want to talk to you-"

"She doesn't want to talk to him?"

"If Thomas saw she had a boyfriend he'd leave her alone! She doesn't want to be seen with you!"

"It's just like Ranka said! Once you lose her trust you'll never win it back!"

The twins and Tamaki were quickly spiraling down into panic. Haruhi opened her mouth to calm them down, but gave up before she even uttered a word. Kyoya was getting  _ that _ look on his face. The one that signaled his 'business' persona was going to be taking a back seat while his true nature took over. Haruhi had gotten pretty used to that expression over the past few months. Usually when the host club finished up for the day or when he came over on the weekends and didn't know the shorter brunette was paying attention to him and her sister.

But if there was one thing she knew about Kyoya Ootori's real personality: He was never one to back down so easily.

Especially when it came to what he thought was his.

Haruhi sighed again and left the room, remaining undetected as five of the hosts continued to unnecessarily freak out over a very stable relationship and the sixth undoubtedly began forming a plan to woo his girlfriend 'back into his arms'.

The brunette scoffed.  _ As if she ever left them. _

Still... it was kinda sweet. It made Haruhi a little wistful, in fact, and she slowly found herself daydreaming as she walked through the school halls.  _ I wonder what it would be like to have a boyfriend  _ that _ devoted to me... _

* Time Skip *

Jin hadn't seen the purple rose he'd left on her chair in class. Thomas had come in and threw it out, telling Jin someone had wanted her to hurt herself by putting rose thorns on her chair. The brunette hadn't seen the intricately done and expensive bouquet either, which had been left in Chika's care for when Jin went to join the middle school's karate club for a short session. The American boy had ruined that too by attempting to tackle Chika, an apparent 'rival' for Jin's affection, and got the flowers crushed in the process.

Kyoya was nearing his breaking point when it came to the strange boy. He couldn't help but wonder if Renge had been this bad. The answer was probably no.

Even so, he wasn't about to give up.

The ravenet walked into Hōmusuītohōmu with a single rose pinched between his thumb and forefinger. He had wondered previously if using a red rose instead would be more romantic, but he decided against it. He wasn't necessarily trying to  _ be _ romantic. He was trying to apologize, and be sincere with her. His personal color would accomplish that much better, he imagined.

Approaching the front desk, Kyoya is immediately waved down by Kisumi-san, one of the regular employees at the shelter. He'd gotten to know the small woman pretty well over the past couple months, but had yet to hear her first name. Still, she was nice and always willing to point him in Jin's direction.

"Good afternoon, Ootori-san. Is that rose for Jin?"

"Always."

The woman smiled, "You two are so cute! Go right on in, sweetie. She should be taking inventory in the aviary right about now!"

"Thank you."

Pushing his way past the doors leading to the kennels, Kyoya began walking to the back of the building. A few other employees and year-round volunteers walked passed him, usually offering a smile or wave. He was pretty well known around the place, especially since most of them had earned quite a bit of cash on the bet that he and Jin would get together.

Kyoya was maybe halfway through the dog kennels when his rational mind caught up to him.

What was he doing? Cornering Jin at work? He shook his head.  _ This is the textbook version of a Dick move, Ootori. Give Jin some space. _

He nodded to himself. He should just leave the rose at the front desk instead and try actually talking to her tomorrow, once Thomas was taken away. Maybe he could get a restraining order against the boy? That might put him back into Jin's good books. Yes. He'll surprise her with that tomorrow. That would be a decent way to strike up a conversation, right?

With a solid plan in his head, Kyoya turned around to leave.

"So...  _ you're _ the one who's trying to make a move on my little bunny?" Kyoya stared at Thomas, who was standing at the other end of the row. The boy was panting hard, a creepy smile on his face, "I've been trying to figure out who was moving in on my territory. To be quite honest, I didn't think it would be you. Exactly what makes you think you're my little bunny's type, anyway? You're just a weak little nerd!"

The really strange way the boy was trying to insult him confused Kyoya. A nerd? Jin herself was a nerd. If anything, that would be the perfect type for her. And exactly why was Thomas talking to him? With Chika, he had just straight up-

He understood a second later when Thomas charged him while he was lost in thought. In his confusion, Kyoya didn't react until he was a split second too late. The taller boy managed to side step his way out of Thomas's direct hit, but the brunet still managed to grab ahold of his middle and drag him to the floor anyways. Kyoya grunted in pain as his back hit the cement. The brunet tried to get back up, ripping the purple rose out of Kyoya's hand and tearing the petals off of it, but his shoe got caught on Kyoya's right arm. He tripped, kicking Kyoya's glasses right off his face.

That was the drawing line.

Kyoya growled and grabbed Thomas's ankle, yanking hard so the other boy fell flat on his face yet again. Thomas let out a shout and kicked at Kyoya the best he could, managing to tangle his feet around the ravenet's legs as he tried to get up. Kyoya stumbled and Thomas rolled over, managing to kick him against the nearest kennel door.

The ravenet grunted again as his back hit the chain-link fencing. The sound of dogs barking in agitation filled his ears as Thomas scrunched up his legs and kicked Kyoya's stomach over and over again. He could faintly hear the sound of other people shouting and footsteps approaching, and grabbed the next kick sent his way. Thomas ripped his foot away and tried jumping on top of Kyoya, but before he could two guys wearing the lime green shirts of the animal shelter grabbed him by the armpits, dragging him away.

Aki Hayashi approached Kyoya, offering a hand to help him up, "What's going on here?"

Still a little winded from the sudden attack, Kyoya brushed at his dirt-scuffed shirt, squinting around the blurred scene, "I came to see Jin... we had an argument and I wanted to apologize. But I realized I would've cornered her here and changed my mind. I was about to leave the rose..." Someone pressed his -thankfully undamaged- glasses into his hand and he slipped them on. The first thing he noticed was the destroyed flower on the ground.

"Or, I was  _ going _ to leave the rose at the front counter when  _ he _ attacked me!"

The owner of the shelter nodded and glared at Thomas, who was still struggling, "I thought I told you you were no longer allowed on the premises!"

"You can't keep me away from her! We're soulmates!"

The brunet groaned and rubbed at his tired eyes, "Can someone please go around and find out how this psycho got back in? Check all the doors and-"

"Aki? There's a broken window by the office. Did someone throw a brick or-" Jin stopped when she came around the corner. First her eyes went to Thomas, who continued struggling in the choke hold of her fellow volunteers. Then Kyoya saw the big brown eyes land on him. They dipped to the crushed rose and back up, "Cornering me at work, Glasses? I thought you had more class than that."

Without another word, she turned around and walked off.

Kyoya leaned against the chain-link fencing and shut his eyes, not believing his bad luck. A solid hand squeezed his shoulder.

"I'll talk to her. You should head home. And someone get that crazy guy out of my shelter!"

* * *

 

"Jin?"

" _ What? _ "

At the cold tone of Jin Fujioka's voice, every other students in the front hall of the school formed a wide ring around the two of them. Kyoya could see Haruhi standing off in the crowd just behind her sister. Had they not come in together? He hadn't noticed them walking together at all yesterday, either. He'd have to ask one of them about that... assuming Jin would let him.

"I wanted to explain why I was at the shelter-"

"Aki told me already."

"Oh."

The whispering around them was getting annoying. By now the story of the Power Couple's argument and new 'love triangle' had circulated throughout the entire school. Rumors were running rampant, leaning all the way from the truth to Jin planning to elope with an old flame she'd had in America to hide her shame of carrying Kyoya's illegitimate child.

The ravenet could only assume that their 'manager' had something to do with a few of those rumors. He could see her now, jumping around in the crowd ready to provide a play-by-play of the upcoming discussion.

"Well, then, I wanted to talk with you ab-"

"LITTLE BUNNY! I FOUND YOU!" Thomas ran into the school, knocking aside other students in an attempt to reach Jin. He didn't even seem to notice Kyoya at all as he tried to wrap his arms around Jin, lips puckered for a kiss. Jin threw her arms out to stop him by his shoulders, sneering as the boy whimpered and whined. Kyoya's face twisted into his own personal sneer. Jin's glare was off of him, sure, but that was still his  _ girlfriend _ this boy was trying to kiss.

"Stop. Calling. Me.  _ Little Bunny. _ "

Finally, the boys stopped moving, " _ My little bunny is mad. _ " His eyes trailed over to Kyoya. For a moment, his eyes widened in recognition, then he lunged, "HAVE YOU UPSET MY BUNNY!? YOU BAST-ACKK!"

Jin had grabbed his shirt collar and yanked him back before he could even touch Kyoya.

Her voice was soft and deadly, "Don't touch him. I may be mad at him, but don't you  _ dare _ touch him. I heard all about your little brawl yesterday. You're lucky I haven't already ripped you apart for that." She dragged Thomas towards the door, not sparing the crowd even a passing glance, "And I do believe the school said that you can no longer be within 1 mile of the grounds. Let's go find security."

The two exited the foyer into the chilly late November air, and the moment the front doors slammed shut everyone was talking at once. Renge was cashing in bets on whether Jin would've actually gotten violent while Haruhi was rushed by at least half of the witnesses for background information.

Only one girl approached Kyoya, meekly tapping at his shoulder, "Um... Kyoya-senpai? Why are you smiling like that?"

And he was. There was a small smile on the ravenet's face. It probably could've passed for his usual smirk, but definitely both sides of his mouth had lifted. It was an official smile.

He looked down at the girl, "Jin defended me. She may still be upset with me, but she does not want to see me hurt." Kyoya tucked his hands into his pockets and started walking down the hallway, "If you would excuse me, there is something I have to take care of."

* Time Skip *

"We're so sorry about this, Jin. Is there anything else we can do for you to make up for this?"

"Nothing comes to mind..."

The brunette tightened her scarf more securely around her neck. It was roughly three o'clock in the afternoon, but the temperature was just barely above freezing. Jin wouldn't be surprised if they got a little bit of snow before December. Mrs. Newell, Thomas's mother, frowned at the back of the car behind her. Thomas had his face pressed against the window, tears clearly streaming down his cheeks. Her husband was tapping at the steering wheel with impatient fingers and nervousness.

"I think we're going to start taking him to... see someone."

"That may be a good idea."

The woman nodded, though she looked pained, "I'm so sorry for whatever my son did while he was here-"

"It's alright, Mrs. Newell. Really. I don't blame you for anything. I'm more sorry that you'll have 14 hour flight back with him like that."

She got a weak chuckle, but the woman still looked pretty beaten down as she climbed into the car with the rest of her family. Jin briefly heard Thomas crying out her name as the vehicle sped off, but then it was gone. Her shoulders drooped with relief.

Of course, that's when her phone went off.

Sighing, Jin wiggled her hand out of its glove and pulled her phone out of her pocket. It was Aki. No doubt to give her another update on his case with the school board. Yeah, that had still been going on during that whole two-day mess. She pressed the accept button as she started walking up to the school.

"Hey, Aki. What's-" she stopped walking. "Wait. Wait, what are you talking about?"

There was a brief pause as the adult on the other end of the call explained.

"I gotta go."

Jin hung up and marched towards the school. Her hands roughly tore off her scarf and gloves as she reached the warm interior, quickly speed walking through the hallways. A few students who were preparing for their own after school activities waved at her or asked if the strange American was finally gone, but she was usually already around the next corner by the time they finished their question. The girl had tunnel vision.

She came to a stop right in front of Music Room 3's doors. Kyoya was waiting for her.

"I thought I told you to stay out of it."

Despite the flat tone of her voice, Kyoya felt relaxed. He kept his hands in his pockets and a content smirk on his face, well aware of what he had done.

"On the contrary. You said you didn't want to use Tamaki's influence to win your case. You said nothing about my personal input."

"What did you tell them?"

"Only the truth. That you've surpassed both of your class representatives with your grades, are a full fledged member of an on-campus club that meets every day and the occasional weekend, act as a guest instructor for the middle school's karate club, and are still capable of working volunteer hours at the animal shelter in Bunkyo as Second in Command to the owner. And I felt that if Aki Hayashi wished to reward you for your hard work and devotion to the animals with a monetary payment, then he should be allowed to do so. It won't hamper your ability to continue being an extraordinary student for Ouran to claim as their own."

Kyoya smirked a little wider as Jin processed his words, eyes narrowing. This was a much better gift than a simple flower or a restraining order.

After a few more seconds, Jin scoffed and grabbed his jacket's lapels, pulling her boyfriend down for a hard kiss. He didn't argue, hands coming out of his pockets to settle on her hips like they belonged there. She broke the kiss much too soon, in his opinion.

" _ I'm kinda glad you didn't give up on me. As much as I got annoyed seeing you around along with everything else... you showed that you cared. _ " Another kiss, "But don't ever do that again!"

"Deal." Kyoya pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He'd missed this.

They continued on for a bit before Jin pulled away once more. Despite her boyfriend's groan of protest, she was smiling softly, "So... a little birdie told me tomorrow's your birthday."

"Mhm. Eighteen."

"Anywhere special you want to go?"

"Let me take you on a date. A real one. Candlelight dinner. Maybe a movie."

"I thought it was  _ your _ birthday?"

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather celebrate with, or anything else I'd rather do."

Jin blushed, a sight for sore eyes, and ducked her head, "I see you're back to being a sap. Fine. But don't think you've gotten out of receiving a present."

His only response was another kiss.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well… what did you think? I know that Thomas was a little… out there, but I decided I've made too many 'rational' characters. Also, there are some irrational people out there. So, Jin had to deal with a crazy Otaku. Besides... he was kinda amusing to write.  
> And Kyoya and Jin made up within the chapter! *Dodges pitchfork* They didn't break up! Don't hate me!


	47. And so Kyoya Met Him!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be sort of similar to 'The Door the Twins Opened', where we'll have glimpses of Jin's reaction to the story between Kyoya's flashbacks. I kinda like this method.

 

 

"Welcome to the Host Club, ladies!"

Jin chuckled in amusement as the club's guests went from excited to confused in the space of a second. They slowly filtered into the room, looking around at the short, blanket covered tables that dotted the floor.

_ It's like they've never seen kotatsu tables before… _

"Indeed my darlings, these are kotatsu. They're typically only used in the winter, but with the recent chilly weather we've been having, I decided now would be the perfect time to show you the wonders of a homestyle kotatsu service!"

Jin felt her boyfriend chuckle softly as the girls began sitting down with their hosts, gushing over how warm they felt with the blankets over their laps. She wanted to join them, but as the club's waitress she had to remain standing for the time being, at least until everyone was settled in. And besides, if she got underneath one of them, she could almost guarantee that she'd be fast asleep in a matter of minutes.

"So, how did Tamaki come up with this one?"

"I have a feeling he's had this idea for a while now." Kyoya got a funny look on his face, like he was having a small flashback and wasn't sure whether it amused him or not.

"What?" She cast a glance around the room before leaning closer, " _ Did you think he'd throw a party instead to celebrate your birthday? Are you feeling ignored, Glasses? _ "

"Not at all." Kyoya smirked and tugged the girl to his side, making up for their lack of contact from the craziness two days ago, "Tamaki is well aware I don't prefer large celebrations, due to an unfortunate incident  _ last _ year. Besides, this works perfectly well as a silent nod to my birthday. And inside joke, you may call it."

Jin raised an eyebrow.

"I never told you how I met him, did I?"

"No. Please don't tell me it's because he wanted to use your kotatsu table."

"Very well, I won't tell you."

The brunette's mouth fell open, "You're kidding."

"Only partially. I suppose a majority of it was because I made it so difficult for him to be my friend, but the kotatsu table definitely had something to do with it." The two looked over at Tamaki, who was chatting amicably with four girls sitting on the far end of the room. As they watched, Haruhi wandered closer.

She looked between the blond and the ravenet a few times, "You know… I never would've imagined you and Tamaki-senpai would be the close friends that you are. You don't seem to have much in common."

"The same could be said for you and your sister."

"That's different, we didn't have a choice when it came to hanging out together."

"Ouch, Haru."

Kyoya smirked at the sister's banter but made no move to interrupt them. He was content with simply holding his girlfriend casually as she spoke with her sister. It would seem as though after 48 hours of Jin not speaking to him just made him all the more desperate to be close to her. Jin certainly wasn't complaining, and the rest of the school had let out a breath of relief when the two were once again noticeably a couple.

That went for the rest of the host club as well. Even Haruhi had been concerned for them during their argument, which had surprised the glasses-wearing boy at first, but then she explained. Jin and Beni had once gotten into an argument when they were still in middle school. Jin had been crying all night afterwards, worried she had just lost her only friend at school. It made Haruhi a little… more sensitive to arguments between her sister and the people she was close too.

A group that Kyoya was now a part of.

The shorter brunette waved her hands in front of her face, "Okay, anyways, back to my original topic. What I was getting at was that Hikaru and Kaoru told me that  _ both _ you and Tamaki-senpai started this club a few years ago."

Kyoya nodded, "That is correct."

"Right, but here's where I'm fuzzy. How could someone like  _ you _ get mixed up in an idea like  _ this? _ "

The boy blinked, his smile disappearing for a split second. Then he looked back across the room. Tamaki was still talking, unaware of the three sets of eyes watching him.

"Because of him."

* Two Years Ago *

"Kyoya Ootori! Kyoya! Wait up!"

"Hm?" The 3rd year middle schooler turned around at the sound of his name.

It was another student. He wasn't from Kyoya's class, in fact he was a whole year younger than the ravenet. The shorter boy grinned widely when he noticed Kyoya had  _ actually _ stopped for him.

"Hey, what's up?" Without waiting for Kyoya to respond, he continued, "My Dad told me he went to the completion commemoration for you family's new hospital yesterday! He was totally surprised! He said it was like a 'who's who' of the top people in every field! He asked me to be sure to tell you thank you on his behalf for inviting him!"

The boy smiled, pleased with himself.

_ This is the son of the CEO of a major electronics company. _

"It's no big deal. I hope you'll be able to attend the next one with your father."

Kyoya's pleasant smile existed until the other boy nodded and walked away. Then it was gone, replaced by absolutely no emotion at all.

He continued walking to class.

"Hey, Kyoya!" Of course, as soon as he entered the classroom, two of his own classmates stopped him right at the doorway. "We just heard you're at the head of the class again!"

_ This is the son of a major department store family. _

"And you're gonna be class representative again! For the third year in a row… I can't even imagine what that would be like."

_ And this is the youngest son of a well known D.I.A. member. _

Across from the room, he saw three female students staring at him and giggling among themselves.

_ And those are some frivolous minded girls. _

"Hey, Ootori?" Yet  _ another _ student had approached him, standing in front of the desk Kyoya had just sat down in, "How would you like to come visit my family's villa in the mountains?"

_ This one's the son of a prestigious bond's manager. _

The boy looked around the rest of the room, "You guys are all invited, too! It's really beautiful up there, and the stargazing is amazing! We even had a small observatory built just so you could see them better! But my father likes to use the villa for vacations… so we might see him there."

As the rest of the class began talking about the stargazing, Kyoya smiled politely right on through, his mind working at a hundred miles an hour.  _ I couldn't care less about stargazing, but I'm very interested in meeting your father. _

"That sounds like a great idea."

* Present Day *

"Woah."

The ravenet raised an eyebrow at Jin's surprised look, "I take it you weren't expecting that?"

"Not really… I mean, I knew you were a little devious, but  _ jeez _ Kyo-kun, didn't you have any actual friends?"

Her boyfriend blinked at the question, then smirked and squeezed her a little tighter, "I think you and my sister would've gotten along quite well."

* Two Years Ago *

"Really, Kyoya? You're going to impose on his vacation home just to meet his father? Has it ever occurred to you that this boy might  _ actually _ just want to be your friend?" Fuyumi, Kyoya's older and only sister chastised him from across the room. One of his previously folded shirts was in her hands as she attempted to learn how to fold shirts on her own. She was to be married soon and wanted to learn, but their family's maids were too afraid of being found out by the head of the household, so they simply gave her a small diagram to follow and left it at that.

If only she was improving at all.

"It's not  _ imposing _ if he  _ invited _ me. It's simply a give and take situation, Sis."

"Why must you be so manipulative? I thought the offer sounded really sweet of him to make! Like a class field trip!"

Kyoya's pencil stilled in the middle of writing out another equation. His sister had stopped talking, but now there was the sound of fabrics being squished together. He sighed.

"Fuyumi, please stop it! I've asked you a million times to stop rummaging through my drawers like that! The maids clean and iron my shirts  _ properly _ and whenever you try practicing your laundry folding they end up wrinkled!"

The girl paused and shot her brother a pouty look, "Well how do you expect me to get better if I don't practice? You're the only brother who will let me into your room, Kyoya, so if I want to know how to fold my future husband's clothes your shirts are going to have to do!"

"Why not just let your maids handle it?"

"I can't just depend on them all the time! Besides," she grunted as she shoved at the clothes harder, "how… incompetent… would I… seem… if… I can't… fold… shirts!" The contents of the drawer suddenly exploded out, making a huge mess all over the floor.

Kyoya shifted, ready to get up and check that his sister hadn't accidentally hurt herself, but she merely sighed, "Listen, Kyo-kyo." He stilled. She hadn't called him that nickname in years. "I know that father's… strict. And he puts a lot of pressure on you. More than I think is fair. But you're…" she looked at him from over her shoulder, in that special deeper look she saved only for him, like she could read his every intention just with one glance, "different from our older brothers. We both are."

She let out a humorless chuckle, "He doesn't expect so much from us, which means we can relax sometimes. Take it easy."

_ You're wrong. He expects more out of you than me. I'm the youngest of three boys… and the youngest of four children. Everything I could possible do has already been done. _

Outloud, Kyoya only turned back to his assignment, "I know. I'll never be the successor to the Ootori family. I don't have the same life as our brothers, they just had to follow the path promised to them by birth. Don't you see… it's  _ because  _ I'm the third son that I can't relax. I have to surpass Father's expectations of me, and yet respect my brothers and never step on their toes in the process. How can I…"

"Kyoya…"

He dropped his pencil on top of his journal, sitting backwards with his hands in his lap, "How can I properly demonstrate my abilities… the ones Father refuses to acknowledge, with the limits of being the third son? I have a daunting task: To paint the perfect picture hung up in an already perfect frame."

For a moment, no words were said. Then he heard some fabric shifting until Fuyumi was seated beside him. A delicate hand was placed on his shoulder, warm and grounding, "You're so bright, Kyo-kyo. Everything you do… you do exceptionally well. But tell me… if you keep this up, will you ever be happy?"

"Exactly where does my happiness fall in this equation? I don't think it matters at all, to be honest."

* * *

 

There was another moment of silence as the Fujioka girls tried to swallow what had just been shared. Jin was watching Kyoya's face for any emotion he might share. He had to admit, even for him it was oddly painful to talk about his past. He'd been in a very difficult position, especially compared to where he stood now.

"You know, I think I'd like your sister."

"I'm sure she'll like you, too." And she would. Most definitely. Kyoya could already see Fuyumi gushing over Jin and her perfectness, the two girls going on about not taking the easy ways out of a situation or perhaps just talking about cute puppies. And then his sister would smile at him, proud that he'd found it...

"Anyways… at that point my oldest brother had already graduated college and my second oldest was getting close to finishing up medical school with an MBA. He would be supporting our eldest brother while he trained to follow my father's footsteps in running the company. As for me..."

* Two Years Ago *

"Kyoya."

The youngest son swallowed lightly. It wasn't often his father spoke to him at breakfast. In fact, it was rare that any words were spoken at any family meal that were not between his brothers and his father about the business.

"Today is the day that Suoh-san's son is going to be transferring into your class, correct? We've done business with the Suoh Group for many years and we have a wonderful relationship with them, but competition is still a possibility. So I've been thinking… your befriending this Suoh would be in our family's best interest. But whatever you do to achieve this, don't forget Kyoya: Always keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

"Yes, sir, I remember."

"Staying at the head of the class isn't enough. Both of your brothers did the same when they were in school. I'm sure you're aware that it'll take more than that to satisfy me…"

"Yes, sir."

"I'm counting on you."

"Yes, sir. I know that."

He tore off a piece of bread and chewed it, already making a game plan for 'befriending' the newest student in his class. A plan he began only a few minutes after he arrived at school half an hour later.

"Hmm… Tamaki Suoh." Kyoya readjusted his glasses. It had been relatively easy pulling the boy's file up on his laptop. There was even a photo attachment. One of a blond-haired purple-eyed boy, clearly for his student ID as he was in Ouran Academy's middle school uniform against a light blue background.

Grey eyes skimmed the different files and tabs opened before him, picking up as much information as he could before he greeted the boy. Being class rep had its perks.  _ Conceived while his father was overseas in France… The Chairman took him in since he had no other heir… and was recently divorced… And so the love child of the chairman becomes the heir to the Suoh Group overnight. _

"Class representative, vice representative, you are needed in the Dean's office."

With a sharp snap, Kyoya shut his laptop and tucked it away, standing from his desk to follow Ayame Jounouchi out of the classroom.  _ Well, isn't he a lucky fellow? _

Soon enough, the two middle schoolers were being welcomed into the office.

"Allow me to introduce you to our newest student, Tamaki Suoh."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The boy gave his brand new classmates a smile that looked made of sunlight. It even surprised Kyoya for a moment, having only seen the bland expression from his student ID before.

Even so, Kyoya responded with his own smile and went to offer a hand as the Dean introduced him and Ayame. Except-

"You have the most beautiful straight hair I've ever seen…" The blond had taken Ayame's hands in his, leaning in close to deliver the compliment, "I would assume that your heart is just as blindingly beautiful as that hair of yours."

Kyoya's vice representative actually gasped out loud as her cheeks flushed.

_ Maybe it's a cultural difference? Even so, he'd better not try something like that on me. If there's one thing I'm sure of, I'm  _ not  _ letting him kiss my cheeks, Suoh Group be damned. _

Thank goodness, Tamaki only offered a hand to shake, "Nice to meet you, Ootori."

"The pleasure is all mine. You know, if you'd like I'd be willing to give you a tour around the school."

The blond smiled again as Kyoya took his hand, "I'd appreciate that very much! Thank you!" And just like that… Kyoya had unknowingly just fallen into Tamaki's plan.

* Present Day *

"Wait a moment… I thought Tamaki-senpai just fell into  _ your _ plan? The one where you became friends with him for your own benefit."

Kyoya frowned, "I think you're forgetting one tiny detail, Haruhi." The three looked over at the blond boy, who was now sitting at a different kotatsu table with his own guests, "That idiot is much smarter than many of us give him credit for."

Once again, Haruhi looked confused, "He is?"

"Take what he did just minutes after we met."

* Two Years Ago *

"Just up ahead is the West school building. All of our special classrooms are on the other side of it, such as for advanced pottery and theater."

"Ah." Tamaki nodded in understanding, then hesitated, "Wait, hold on, I almost forgot to ask. Ootori? Do you have a kotatsu at your house?"

Kyoya blinked, not sure how to answer such a… random question. Up until this point, the blond had been pretty reserved, going along with the tour as one should. And, of all things, why a kotatsu?

"Well-"

"Oh, surely you do! I think the idea of a kotatsu is wonderful! I've always thought it was cool that the Japanese sit on the floor!" Tamaki continued to babble nonsense, his body twisting and performing in such a way… either he had just become possessed by a demon or he had ants crawling around beneath his uniform.

Kyoya watched in disbelief.  _ Ah, so he's one of  _ those  _ types. A foreigner who's enamored with Japanese culture. What was the name of those again… Weeboos? Wee _ bo _ s? How did you pronounce it again? _

"Unfortunately, we don't have any kotatsu either. But we do have traditional Japanese decor, though."

"WAAAHHHHHH!"

"AAAHHHH!"

Tamaki's sudden scream of horror had been so unexpected and bloodcurdling Kyoya had no choice but to shout himself. His right hand came up to clutch at his school uniform, right above where he could've sworn his heart had stopped beating.  _ What just happened? Did I step on a landmine or something? _

"I can't believe it… you don't have a kotatsu? I'm  _ sorry _ , Ootori." Tamaki had his hand outstretched above his bent head, like he was pressing it against a wall… that was at least 10 feet in front of him, "It was insensitive of me to bring it up. I guess your family isn't as close as they could be, huh?"

Once again, Kyoya felt like his heart had stopped.  _ Exactly how had he figured that out by asking me about kotatsu?! What's his game? _ Two strong hands latched themselves onto his shoulders, bringing him back out into the real world. Tamaki's face was far too close to his, and looked to be caught in between teary-eyed and serious.

"Don't worry, Ootori, you don't have to hide it anymore. I'm well aware that the kotatsu is a symbol for a happy home life in Japan. Correct me if I'm wrong, but here in Japan you playfully kick each other's feet under the kotatsu while building familial bonds of trust watching costume grand prix, right? And, of course, you also eat plenty of mandarin oranges!" Tamaki was stuck in his happy delusion for another second before give Kyoya another sad look, "I feel sorry for you… you and your family are missing out."

It took a lot of Kyoya's patience to not try physically shaking some sense into the boy, replying only in a pleasant tone, "I hate to correct you, but you've got the wrong idea. If it's that important to you, we could put a kotatsu in our home for you to visit."

Tamaki gasped, his entire body going lax. Then he exploded, jumping at least five feet into the air, "THANK YOU, OOTORI!" His next jump launched himself  _ onto _ Kyoya, his legs binding the ravenet's arms and hands to his side while Tamaki rubbed their cheeks together.

"Yay! You're such a good friend -you're my  _ best  _ friend! Hey, Ootori, I don't want to be too forward or anything, but since we're pals do you think it's okay for me to call you by your first name?"

_ No, please God no. _

Before he could get a word in, Tamaki had shoved him away to start skipping around the hallway, still cheering phrases like 'Mon ami' and 'Kyoya', leaving his new 'best friend' to only watch in horror.

Of course, once he got home that night and shared his story with the only sibling he liked, he got a very different reaction.

"My, my, Kyoya. You became his  _ best friend _ in  _ one day? _ "

"I doubt he really knows what it means to be 'best friends', to be honest. I have a feeling he throws around phrases like that all the time with whoever he meets. He probably has a whole school of 'best friends' back where he's from-" he let out an exasperated sigh, "Sis, how many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my drawers?"

He watched as Fuyumi struggled for a bit, unable to deny it was sort of funny to see her try so hard and get that little pout when it didn't go her way. Of course, once he faced his homework again, the rest of his day played out in his mind.

_ Today he caught me off guard and play everything at his pace. Just as well, though. He's already showed me his play. Tomorrow, mine will be a complete surprise. And at least I now know he's a complete idiot. _

"Kyo-kyo, you have got too many things crammed in here! Once you pull something out there's no way to get it back in!"

"Funny, they fit just fine before you tried your hand at it. Are you sure you're not just storing your own clothes in there and blaming mine? If that's not the case, then just  _ don't _ pull anything out in the first place."

Fuyumi pulled back a little, then smiled slightly, "For the price of a single joke from you, Kyo-kyo, I'll stop for the night."

_ A joke? _

Kyoya sat up a little straighter, staring at his homework uncomprehendingly as his sister bade him goodnight.  _ Since when do I make jokes? _

* The Next Day *

"Kyoya, I need to ask a favor of you."

_ A favor? Well, at least he'll owe me in the future… even  _ if  _ he insists on calling me 'Kyoya'. This may be a- _

"You see, I really want to go to Kyoto. I got so excited about the kotatsu and our discussion yesterday that I forgot to mention it! I always said that once I got to Japan I would go to Kyoto!" As the boy began listing the different tourist destinations he wanted to see in Kyoto, despite none of them being anywhere near the town, Kyoya found himself speechless.

Wasn't this playing out exactly like it had yesterday? How was this idiot doing it?

"I want to see it  _ all~ _ "

"One problem, none of those things are in Kyoto."

And again, Tamaki flipped out. At least today Kyoya wasn't as caught off guard by the scream. If only because he now knew how big of an idiot the blond really was. Even so, he still had to remain as the guy's 'friend'.

"How about we see each of those things one at a time? For example, we could go to Kyoto this weekend, and then for our next school holiday we could go to Okinawa, and so on and so forth."

Big, watery purple eyes stared up at him for a solid five seconds before Tamaki's next mood swing. Jumping all over Kyoya just. Like. Yesterday. Growling lowly at the screaming in his ear, Kyoya repressed the urge to shove the boy off like he so desperately wanted to. Thankfully he was released quickly. But he was also shoved to the ground just like the  _ last _ time this had gone down.

_ Again with the Mon Ami shtick. It's only the second day I've known him and I'm already a god in his eyes. _

* * *

_ For some reason I just can't seem to get my head around this guy. Before I knew it, he had completely won over our class, and yet he's a complete idiot when it's just the two of us. How come no one else can see that side of him? _

"My, my, Kyo-kyo. All these travel guides! Hokkaido? How wonderful! But you know, if you need a guide you can ask the family driver-"

" _ But that's not  _ good  _ enough, apparently. Not for this  _ Tamaki Suoh  _ guy. _ "

Fuyumi paused, surprised at the clipped tone in her brother's voice. She stifled a squeak when the pen in Kyoya's fingers broke into a thousand pieces.

"When we went to Kyoto, he wanted to see the Dimonshi bonfire. Even though it's still  _ springtime. _ And as we were eating Okinawa Soba noodles, he tells me he wants to compare them to  _ Shinshu _ Soba noodles. Then he went on about whether a Shi-sha or a Namahage would win in a  _ fight. _ And then, after  _ all that! _ "

_ I'm sorry. I've overestimated... your ability to entertain me. _

Three books suddenly slammed on to Kyoya's table, knocking his homework aside, "But this time I'm going to make sure I'm ready for _anything!_ _I promise that while the two of us are in Hokkaido I will cater to your every whim, SUOH!_ "

"Huh? We're… going to Hokkaido?" Kyoya's smile was wide and very, very forced as he waited for Tamaki's slow, stupid brain to catch up the next day. He almost wanted to use a 'baby voice'.  _ Yes, little Tamaki. We're going to Hokkaido. Where I will feed you and entertain you and hold your hand when we cross the street since you can't take care of your- _

"I know you want to enjoy your life to the fullest, but don't you think our time would be better spent studying for finals right now? We'll go to Hokkaido when they're over, sound fair?"

He barely made it through the school day, dinner, and up to his room that night before he finally exploded.

"Kyoy-"

"THAT  _ BASTARD! _ "

Fuyumi shifted a little closer to the doorframe, which she noted was slightly cracked from the force Kyoya had used to slammed his door shut. Her brother was tearing about his room, throwing books and magazines every which way. By the time he slowed down, he was breathing heavily and had destroyed a good portion of the room.

"He's a goddamn idiot… I _knew_ that much… but I honestly had no idea he… _THAT HE WAS SUCH A TOTAL DUMBASS!_ " Kyoya clenched his left hand into a fist, staring at it with a strange hunger, "I've never wanted to punch someone so _badly_ in my _entire life…_ _AUGH! DAMN IT! I HATE HIM SO MUCH!_ "

A brief flash of his father's disappointed face lit up in Kyoya's mind and he froze.  _ What am I doing? Father said befriend him. _

Taking in a deep breath, he unclenched his fist and rubbed his eyes, "Alright, calm down. He's an idiot, but he's the idiotic  _ heir _ to the Suoh Group and getting emotional isn't going to help any. Clearly this is Father just testing my ability to cope with certain situations and people I have to impress. Even so, I won't forget how that utter  _ bastard _ humiliated me in front of the whole class!  _ Damn _ you, Tamaki Suoh! Damn you to  _ hell! _ "

The urge to hit something rekindled, and instead of fighting it like usual Kyoya dropped to his knees and started hitting the only bare spot on his couch. It was therapeutic. After all, in his mind's eye, he was punching Tamaki in the face. It felt good.

Left. "Damn-"

Right. "-you-"

Left. "-Su-"

Right. "-oh!"

* Present Day *

Kyoya finally paused in his storytelling when Jin's laughter got a little out of hand.

"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Haruhi struggled to keep her sister standing, though the small fits of laughter she was letting out weren't helping. Jin couldn't seem to stand up on her own, her knees buckling as her laughter slowly went up another octave.

It wasn't until Haruhi gave up and dropped Jin to the floor that she took a short break to breathe, "Y-you pfft-ha! Punched your  _ couch! _ HAHAHA! SWEET JESUS! TAKE THE WHEEL!"

"What?"

Even Haruhi started laughing honestly, putting one hand across her waist and her other holding up a single finger, "Hold that thought, Kyoya-senpai! Tapping out for a second!" And she stumbled away to calm herself down.

Jin wasn't even trying.

"HAHA! AHA! AHAHAAAA!"

"If I knew I was this hilarious I would've made more jokes while I was courting you."

His girlfriend merely rolled to her side, curling in on herself as a few tears of happiness leaked out. Around the room, they were gaining some attention. When the hosts raised their eyebrows, Kyoya merely shrugged and went back to staring at Jin, as if he had no idea what she was finding so funny. Even so, seeing the wide smile on her face and her cheeks reddening had his heart performing a small jumping-jack routine. Jin was so adorable, even when she wasn't trying, and Kyoya couldn't find the heart to try to stop her.

After another few seconds, she began to slow down herself, clutching at her stomach and gasping around her last couple traces of laughter, "I… I think I gave myself a six pack."

"Are you quite finished?"

Jin giggled as she looked back up at him. Kyoya tried to keep a straight face as she did so, but her smile was quite adorable. "Sorry, Kyo-kun. It's just, I've never seen you lose your cool before. It just seemed funny the way you were telling it."

"Hm." He offered a hand and pulled the brunette back onto her own two feet as her sister rejoined them, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead just because, "Now, where was I? I think it was during the weekend after finals that I saw Tamaki next…"

* Two Years Ago *

_ Your friend came by to visit. _

Even with Fuyumi's prior warning, this was not what Kyoya had expected. There he was, Tamaki Suoh, at the grand piano in the Ootori's parlor. No one played it except for Fuyumi, and even that was an incredibly rare occurrence these days. If the thought of the Suoh's heir having the ability to play the piano had ever come across Kyoya's mind before, he most likely would've thought that the blond would only play pop song renditions or chaotic pieces.

Not a beautiful dance of notes, singing about wonder and sorrow at the same time.

The music had thrown him into complete shock. And not just because Tamaki's playing had brought his brother's to tears… but because before he knew it a single tear had trickled down his face as well.

Of course, that magic had vanished the moment he stopped playing and Kyoya had been forced to 'invite' the blond up to his room.

"Sorry for just dropping in out of the blue like this."

_ If you were really sorry, then you'd go home! _

"Wow… your house is huge! It might even be bigger than my house back in France! I didn't think that was possible!"

_ What are you trying to say?! _

Kyoya managed to unstick the anger from his throat enough to smile politely, "Well, I can't say anything regarding your home back in France, but your estate here in Japan is probably much bigger, am I right?"  _ I hate you. I hate you so much. _

"Hm? Oh, well I wouldn't know that either. I've never been to the family estate."

The ravenet finally turned to look at his 'guest', "What?"

"So Kyoya, are you the heir to the Ootori family estate?"

_ IS THIS GUY ACTUALLY TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME? DAMN YOU, TAMAKI SUOH! _

"No. No way. My brother's, the ones you met when you arrived, they're the first and second in line. The most likely scenario is that I'll end up working for them."

"Really?" Tamaki actually sounded a little taken aback, "That's a surprise. From the little time I've known you, I always got the feeling you would want more than that. I mean, it's obvious just by looking into your eyes that you're not happy with your situation, anyone could tell. But in the end… you've given up so easily. That's probably the most surprising of all."

"This has  _ nothing _ to do with whether I'm  _ giving up _ or  _ not _ . It's  _ just the way things are. _ " The blond to his left made a curious sound, but Kyoya ignored it, "Of course, I wouldn't expect you to understand, you'll be the successor to your family's estate without even having to lift a finger!"

Instantly icy cold regret washed over the ravenet.  _ Damn it! _

"There's no guarantee I'll be the heir."

…  _ What? _

"My grandmother doesn't like me. In fact, I would almost say she hates me entirely. So… I suppose you could say I'm on a bit of a probation period. But unless something changes, then I'm not going to be the heir… or anything, really. Kinda nameless. I'm not allowed to go back home to France unless I give up my ties to the Suoh family estate, and my grandmother might refuse to give me that title anyways. I think the proper phrase is 'stuck between a rock and a hard place'. Seems to fit."

The boy leaned back in his seat, oddly nonchalant for someone who just admitted he had no place in the world and his grandmother hated him, "But to be honest, I'm not entirely upset. My father's line of work hasn't really interested me, even before I actually knew who he was. After all," humorless chuckle, "I just met the man about a month or two ago for the first time. And as for his business… well, could you really see me in charge of all of that? I can't let these looks go to waste! And I'm smart too, so perhaps I should become a scientist? Or an inventor! In fact, I've already got-"

"SHUT UP, TAMAKI!"

Tea cups and sugar cubes went crashing to the floor, spilling across the carpet as the table they had been resting on was upturned. A body also hit the ground, Tamaki gasping as his 'friend' violently threw him off the couch, using the front of his shirt as leverage.

"Did you honestly expect me to believe that crap? How can you possibly give up on being your family's successor so easily? You are the only heir, there is nothing stopping you from claiming it as your own except for your own cowardice! You think we're the same, I DON'T EVEN HAVE A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE CHANCE YOU DO! All you need to do is try! Take advantage of your fortunate… of the circumstances you were  _ blessed with _ by  _ birth! _ Damn it… YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT,  _ HOW CAN YOU SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME? _ "

Everything hurt.

His hands from clutching Tamaki's shirt so tight.

His throat from all the shouting.

His eyes that were straining to hold back the tears.

And then there was that feeling that someone had just carved open his chest and removed a necessary organ, so his body was attempting to support itself without it but couldn't do anything about the newly vacant space within his core.

"Hold on… it sounds to me like you're the one not trying. If you really want to surpass your brothers, and I know that you do, then you can do it. But you've given up, because you've tricked yourself into believing you can't. You stand there, acting as though your birth is the sole reason you can't show your true colors, because you're too afraid to admit that it's really you listening to the words of others and holding yourself back because of it. The only one in this room who has given up on his dream is you, Kyoya."

Something warm slammed into Kyoya's middle, sending his mind reeling.

_ Oh my god. _

Suddenly, Tamaki smiled and started looking around the room, "Silly me, I almost forgot to tell you why I came over in the first place! I was wondering if you had gotten that kotatsu by now. Not to nag you, but I figured it would've gotten here by now."

_ Idiot. _

Kyoya couldn't help it. His lips twitched as the feeling of bubbles started tickling his stomach region. A few chuckles slipped through and he put his head in his hands, except he was still holding onto Tamaki's shirt. That only made the situation even more ridiculous. Asking about that damn  _ kotatsu _ right after that big speech? When Kyoya had shouted and screamed everything he wanted someone to scream right back at him? Who else could take such an emotion-heavy moment and brush it off like nothing?

"Ahahaha! HAhahaha!" He dropped the fabric and leaned back, hands clutching his stomach as it clenched up. He couldn't remember a time when he had laughed like this before. It certainly hadn't been recently. It felt… good. Like Kyoya had been carrying his entire house on his shoulders his whole life and hadn't realized it until this moment, when someone forcibly pushed it off his shoulders. It was a very freeing emotion.

Through Kyoya's continued laughter, he faintly heard Tamaki speak again, "What's so funny? Wait… you're just hiding the kotatsu from me, aren't you? You're messing with me!"

Kyoya stopped laughing, shaking his head in disbelief, "It's not always about  _ you _ , idiot." He smacked the blond on top of the head, which was sort of what he'd wanted to do from the beginning, "For your information, kotatsu are only used in the winter. So, if you want to sit under one you'll have to wait until then."

He stood, "So could you quit being a dumbass?"

The blond still on the floor blinked, "Oh, wow. Your face. It looks evil. Finally showing your true colors?"

Kyoya kicked him lightly before offering a hand, "Just trying it out."

* Present Day *

"Hold on," Haruhi held up her hands, arranged in a 'time out' expression, "That still doesn't explain how you got sucked into this host club idea. Even after all of that, I don't see how you could agree to that so soon."

The ravenet readjusted his glasses, "He brought up the idea about four months after that day, going on about when we should start it, and who else should be included. It seemed that the more I listened, the more ridiculous his plans became. But for some reason, I got the feeling that if I shared his world, I would experience something different than anything I'd ever experienced before."

"Huh." The shorter brunette stared off after the blond. Something flickered in her eyes before she suddenly turned to the left. And, unless Kyoya was mistaken, her cheeks were a little flushed. "I should probably go see to my guests."

Once she was gone, the boy looked down at his girlfriend who was smiling softly, "What's that look for?"

"Just thinking. About something else I haven't heard from you."

"And what would that be?"

"I've never heard you laugh before. And," she repeated her sister's motion and looked out at Tamaki, who was stroking a girl's curled hair as she turned beet red from the attention, "Has anyone else noticed that Tamaki-senpai brought in students who were unhappy with their situations? And then, as he worked on getting them to join his club, wiggled out the tightest knot holding those problems in place?"

Kyoya didn't respond, thinking it over. Sure, it had been something he'd vaguely noticed. With himself, the twins, and Honey-senpai, by extension Mori-senpai... but was it possible Tamaki had done that on purpose? Surely not. The six of them were simply the most handsome men at the school... who just happened to be in  _ certain  _ situations where-

He shook his head. He'd go mad if he tried to make sense of the universe in his head. Instead, he decided to turn to a safer, and much more appealing topic. He regained Jin's attention with another brief tightening of his arm still around her waist.

"Mm?"

"About what I mentioned earlier, you meeting my sister. As it is she contacted me earlier today and said she wished to visit me this evening while her husband is off in Switzerland. Would you mind coming along and meeting her after our date?"

Jin blinked, obviously surprised by the invitation, "Kyo-kun... I don't want to intrude on you spending time with your family..."

"It'll only be the three of us. My brother's and parents are… too busy to join us. And I truly believe Fuyumi would kill me if I told her I had a girlfriend then didn't introduce the two of you." The ravenet kissed the back of Jin's hand, "Though, I should probably warn you that she may very well like you so much that she'll attempt to trick us into a wedding chapel."

She laughed, "Oh, really?"

"I'm being completely serious. She'll adore you, there's no doubt in my mind. And she'll want to be related to you as soon as possible." With a teasing smirk, Kyoya leaned in a little closer, " _ Though I  _ could  _ reassure her she won't have to wait for long. _ "

Jin looked away, unable to stem the blush, " _ Idiot… _ I know you're just being a host right now, Glasses. Stop teasing."

He pulls her head back to face him, "I mean it."

"When did you become such a softy?"

He merely smirks and kisses her forehead. As he did so, the brunette let out a content sigh that brushed up against his shirt collar. Slowly, he pulled back by a few millimeters, tilting his face downwards at the same slow pace. Jin didn't bother with the pageantry, pushing herself onto her toes to actually meet his lips in a proper kiss before he could tease her further.

"AHHHH! SO CUTE!"

The couple jolted apart, forcibly reminded that they were not, in fact, by themselves in a private location. All around them, the host club's guests were clutching at each other and gushing over the kiss they had witnessed. More often than not, the two were 'stingy' with actual kisses while in other people's company. Unless they were partially concealed by the cloak of darkness or some other barrier, they only engaged in cheek, forehead, or back-of-the-hand kisses.

Jin was completely red and buried her face into Kyoya's chest. The boy wasn't as embarrassed, though a little upset the kiss hadn't lasted a little longer. While his girlfriend continued to hide her face, he reopened his journal and flipped through it. It would seem... that no one had requested him for the day. Or Jin. Perhaps because they thought the two needed today to themselves after the 'Thomas' incident?

_ Might as well use that to our advantage. _

Shutting the journal once again, he ducked his head, " _ Neither of us will be hosting for the rest of the afternoon. It would seem as though our guests have decided to give us a day off. Would you like to begin our date a little earlier than planned? _ "

Jin didn't remove her face, but she did nod.

" _ Go get ready then. _ "

A few minutes later, Kyoya exited one of the dressing room spaces. He had decided to go for something simple, a rather plain black suit and tie. Though he was still trying to decide which tie to use. He could use the red one for a splash of color, but at the same time he did not know what Jin would be wearing and he wouldn't want to clash...

Tamaki burst into the room, quickly shutting the external door behind him, "Kyoya! Jin! I think you'd better hurry! The girls are anxious to see your outfits!"

From behind another yellow curtain, Jin cursed softly in German, "Almost done! Haru suggested I curl my hair... which is why I'm taking so long. Sorry, Glasses!"

"Don't be. Out of curiosity, what color is your dress?"

There's a beat of hesitation, "Red. And white."

_ Perfect. _

Tossing the black tie back into his bag with his school uniform, the ravenet began tying the strip of fabric.  _ Red and white? Interesting. I wonder where she's been hiding it. Unless the twins got a hold of her... _

"My Mon Ami... going out on a  _ date..." _ Tamaki was dabbing at the corner of his eyes with a handkerchief, "They grow up so fast..."

"One, this is not the first date I've taken Jin on, so your overreaction is completely unprecedented. Two, you have yet to go on  _ one _ date yourself. Three-"

The sound of a curtain being pushed aside cut the ravenet off, and he couldn't do much but stare at his girlfriend as she emerged. She had kept on her black tights and sandals from her uniform, probably because it was so cold out and the shoes were still fancy enough for a date, but the rest of her...

"You look magnificent."

The brunette smiled, "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." She walked further out of the changing stall, her newly curled hair bouncing cutely with every step. Covering her shoulders and arms was a white sweater, the front remaining unbuttoned to show off her dress underneath. The top half was completely red, with a keyhole collar, but the skirt was an alternating red and white zig-zags pattern. Said skirt only went down to her knees, puffing out just a little to give the dress some volume, and as a whole it was simple but still utterly-

"Perfect."

Tamaki was crying slightly, "You've complimented her once already, Mon Ami."

"Once was not enough."

Jin went red again, but that didn't stop her from taking Kyoya's offered arm and walking out with him back into Music Room 3. The girls started screaming and Tamaki continued sobbing behind them, but neither of them really cared. The only thing either of them noticed other than each other was the way Haruhi was physically holding the twins back from following them. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time they had been followed while on a date -Harry Potter World had been interesting, even for the Host Club's standards- and the prospect that this time they might be left alone entirely was amazing.

Of course, once the twins realized they wouldn't be allowed to follow the two right off the bat:

"So-"

"-where are you lovebirds going?"

Kyoya merely shot a smirk over his shoulder before pulling the door shut, resulting in another scream from the girls as they started swapping theories among themselves.

Out in the hallway, Kyoya pulled out Jin's Hufflepuff scarf from behind his back, tucking it around her neck. It didn't necessarily match the rest of her outfit, but he did it anyways.

"Kyo? I thought you said I should let Haru take my things home for me?"

"I did. But considering the movie I'm taking you too, I thought you'd appreciate having your Harry Potter memorabilia with you."

The girl gasped, then grinned and grabbed her boyfriend's hand, tugging him down the hallway towards the school exit.

 


	48. The Power Couple's third-wheels!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> KyoJin fluff, pretty much.

 

 

Pencil lead quietly scratched across a half-filled piece of paper, forming an answer for Haruhi Fujioka's history homework. The girl was quiet as she tried to focus on the questions she was supposed to have answered by tomorrow morning. She felt wired. It was a little past 8:30 at night already, and this was her last bit of homework left, so she figured by 9 o'clock she'd be done. But this was still cutting it close for her.

Haruhi almost went to tell her sister exactly that before she remembered she wasn't speaking to Jin at the moment.

Her older sister was lounging on the couch in their apartment's living room, a paperback book in her right hand. She was on the left side of the piece of furniture, while Haruhi sat at the foot of the right side, her textbooks spread out on the table in the middle of the room. Kyoya was there as well, his lean body taking up the rest of the couch while his head contently rested in his girlfriend's lap, eyes closed as Jin's free hand gently combed through his hair. The girl's Tardis blanket was thrown over Kyoya's lower half, but it was still long enough to drape to the floor for Haruhi to sit on.

The couple was still dressed up from their night out, Jin hadn't even removed her Hufflepuff scarf, which irritated Haruhi to no end. It was almost enough to make her wish that her father would come home early and kick Kyoya out for the night… even though she knew he couldn't.

After their "family outing" at the beginning of the month, when the Fujioka's, Arai's, and the Host Club went to the apple orchard together, Ranka hadn't exactly made it out squeaky clean. Jin had been quick to confront him on how he'd sicced the hosts on her and Kyoya to keep them apart. In her eyes, he had blatantly broken his promise to behave on their outing.

But Ranka claimed he had found a loophole.

" _ You never mentioned asking the Hosts to step in for me! You only said I couldn't  _ hire  _ anyone! They did it on their own free will." _

Haruhi eventually stepped in to offer a compromise, except now she was regretting opening her mouth at all.

Because now, the deal was that while Kyoya still wasn't allowed to stay at the Fujioka's overnight, his curfew of visitation was set as Jin's bedtime. Which she did not have. Meaning that as long as Jin was still awake, Kyoya could remain in the apartment… so long as they kept out of her bedroom and someone else was with them.

"Haru? Did Dad say when he was coming home tonight? I thought he mentioned covering for another employee, but he could've been talking about tomorrow."

Haruhi remained silent.

"Really? Exactly how long are you going to keep this up?"

Quiet.

"Haru."

The shorter girl flipped a page of her textbook.

"Haru, I do not deserve this, and we both know you can't keep this up for much longer."

"Yes, I can!" Haruhi dropped her pencil in frustration, turning around from her spot on the floor to glare at the couple, "How could you do it? How long have we talked about going to see 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'? It was the  _ one movie we were going to see in theaters this whole year! _ And you went  _ without me! _ "

"If I may, Haruhi, I was the one who planned to take your sister to that showing, and I made it a surprise so there was little she could do to change it." Kyoya hummed as Jin's fingers continued to scratch pleasantly across his scalp, "There really isn't any reason that you and Jin can't go see the movie yourselves. I paid for Jin's ticket, so she still has any money that she saved up for you two to go on a 'girls night'."

Haruhi scowled, "But that's not the point!"

"Oh, I wouldn't mind seeing it again, though," Jin grinned, her mischievousness coming into play along with her 'older sibling' rank, "It was the best movie ever. And the  _ sushi  _ we had after? Glasses, whatever that place you took us to was called…  _ wow. _ If I had the money, I'd be going there at least once a month."

"As you wish." Kyoya reached up to gently stroke Jin's cheek with a single finger before gently cupping her cheek. The brunette lowered her book onto his chest, letting it fall shut as she brought her right hand up to place over his heart. She smiled and kissed at the palm of the hand on her face, then shyly peeked down at the boy in her lap.

"I felt your heart rate pick up, Glasses."

Kyoya responded with a smirk before sitting up slightly, using his hand to steer Jin down for a proper kiss on the lips.

The two broke apart when a pencil hit Kyoya's shoulder before rolling away across the floor.

"Oh my- get a room, you two! Geez!"

Haruhi frantically started packing up her stuff as Jin started laughing, "I thought you two were  _ over _ the lovey-dovey Honeymoon phase? It's disturbing enough to see  _ Kyoya-senpai _ doing those things, but the fact that he's doing it with my  _ sister _ is-" she was cut off with her own fake gagging. Kyoya had recaptured Jin's lips while her little sister had gone on a tirade.

"Please keep in mind that we  _ all _ use that couch, Nēchan! Also, fair warning, the walls are thin!"

And she quickly shut herself into her bedroom, unable to not smile along as her sister's laughter followed her. It grossed her out… but she was undeniably happy for her sister.

Even if she was the occasional third-wheel.

* * *

_ Ding ding! Ding ding! _

Jin's head perked up on instinct, her right hand pulling her phone out of her right pocket. Of course, before she could read the new message, the device was plucked from her hands.

"Hey!"

Kaoru hurried in front of her down the school hallway, scrolling through messages while his brother walked along beside him, "Don't freak out, Jin-senpai."

"We just want to see who was dumb enough to text you during your second honeymoon."

Jin blushed, unsure whether she should slip out of Kyoya's hold after that last comment, "How did you get into my phone? I changed my password!"

"5-6-5-3. K-O-J-F. Seriously, you need to give us some more credit."

Her face burned hotter.

"Hey, Kyoya-senpai?"

"Why is your sister texting your girlfriend?"

The twins snorted and turned around, nearly shoving the device into the couple's faces, "And why is she referring to Jin-senpai as her 'sister-in-law'?

At that point, Jin had her face completely covered by her gloved hands, just a hint of red peeking around between her fingers. Her boyfriend, however, merely chuckled and tightened his grip around the girl's waist.

"I told you she would like you."

* Flashback *

"Kyoya! Happy birthday!" A girl sitting on a nearby park bench jumped up from her seat, rushing over to greet her younger brother. Jin couldn't help but compare the two siblings in her head as her boyfriend was wrapped up in a hug.

The two had quite a few similar features. The glossy black hair the most prominent, of course, but when Fuyumi pulled back to look over her only younger sibling, Jin got a good look at her eyes. Not only were they the same stormy grey, but there was a familiar softness within them that she had come to recognize. The older woman's face was also somewhat sharp, with the potential for seriousness, and yet it was cheerful and open as Fuyumi started babbling about her train ride back to Bunkyo.

And then Fuyumi noticed the brunette.

"Kyo-kyo? Who's this young lady?"

Whatever nerves Jin had experienced on their way to the park immediately vanished in the presence of Kyoya's only sister. Fuyumi just had that special personality that could make anyone feel safe with her, and even though she didn't even know Jin's name or who she was in relation to her brother, it was clear that Fuyumi was happy to meet someone new.

Kyoya smirked and pulled away from his sister, "Fuyumi, do you remember me telling you about the new students at Ouran Academy? The Fujioka's?"

Fuyumi smiled and nodded, "I do! Oh! Oh! Wait! Let me guess which one it is!" She looked at the brunette for about four seconds before smiling, "Jin, right?"

She received a surprised and happy laugh, "That's me! How did you know right off the bat?"

The ravenette giggled, her smile taking a slightly devious turn, "Oh… intuition…" She paused, "And because Kyoya talks about you… often. I remembered him describing you with beautiful long brown hair, big brown doe-like eyes, a cute face, nice figure…"

She suddenly trailed off, looking at her brother in confusion while Jin bashfully looked at her toes.

"Yes?"

"You're not stopping me."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "Should I be?"

"Well, when your friend Tamaki Suoh came to our house and I started telling him how you described him to me, you told me to stop talking. Was that because your descriptions of him weren't nearly as flattering?"

The boy chuckled, "Partially. And besides, you were just telling Jin the truth after all."

Jin scoffed, looking away with a blush. In front of her, Fuyumi started looking between her brother and her new friend in cautious confusion, "Kyo… is there a reason you decided to introduce us today of all days?"

He smirked a little wider, "I merely assumed that you would prefer to meet Jin before I told you she was my girlfriend."

Fuyumi screamed. Her hands came up to wave around her face, a full blown smile on her face as she began jumping.  _ A fangirl? No wonder Kyoya doesn't get easily annoyed with the clients. Or with me when Supernatural is on. Or just recently when we went to see Fantastic Beasts... _

"When did this happen? Oh, my,  _ gosh _ Kyoya why didn't you tell me  _ before?! _ I knew you liked her because of the way you talked about her  _ all the time _ but why didn't you tell me she was your  _ girlfriend? _ "

Kyoya shrugged, "I believe we became official… a little less than three months ago. It was early September."

" _ Three months! _ " Fuyumi shrieked, her hands coming forward to grab at her brother's suit jacket, " _ Do you mean to tell me you've been dating someone for three months and never told me? _ "

The boy shrugged again, "I knew that you would want to meet her as soon as you heard, so I decided to wait until there was a good opportunity for you two to meet."

Fuyumi still looked angry, but she looked at Jin next, "What on Earth do you see in him?"

"Jury's out."

Kyoya shot an unamused glare in Jin's direction, but his sister merely laughed, releasing him in the process, "Okay, okay, that's fair. Now, how about we get something warm to drink? It's too cold out here to properly talk. I think there's a cafe close by! Come on!"

Fuyumi began walking down the sidewalk, leaving the couple no choice but to follow. Kyoya smirked and leaned down to whisper in Jin's ear, " _ I think she likes you. _ "

* End Flashback *

Jin sighed and reclaimed her phone, "I asked her to stop doing that. Auto-correct my ass."

"I do believe I warned you that she'd be shoving wedding magazines into your mail after you two met."

"Yeah, but I'd personally prefer to have some time being a 'girlfriend' before I become someone's 'fiancée' or 'wife'."

The two continued on down the hallway, exchanging the pros and cons between dating and arranged marriages, without even a backwards glance at the twins. Kaoru tilted his head, "Hikaru?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this feel like Deja Vu to you?"

The older twin nodded, "This is exactly what happened when they first started dating. Think this is because of that crazy guy who showed up last week?"

"With our luck, yeah."

Behind them, the two heard a sigh, "Trust me, it was even worse back at home." Haruhi past them, drawing the twins along with her as they began walking to their own class, "Kyoya-senpai didn't leave until almost 9:30 last night. The two were cuddling and making out on our couch for almost an hour before he decided to leave so they could get some sleep before school. At least they have less PDA here. I can finally get a break."

"Yeah, except we're having a lunch meeting today to discuss next week's cosplay."

The brunette groaned, "Oh... wonderful."

* Time Skip *

"Kyo-chan! Kyo-chan, can I have some cake for lunch?"

The ravenet raised an eyebrow before flipping open his journal to one of the newer pages in the back. Honey tilted his head when he noticed something.

"Hey, Kyo-chan? Is that a new journal?"

"Yes, it is. My birthday present from Jin. She claimed that my old journal was falling apart and took it upon herself to replace it." He smiled softly at the paper in front of him, missing how his senpai nodded with his own smile. That was the whole reason Honey had noticed the change anyways. Kyoya's old journal had started to fray at the ends, the binding growing loose as he started replacing more and more pages. At least this new journal was a bit thicker, so he could wait a bit longer before needing to add in more paper.

And there was a slight indent in the back. A gold inscription... of a rose.

Honey thought it was super sweet.

The ravenet cleared his throat, "Now about your previous question, Honey-senpai. It looks-" He paused, head turning to watch his girlfriend walk away.

Honey stared at the couple, his head being forced to rotate between them as the distance increased. While Kyoya had been about to answer his question, Jin had walked into the room with Haruhi. The sisters began heading towards the large table the club would be eating at, which sent them right behind Kyoya as he flipped through his journal. With a cheeky smile, Jin had winked at Honey before pausing just behind Kyoya. She rose to her toes, placed her hands on his shoulders, and kissed the ravenet's cheek in greeting before retreating.

The two boys continued to stare after the taller brunette, who continued to talk to her sister as though nothing had happened. Eventually, though, Honey turned back to his friend, "Yeah, Kyo-chan?"

Kyoya continued to stare off to the side.

"Kyo-chan?"

Still nothing.

"Hey! Kyo-chan!" The small boy darted over and waved Usa-chan above his head, pushing his stuffed bunny into the 2nd-year student's line of sight.

Kyoya shook his head, "Yes, Honey-senpai? You were saying?"

The small boy sighed, glad to have reclaimed the ravenet's attention, "Can I have cake for lunch. Yes or no?"

"Oh. Of course. But please, only two slices today. We really can't afford any more for the rest of the week." He was given a happy nod before the small boy pranced his way to the kitchen, ready to help himself to those promised slices of cake. Once he was out of sight, Kyoya turned back to face Jin, who was now leaning her forearms on the back of Haruhi's chair, looking over her shoulder as they began bartering different pieces of their lunches.

Jin, however, soon realized she was being watched. She looked over at the boy and smiled, "I see you are very cute and very far away. Please come be cute closer to me."

Kyoya chuckled, letting his brand new journal fall shut in his hands before walking over.  _ I'm fairly sure she just stole my line. _

He reached the table and took a seat two chairs to the left of Haruhi. Jin quickly took the seat between them just as Honey-senpai ran back from the kitchen and hopped up into his own seat on the other side of the table. They were all accounted for.

As the eight began eating their various lunches, Tamaki smiled at them all from the head of the table, "Alright everyone! I have a surprise announcement."

The Fujioka's exchanged a glance.

_ Uh oh... _

"For the past few days, I've been trying to decide between two different cosplay ideas. One would be the Harry Potter cosplay we've been sitting on for  _ months _ now, and a 'Snow Day', for the first day of December next Friday. Originally, Kyoya and I agreed that we should hold off on the 'Snow Day' until the weather actually called for snow. But after thinking on it for a bit last night... I've decided that we should just do both!"

The blond grinned, his arms outstretched as if awaiting a hug for his brilliant idea. Instead, the black haired boy sitting on his right looked about ready to throw Tamaki, and then himself, out of the closest ten-story window.

"I see... and when were you going to tell me that you decided this?"

"Now. I wanted it to be a surprise!"

It was clear to everyone that Kyoya was trying to reign in his anger, stiffly pushing his glasses further up his nose, "Well, as you are the club's President, you do hold the final decision for everything, but I must reiterate...  _ again _ ... that we simply cannot afford to hold both cosplays within the same week. As a brand new Harry Potter franchise has just come out," he cast the briefest of smiles towards his girlfriend, to which her sister huffed in mild frustration, "...acquiring professional 'Hogwarts' robes and additional props will be very expensive with their newly hiked prices. Yet, we still decided on  _ that _ cosplay in particular because the guests have become rather restless waiting for it. As much as I hate to tell you, Tamaki, it simply cannot be done."

He closed his eyes with finality, glad to have withheld his desire to smack the blond's head until he finally understood what Kyoya had been telling him for days now. Because if he did, then the item he'd most likely use in said task would be his new journal. And he happened to like this one... very much so.

"Oh."

Kyoya's eyes reopened. He didn't like the way Tamaki said that.

"What?"

The blond looked a little grey as he hurriedly withdrew his arms back to his chest, "I... uh... I  _ may  _ have..."

"Tamaki...  _ what did you do? _ "

"Eep..." Tamaki was definitely pale now, "I may have...  _ already ordered them? _ "

The table went so quiet, the four responding gasps to Tamaki's confession sounded like a rocket launch. The two male 2nd years were frozen in place, staring at each other. One was experiencing ever consuming terror, while the other was mercifully still somewhat uncomprehending. Of course, that wouldn't last long, and the twins were already preparing their speeches for their idiot of a club president's funeral.

Until Jin huffed, "Well  _ that _ wasn't smart of you, Tamaki." She placed a hand on Kyoya's stiffening shoulders and shook him a little, "We'll have to sell a couple of my drawings we were saving up, it seems, Glasses."

It was like watching a magic show. Kyoya went from 'Potential Homicidal Maniac' to 'Miracle Worker Boyfriend' in the space of an  _ instant _ .

"Of course. I had been hoping to save those sales for a later date, but it doesn't seem avoidable now." The two 'accountants' bent themselves over the journal, flipping between two different pages as they switched to the language of numbers. Neither of them seemed to realize how everyone at the table was gaping at them. It was unclear to most of the witnesses whether they were more taken aback by Kyoya's lack of reaction or terrified of Jin's apparent magic powers. Tamaki especially. Never in the past two years of knowing the Ootori boy had he  _ ever  _ seen Kyoya just let someone off the hook like that... what was  _ happening  _ to him?

He must've thought that too soon, because just then Kyoya turned his eyes back to him. There was still the flame of anger burning within his gaze, but he didn't look like he wanted to  _ kill  _ Tamaki any longer... so that was good.

"Tamaki, I do hope you've learned your lesson. We'll be able to squeak by this time... with a few cut backs and a couple late nights, but should this happen again..."

Jin touched his shoulder again, using her other hand to lightly tap at yet  _ another _ page within the journal.

The ravenet smiled, "You've read my mind, Darling." Turning back to the blond, the smile turned cold, "...should you ignore my warnings and neglect this club again... you will be joining the Fujioka's in the very important job of  _ debt payback. _ "

Tamaki gulped, but nodded his head. Debt, he could handle. It was much better than decapitation at any rate. Even so, it took him a long while before he could join the rest of the club in eating lunch. He shifted his chair to the left a little bit, trying to put some distance between himself and his Vice President, but Kyoya didn't even seem to notice. He was too busy making further notes with Jin in his new journal, occasionally taking a break to stuff a piece of food in his mouth.

He and Jin weren't really paying much attention to which tray their chopsticks were stabbing into. And if Tamaki let himself, he could imagine Kyoya's anger somehow returning... and those chopsticks suddenly being dug into his arm.

But instead, Kyoya seemed to be relaxing further.

_ So... I'm a third wheel again? Maybe that's not such a bad thing. _

* * *

"So what do you want to do for the free period today?" Tamaki lounged around in one of the many chairs scattered around the room. This was one of the few times they weren't going to open, due to a required meeting for all of the 3rd year students at school. Mostly college and university information, something the three second years could expect themselves the following year, but for now they were simply waiting in the club room with nowhere else to go. They hadn't heard from the other three yet, but they were expecting.

Jin shrugged, her hands carefully slipping one of her Hikaru and Kaoru drawings into a clear sleeve, "Well, I'm doing this. I want to get all of the drawings we're going to put up for auction into their sleeves  _ now _ so I don't forget about it later. I think Kyo-kun's updating the site and putting the first drawing up for auction. Maybe you could head down to the library? Haru said she and the twins would be studying in one of them for a paper they were recently assigned..."

Tamaki hummed, thinking it over. As he did, Jin went back to her task, turning up the volume on the MP3 player resting on the table next to her hands. She had it on shuffle, and so far they had gone through 'Honey Honey' from Mamma Mia, 'Skyfall' by Adele, 'The Sound of Music Reprise' from The Sound of Music, and they were currently on a brand new piece he'd never heard of. It had a good beat. He liked it.

"What's this one called?"

"History Maker. By Dean Fujioka." Jin smiled over her shoulder as the song began to die out, "No relation."

That actually made Tamaki laugh. Perhaps it was in the name. Fujioka made you... special. His eyes fell on his best friend.  _ Of course, I'm sure that having the last name of Ootori wouldn't change Jin all that much. Wait... what am I doing? I'm getting ahead of myself. _

The next song started up. It took him a moment, but he did recognize it. 'In the Mood' by Glenn Miller, an instrumental piece. Jazz, actually. Jin had more than a few Jazz pieces thrown into her selection, this particular piece one of Tamaki's personal favorites. And apparently-

"May I have this dance?"

-one of Kyoya's, too.

Jin gave a look of mock surprise to her boyfriend before giving him a smile and taking his offered hand, "You may."

The two moved to a fairly empty portion of the floor, quickly falling into a peppy foxtrot like it was second nature. Jin was grinning as Kyoya lead her around and around, neither of them noticing as the blond they had been talking with slowly slipped out of the room, giving them an approving smile before silently shutting the doors behind him. Even as he did so, he could still faintly hear the music and Jin's laughter.

_ Yeah... being the third wheel isn't so bad. Now, Jin mentioned one of the libraries? _

* Small Time Skip *

Still giggling madly, Jin let herself fall backwards onto one of the many couches in the room. She felt like her whole body was tingling as the next song began from her MP3. She couldn't remember the last time Kyoya had randomly surprised her with a dance like that. Of course, the same could be said for an actual dinner and movie date. This was nice. It almost made the whole Thomas debacle seem worth it.

The music cut out and Kyoya reappeared in front of her, her MP3 in his hands. She smiled and patted at the cushion on her right. He smirked, but sat down, handing the small device over to her as he did so.

Jin quickly placed it on the table in front of them and shuffled into Kyoya's lap, a happy noise escaping her throat in place of the giggles when he didn't even pretend to fight her. Instead, he wound his arms around her waist like he always did and pulled her more securely against his chest. The brunette smiled wider, leaning her head on his shoulder. Her eyes closed right before she felt a pair of soft lips press briefly against her brow.

They were gone just as fast, but the tiny kiss had subtly shifted the tension in the room. Enough, of course, to make Jin reopen her eyes from what might've been a promising cat nap before the last class of the day.

She nibbled at her bottom lip, trying to find the best way to start it out.

"You know, if anyone saw us right now, they'd probably never let you live it down."

"Hmm?" Kyoya made a small shift, his head falling backwards against the back of the couch. He might not be saying it out loud, but he was quite happy in this situation. Simply holding her close. It wasn't like he was comfortable with such physical contact from most anyone else. Seeing his sister so recently had reaffirmed that. Her hugs were nice and welcomed... but she wasn't Jin, either.

His right thumb slowly rubbed a small circle around her hipbone as he replied, "Saw us... what?"

"Cuddling."

She almost giggled again at the comical way the boy beneath her stiffened. Pulling her head away, Jin smiled innocently at Kyoya's expression.

"I'm not a cuddler... in the strictest definition."

Jin smirked and nuzzled his chest, bringing her hands up to rest on his collarbone, "Oh yeah? Then what do you call this?"

It took a few seconds for Kyoya to respond, but when he did, it was in the exact way Jin had hoped for.

"I... figured that it was a precursor for  _ this. _ "

He tilted her chin up and kissed her deeply, their lips molding against each other's in a way they had grown so accustomed to over the past few months. Jin responded in turn, moving her arms up to wind around his neck. Kyoya hummed in appreciation, but not in surprise. This had been his goal the whole time. At least he was also gifted with the knowledge that he and Jin were on the same page.

Despite what some may think, the two weren't often gifted with  _ alone _ alone time. Public dates were often the only time they could be together without being known by name, even if there was the odd occurrence of one of them being recognized. At school, they were surrounded, and there was very little chance of finding a secluded place that they could guarantee would remain secluded for long enough to enjoy it. And home? They had already agreed that Kyoya's home was... off limits, for the time being. And Jin's apartment was also off limits unless Haruhi or Ranka was with them. Last night when Haruhi had let them stay by themselves in the living room had been perhaps the first time in a month they were actually  _ alone. _ And even then, there was someone else in the house. They had grown used to sharing their affection with each other while also in the public eye, but that didn't mean they didn't want for a little privacy every now and again.

But this, with two of their friends in an hour long meeting, three in a library all the way at the other end of the building, and the last one having just left to join them... unheard of.

The two parted. Jin's hands pressed against the back of the couch for support as she crawled off of Kyoya's lap... only to crawl back on, straddling him this time instead. She was rewarded with a look that made her weak in the knees before Kyoya's mouth fell to her neck. A gasp escaped without intention, quickly morphing into a soft whine.

"Y-you're getting too g-good at this...  _ hey! _ "

Jin frowned when Kyoya pulled back, her left hand coming up to trace the path left on her skin. Most was just... a little wet, but at the still tingling spot just above her shirt's collar, she immediately felt them.

"Kyo-kun! Mmph-" she kissed him back for a moment before pushing at his chest, "Oh, no. Not this time. A bite mark? Really? I didn't even say anything  _ bad! _ "

"Of course not." The smile he gave her was downright evil, "That's why it's a gift. Not a punishment."

Her eyes narrowed, so he softened his look, "And it'll fade before we even return to class. I didn't break the skin, it's simply an indent. I'm well aware of where I can, and cannot, mark you."

Jin's fingers traced the skin for another moment before she smiled, "You're gonna get yourself into trouble one day if you keep this up."

His only response was kissing her again, but she wasn't done.

"Wait, Kyoya... what if someone-"

"No one will come in. You know that as well as I do. If anyone would, it would be Haruhi, and I would hope she had learned her lesson from before..."

The two were suddenly locked in a staring contest, the possibilities of the moment returning full force. Jin's hands moved in tandem, drifting up the sides of her boyfriend's face until his glasses were lifted up off his nose. She folded them delicately in the small space still left between them, jumping a little when Kyoya's right hand came up to grab them. They were still for another moment before Kyoya leaned forward, recollecting Jin's lips with his own. She groaned in response, her freed hands coming up to grab his shoulders as he continued to lean. One arm went around her waist to help her not fall backwards off the couch.

There was the faint sound of metal and glass being set on a tabletop before Kyoya pulled them upright again.

At the sudden move, Jin's hands slipped from his shoulders, her arms winding around his neck instead. She hardly noticed, her arms tightening and shifting on autopilot now as she focused on the kiss. It was almost like a dream come true for her. For at least half of her life, she had been told that she was too ugly, too weird, or too uptight to ever get a boyfriend. And there had been days where she had thought the same. So now, as her boyfriend(!) began flicking tiny kitten licks across the seam of her lips, asking for entrance, she smiled, simultaneously letting him in.

She could still faintly taste the mint toothpaste he'd used after lunch, sure that he was thinking the same. Either way, they were both moaning softly and pulled each other closer, if that was possible.

Jin's right hand suddenly moved back down between their chests, her fingers playing with his tie. Above closed eyes, Kyoya raised his eyebrows, but he still reached up to cover Jin's hand with his own, loosening the strip of fabric on his own. She smiled against his lips, her hand now unbuttoning the top button of his white undershirt. In his head, Kyoya briefly wondered where Jin was going with this, but he couldn't really say he was bothered by it, either. She paused after each button, waiting for a reaction to tell her Kyoya was uncomfortable. There was nothing, but she still stopped at only the third one down.

Smirking, she pulled away, " _ Payback. _ "

"Mmm?  _ Oh. _ " Kyoya gasped softly as a pair of lips tickle the skin beneath his jawbone. Lithe fingers were still teasing the white fabric over his chest, unhurriedly pulling at it until the opening was a little wider than before.

Jin continued to lick steadily downwards, not lingering too long in any particular spot as to not leave a mark. Their marking agreement went both ways. But, as it was...

" _ Ah! _ " Jin's lips curled into a smile before returning to the hollow just above Kyoya's collarbone. She heard his head fall backwards against the back of the couch yet again, muffled moans attempting to escape but not being allowed to. His hands are roaming around her back and sides, searching for purchase as she nibbles gingerly on his pale skin. Eventually he finds some, gripping tightly but not harshly at her left shoulder and the crook of her right knee.

She sucks harshly on the hollow, earning a groan that practically made Kyoya's whole chest vibrate with it's low volume. Pulling away with a dainty ' _ pop _ ', Jin admired her work. It wasn't the largest hickey she'd given him, approximately the size of an American quarter, but the reddish-purple hue stood out unmistakably against the surrounding pale skin. Easily hidden when wearing one of the many button down shirts Kyoya owned, but unable to ignore should he change in front of a mirror.

_ Good. _

Fingers threaded through her brown locks and Jin found herself, once again, merely a hairs width away from her boyfriend's face.

" _ Now who's too good? _ "

She was granted one more dangerous smirk before they were back at it again, more demanding now than before. Kyoya's other hand slowly began creeping further up her thigh, pointer finger rubbing circles along the way. Their heartbeat's quickened, faces growing hot as Jin's hands dropped, fingers shakily tugging at jacket buttons, not really caring which jacket she was touching so long as  _ one _ of the layers disappeared.

The doors creaked.

"Nēchan? Are you- EW! JESUS,  _ AGAIN? _ "

The two 2nd years  _ fly _ apart. Jin almost fell off the couch altogether, her hands wildly clutching at her boyfriend's shoulders while she attempted to find her balance on her own feet again. The couple stands up, trying to help each other balance while also standing a little bit apart. They stare in horror at Haruhi, who is waving her hands around her, looking for the door while her eyes remain tightly shut.

"H-Haru! I… W-we…"

"NOPE! NOT THINKING ABOUT IT! GOING AWAY NOW! GOODBYE!"

Haruhi stumbles out of the room, eyes still closed and face completely red. Kyoya and Jin look at each other, faces just as red and looking like they'd just stumbled through a wind-tunnel. Hair is mussed, shirts wrinkled, and lips are kiss swollen. Kyoya quickly buttons his shirt and jacket back up, Jin picking his glasses off the table. She meekly offers them to him as he straightens out his tie the best he can. She blushes harder when she realizes how messy his hair looks, realizing her probably looks worse. She frantically starts to comb her fingers though it.

"So... Haru's learned her lesson, hm?"

Kyoya lets out a weak chuckle, "Perhaps I put too much faith into your sister's social intelligent."

"Yeah, I think you did." The two smile at each other before Jin starts laughing, her hands falling from her still knotted hair, "Well... you can't get much more third wheel than that!"

"No, I suppose you cannot. Though, Tamaki had already claimed the title as our third wheel."

"Possibly the entire Host Club is a collection of third wheels."

Kyoya smiles gently, cupping his girlfriend's cheek to press another sweet kiss to her mouth, "We only have a few more minutes until class starts. I have a spare comb in my bag that we could probably put to good use."

"Did you...  _ expect _ this to happen?"

"I expect everything and anything to happen, which I why I'm always prepared."

"I have a feeling that is a  _ majorly _ doctored line from 'The Princess Bride'. How did you know that was my favorite movie?"

"...from what?"

Jin stares at the ravenet in shock for a few moments. Then she grabs his hand and starts walking towards his bag, "Movie night. This weekend. No arguments." She's so focused on making plans in her head, that she missed the soft expression on the boy she was hand in hand with.

_ As you wish. _


	49. The Host Club Declares Dissolution!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance if this chapter rips your hearts out.

"Miss, the couches you ordered have just arrived."

"Perfect." Jin smiled, hands on her hips as she looked over the large group of handymen awaiting instruction, "If you could split into pairs and follow me, I'll show you the hall they need to be arranged in. After that, Houshakuji-san can direct the placements for the opening ceremony."

The twenty or so men nodded, trekking off to do their job. The brunette began walking towards the school hall she had mentioned, kissing her boyfriend's cheek as she went.

The winter had passed by short and sweet, bringing in an early spring. Even though it was still mid-February, it was surprisingly warm, almost t-shirt weather already. Perfect for Ouran Academy's annual school fair. The real festivities wouldn't be taking place until tomorrow, but the school was abuzz with energy and workers as they prepared for the opening ceremony.

Haruhi was the only one not impressed.

"Um… I hate to keep criticizing how you rich people do these things, but aren't school fairs supposed to be more about what the students have created and learned throughout the school year?"

Kyoya smirked, pointing a group of men holding an expensive roll of carpeting in the right direction before answering the question, "Perhaps for a public school, that may be the case, but here at Ouran the students have far more important skills to showcase. The emphasis of Ouran's school fair is on planning and leadership. Since most of the students here are preparing to take over their family's businesses once they graduate, they have to demonstrate their capabilities of taking on such responsibility and are able to execute their plans."

"Huh. I guess that would make more sense."

Haruhi took another look around, now noticing how most of the students were actively involved with the planning and preparations. And if that's what they'd need in their futures, then maybe this was better than an arts and crafts show.

The sound of hooves clopping on pavement drew the brunette's attention elsewhere, just in time to see Hikaru lightly tugging at the reins attached to two beautiful chocolate brown horses. They came to a stop just off to Haruhi and Kyoya's right, showing off the red and black carriage the horses were pulling along.

"Woah, now! Easy, boys!" The horses whinnied, but other than that were completely calm. Mori-senpai was seated next to the redhead, a rare smile on his face as he praised the younger boy.

"Haru-chan! Kyo-chan! Over here!"

"We're about to rehearse for the great Ouran Fair Parade!" Tamaki and Honey were happily skipping around the carriage, despite how little room they had on the wooden creation. Kaoru was also climbing up behind his brother, waving towards the two still standing still.

From behind them, Jin hurried over, "Oh… _wow._ I've seen horse-drawn carriages before but… I've never been _on_ one."

"Well, then," Kyoya offered his elbow, which Jin took without hesitation, "We might as well climb aboard."

In no time at all, the eight members of the Ouran Host Club were cantering around the square. Hikaru explained that the horses they'd be using had to get used to the weight they'd be pulling around and the route. Plus, he wanted some extra practice. All around them, students stared and gossiped, most of the girls swooning over how it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.

Jin leaned into Kyoya's side, appreciating the added weight of the arm draped over her shoulder as she watched the landscape roll by, "So, Ouran Fair Parade. Details?"

"Every club or sport taking a part of the parade has been provided a carriage such as this one, and are allowed to decorate it to reflect themselves. Most of the sports teams will be wearing their uniforms and have the equipment around them. They'll also have quite a few of them walking alongside the carriage, since they can't all fit."

"I heard the basketball team was renting motorcycles for their extra team members! Something about a bet. Didn't you say you could ride a motorcycle, Jin-chan?"

"I can."

Tamaki leaned forward, " _We've_ decided to go with the 18th century French cosplay tomorrow night. Our rose designs will be delivered and attached to the carriage before we go out, as well. And after the parade, everyone will gather for an outdoor dance that will end with a firework show!"

Jin and Kyoya glanced at each other before the girl's foot lightly kicked at the blond's leg, "And the fireworks are going to be done by _professionals_ , right? We don't want a repeat of our last dance, do we?"

Tamaki chuckled nervously, "No… it'll be professionally done. And they should be going off somewhere above the school instead of in the courtyard. Nothing to worry about."

They made another loop around the square, watching in comfortable silence as the last bits of the Opening Ceremony were put into place. Hikaru finally pulled the horses to a stop as the clock tower struck 10 am.

"Great timing, Hikaru! The front gates are opening!" Everyone began disembarking as the students and handymen began running around to either get out of the way or make it to their positions.

Kyoya offered a hand to Jin as she stepped down, tugging her close to his chest, "Jin, there's something we still have to discuss before the fair starts."

"Hm?"

"The fair… it's open to all of the student's parents."

She nodded, remembering how crushed her father had been when he discovered he couldn't take the time off of work to check it out himself. But she stayed quiet. Kyoya sounded… nervous. That wasn't like him.

"Perhaps you should… prepare yourself for meeting my father."

*Time Skip*

Jin calmly pushed her tray of cakes and teapots around the Central Building's Salon, her eyes carefully eyeing each table for whom would need a refill next. She briefly caught a glance of the Opening Day dance taking place outside. A live orchestra was playing a bouncy waltz that floated softly through the windows, one Jin recognized but couldn't place a name for.

_I wish I was down there with Kyo-kun. That would've been a great way to start off the fair._

Her grey and white dress softly fluttered around her legs. It was very pretty, starting white at the top and slowly fading to grey near her knees. She adored that sort of color scheme. And the red hints around the bottom helped her to match with the rest of the club. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she'd be allowed to keep it after the fair. She could imagine wearing it on a picnic or beach date...

Spotting Honey with an empty plate in front of him, she walked over and started switching it out for another slice of cake, "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah! Jin-chan, this is Airi-chan's mother, Chino-san! Chino-san, this is Jin Fujioka!"

The older woman looked up and gasped, her mouth falling open in a smile, "I remember you! You performed at the same recital that my daughter did… four years ago? Kagome-sensei taught you even though you went to the public school. You're attending Ouran Academy, now?"

"I am! Got a scholarship and everything." She smiled widely, "I'm honored that you still remember me!"

The two talked for a little while longer, mainly Chino-san asking how Jin liked Ouran and how she was adjusting. Inside her head, Jin was glad that Chino-san wasn't an outlier. Most of the parents she had spoken to either remembered her from the concert, had heard about her through the Nekozawa family, or had been told about her through their children. So far, everyone was treating her wonderfully.

After a moment or two, she left the table with a happy skip, passing by Tamaki swaying another mother to his charms. Haruhi was rolling her eyes, but Jin was glad he was good at what he did. Otherwise it was likely that most of the guests here would be forcibly removed from the club via their parents.

The other boys seemed to be doing just as well. Mori was doting on Honey, the twins were pouring out the sob stories, and Kyoya was showing off the intellectual portion of the club. Jin smiled at her boyfriend before continuing to move around the room.

Except… she didn't go very far.

"Oh, Kyoya? Is it true that you've started dating someone? My daughter is oddly taken with your relationship. I must say, I was quite surprised that you've decided to take yourself off the market so early on. Many of us assumed you wouldn't be interested until you had graduated college!" The man laughed, as well as all the other parents around them, but Kyoya merely kept his smile. Of course, it grew more genuine as he considered his answer.

Jin walked over, abandoning her cart by one of the pillars for a brief moment. Spotting her quickly, Kyoya beckoned her to his side, taking her hand when she was close enough.

"What you've heard is true, I have started a relationship. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Jin Fujioka, my girlfriend."

A few of the adults eyes lit up with slight recognition and smiled, but at least half seemed genuinely confused.

"Fujioka, hm? Aren't you one of the scholarship students here at Ouran?"

"I am." She smiled brightly, which prompted a few smiles at her in return. She'd been told her grins were infectious. "My brother, Haru, and I both received scholarships to Ouran when we entered high school. Unfortunately for me, I was unable to accept the full scholarship when I received it, as I had already arranged to study abroad in America for my first year of high school education. Thankfully, they offered me a half scholarship if I returned the year after. And here I am!"

It was clear that she had impressed them.

"They offered you a half scholarship if you returned? You must've given off quite the impression!"

"You've studied abroad? What was it like?"

Jin sighed, "Amazing. It was such a different culture, and the people were so kind! I was so excited to have the experience, since I adore traveling."

"Is that so? I'm sure Kyoya wouldn't mind taking you around the world sometime!"

Jin giggled a little, letting her face flush just a little, "Well… he's offered, but I'm not sure how my father would take it. He seems to be under the impression that Kyo-kun is going to steal me away, and a worldwide trip would probably only encourage that assumption."

"I'd let you send a postcard every year or so."

The girl scoffed and lightly bumped against his side with her shoulder, but there was still a smile on her face. The group around them laughed, reminiscing about when they first met their current spouses.

Despite how easily she had made the parents love her, it forced a memory to resurface in the back of Jin's head. Her smile faltered and she unconsciously gripped Kyoya's hand a little tighter. The boy took one look at her expression before smiling at the group around them.

"If you would excuse us…"

He steered Jin back towards her cart of sweets, a protective arm around her waist. Once they were standing by the pillar, Kyoya faced her.

" _Are you alright? You're growing pale._ "

Jin swallowed, her eyes darting around the room like she was expecting something to leap out at her, "I just… I didn't like the way you said that."

"Said what, Darling?"

The pet name served its purpose. Jin sighed, finally meeting Kyoya's gaze, "How I should _prepare_ myself for meeting your father. Your word choice got to me. He won't… I mean…" she was back to looking down.

Unconsciously, she had reached up at some point during their conversation and started messing around with her necklace. It was one of those 'Open Heart' series that was popular in America. It was pure silver shaped into two hearts in a backwards 'S' pattern with an amethyst stone in the middle of the heart at the top, and a topaz in the bottom one. Hers and Kyoya's birthstones. It was beautiful.

Kyoya had given it to Jin for her 18th birthday, which had passed not even a full two weeks ago. Despite that, putting on the necklace every morning had already become a part of her daily routine. She had yet to go a day without wearing it.

And it was what she chose to fiddle with a this moment. Until now, she had been forcing the idea of meeting Kyoya's father down towards the deepest part of her mind, but as the moment grew closer it became harder and harder to ignore it. In all honesty, she was terrified. For almost as long as they had been dating, Jin had heard whispers about Kyoya's father. He was strict. He was harsh. He made grown men weep with just a glare.

Okay, maybe not that last one, but still, Jin had yet to hear a comment about his father that made her feel even slightly ready to meet him face-to-face. For all she knew, the Devil himself was about to walk into the parlor and say he was her potential Father-in-Law.

Kyoya, however, simply watched his girlfriend with a small smile. Before she could fall too far into whatever mental movie she was watching, he pulled her into his arms, initiating a hug. She stiffened momentarily in his grip before falling boneless against his chest.

Softly petting at her hair, he whispered in her ear, " _It's cute to watch to worry, but there's no need. He won't force us apart, that much I'm certain of. You are intelligent, desireable, and have powerful ties. You will be worthwhile to him, which is all we need. However…_ " he had to think about his next words carefully, " _I also know he will speak to you as if he is unaware of everything you can offer our family. But once you prove it, he'll treat you like you're made of gold._ "

He faintly heard her huff a little laugh into his jacket. It made him smile, just a little, before pulling back to press a soft kiss on the top of her head.

" _If anything, he'll think you're dating beneath yourself._ "

Jin pouts, wiggling herself backwards to look him in the eye, "No… I'm pretty sure it's the other way around, Glasses."

Her boyfriend hummed and kissed her forehead briefly. They had already agreed, no direct kisses until they were alone again. No need to look scandalous in front of all of these parents. As it was, anyone who had noticed was watching with fondness. Or, in the girl's case, adoration.

Jin allowed herself to be held for another few seconds before pulling away, "Right. Back to business. Have you finished calculating the expenses for the day?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Somewhat."

"Oh?" Jin knew that tone. That was a bad tone for Kyoya to use, "What happened?"

"Tamaki happened."

Her eyebrows knitted, "Show me."

Frowning, Kyoya slipped an arm back around her waist and lead her over to a table by the central statue, where Ouran's founder stood watching over the parlor. He opened his laptop and started pulling up the spreadsheet when Haruhi walked over.

"Are you guys going over the financials?"

"Yeah. Something on your mind, Haru?"

The small girl shrugged, "I was just curious. This whole setup is impressive, but it's a little much, even for our standards. Exactly how much money _are_ we wasting, Nēchan?"

"How high is your bet?"

"How much money do we need to buy a small country?"

"Oh, stop being such a party-pooper!" Tamaki jumped up behind Haruhi, grinning and waggling his finger, "That's not the host club way~ Our clients happiness far exceeds any-"

"On the contrary, Tamaki," Kyoya tilted his laptop's screen towards his girlfriend, who's jaw dropped when she saw the total near the bottom, "You have overshot the budget. Again."

"Dear _lord_ , Tama-kun…"

"Uh…" the blond actually looked nervous, "Kyoya… Jin?"

The brunette started furiously scrolling up and down the excel file as Kyoya turned in his seat, "Participating in the auction for the use of the main parlor withstanding, you had a 18th century period styled carriage shipped all the way from France instead of using the one provided by the school. Your impulsive behavior is going to get us all into trouble one day."

His girlfriend nibbled her bottom lip, "It's… not too bad. Fixable… but it'll take a lot of time. Kyo-kun, did you already factor in the coupons?"

"Most of them, though I'm sure I must've missed one."

"I'll look." Her eyes drifted up over the lip of the laptop, eyes widening when she noticed who had just arrived, "Besides… I think you and Tamaki are about to be a little busy."

The three followed her line of sight to the man dressed in all white standing at the entryway.

Instantly, Tamaki and Kyoya are walking over to him, Jin taking Kyoya's seat as her sister moved a little closer.

" _Who is that? He's not Kyoya's father, so-_ "

" _Haru? That's_ Tama-kun's _father. The_ Chairman _._ "

Haruhi's eyes went as wide as her sister's had been. She watched the three interact, and was surprised to see Tamaki's father being so aloof towards his son. She stopped when Kyoya started leading the man away from the blond and towards the two brunettes instead. At Jin's gentle nudging, she went off to one of the newer guests who hadn't been served yet. A reddish-haired girl with opera glasses.

_Strange._

"Kyoya, my boy, I'm sure if it weren't for you this club would be in shambles by now. My son, for all his vision, has never really considered the real world implications of his actions."

"Oh, not at all, sir. He brings life to the club. And besides, I've had plenty of help, but thank you for your kind words."

"Ah, yes, your _help_. I do believe I've heard of her." The two were now standing right by Jin's table, and she looked up. Tamaki's father stopped, so she stood and bowed slightly, "Chairman, it's a delight to met you in person."

The man finally smiled, returning the bow with a hand over his heart, "The pleasure is all mine. I've been meaning to meet with the honor students I've allowed into the school."

Jin's smile tightened for a moment before relaxing. _Allowed?_

"Although, I must admit I did not expect you or your brother," the man's eyes twinkled in humor, "to make such a stir. It has been entertaining to hear of your little excursions while simultaneously keeping up your performance in the classroom."

He pulled a rose from the inside of his jacket and offered it to her, "You have surprised the members of the board. I can hardly wait to see how you'll surprise us in the future."

Despite how the conversation had started, Jin couldn't help but smile as she accepted the rose, "Thank you, Chairman. I'm speechless."

"Oh, please, Chairman is far too dry of a title. And we have heard so much about each other, we're hardly strangers. Why don't you call me your Uncle? It would please me." He hid his face, missing the bemused expression he was receiving in response.

The brunette raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, who merely smiled slightly in amusement. No help there, it seemed. She stuck her tongue out at him before replying, "If you insist."

"Well, Chairman, if you've finished flirting with my girlfriend, might we continue to your seat?" The man laughed and smiled at Kyoya. Jin decided she prefered it when he laughed. He looked so much more like his son that way.

"Of course. Forgive me, Kyoya, but I couldn't help myself. You've truly found a wonderful 'better half'."

Kyoya looked at Jin, who was blushing brightly, "I know, sir. Shall we continue?"

"Lead the way."

Jin watched as they left, her emotions a bit of a mess. It was always nice to hear people telling her or Kyoya that their relationship was a good thing, but at the moment Jin was only feeling anxious for the one people who might have an actual _say_ in the matter. And… when the Chairman had said 'better half', he almost sounded wistful. And sad.

She watched as her sister was called over to speak with the Chairman before setting the rose on the table. _I'm pretty sure he knows Haru's a girl… but he also seems aware of the situation, since he refered to her as my brother. I wonder how that happened… he and Tamaki don't seem particularly close enough to have talked about it._

Letting out a deep breath, she looked around for Kyoya. Hadn't he left Haruhi with the Chairman by herself? Where'd he go?

She spotted him standing in the middle of the room, staring at an approaching figure. Another man, with black hair and beard… who was wearing glasses. She blinked. _Kyo-kun's father._

It did not escape her notice how her boyfriend was unusually stiff as he watched his father approach him. Like he was preparing himself for something. Something bad.

A sudden feeling of dread clenched around her chest.

Kyoya's father was moving too quickly towards his son, and it did _not_ look like he was going in for a hug.

She ran over, ignoring people calling out her name in confusion. Kyoya hadn't noticed her approaching, and neither had his father. She opened her mouth to shout something. She wasn't sure what it was, because she never got it out.

_SLAP!_

Her shout caught in her throat, watching as Kyoya fell to the floor from the force behind his father's hand, his glasses clattering to the carpet beside him. She stopped about five steps behind him, eyes glued to her boyfriend in shock.

The last couple seconds of her existence refused to register in her mind, merely replaying over and over behind her eyes.

"Is this how my son has been _wasting his time?_ "

Kyoya slowly scooped his thankfully undamaged glasses off the carpet, unfolding them carefully before slipping them back onto his face. It stung a little, his nose piece resting uncomfortably on the place it had dug into only seconds ago. Of course, that was insignificant compared to the pain in his chest. Not because of what had been done. But because of who might've _seen_.

A foot appears at his side, out of the corner of his eye. Wearing sandal heels.

He looks up, and his heart clenches.

It's Jin.

But she's not looking at him. And there's no pity in her eyes. That surprised him. There were other people who were... but not Jin.

No… she's staring at his father. With barely concealed rage.

"You are an embarrass-" he turned around and stopped. Surprise briefly flickered in his eyes before he regain his composure, "Who are you?"

"Jin Fujioka." Her bow is stiff and so shallow it's almost unnoticeable, "Kyoya's girlfriend."

Kyoya stands as his father's eyes harden. Clearly, he did not miss how clipped her words had been. The boy wanted to touch her, more so than ever. A warning to tread carefully, or to lend support of some kind, but he couldn't risk it. Not with his father standing so close.

But he did stay, no matter how much he wanted to leave and tend to his bruise. He wouldn't leave Jin without any support. Not against his father.

"Ah. I've heard of you. Well, I suppose you know who I am?"

"Indeed. Your introduction was hard to miss."

A soft _whoosh_ went through the room, the sound of a hundred plus guests letting out a breath at once.

Kyoya watched as his father's mustache twitched on one side, his eyes flicking to their audience, "Perhaps we can continue this introduction in a more private setting and get better acquainted with each other?"

"Why? Are all these witnesses making you uncomfortable?"

Another soft _whoosh._

"Not at all. I was merely thinking that they had no say in our private lives."

"Huh… I didn't expect that from you." Third _whoosh._ Three for three. "Well, I'm comfortable out here. Surely we have nothing to hide." She smiled softly, "They all know about Kyoya and I, after all. What could go wrong?"

Kyoya realized exactly what his girlfriend had just done the moment she did it. She had, essentially, trapped his father into being on his best behavior. Now, everyone in the room _knew_ what they would be talking about, privately or publicly, but should his father insist that they leave… it would be because _he_ was uncomfortable with discussion about their relationship. And no matter what the final result was in regards to it, it would be because of him. She had just pinned the outcome of this discussion on his father, while also alerting him that they had _all_ of the support.

He wanted to kiss her.

It took a few moments, but Kyoya's father finally nodded, "If you wish. I merely wished to share a few of my… concerns regarding your relationship with my son."

"Concerns? Of what kind?"

His glasses were glazed over, and Kyoya finally understood why it made people so nervous whenever his did the same. He had no ideas as to what would come out of his father's mouth next. Would he be concerned with the P.D.A.? How young they were? Her family name?

"To begin, exactly what can you provide for my family other than a couple of grandchildren?"

This time there was an audible gasp. A few girls pressed their hands to their mouths, but his father didn't appear affected.

"Consider it a Dowry," he explained further, "Most of the marriages in your classmate's future will be made or approved of depending on what business ties can be made with the union, I'm sure you've been made aware?"

"I have been."

"Good, then you might understand why I call it a concern. If there is no gain for the family other than a pretty face and an extended bloodline, that is not enough for me to extend my support. Our lives are a business. Now, tell me," he tilted his head up a little, revealing his eyes which were purposefully looking _down_ at Jin, "What makes you any better than another girl I might find in one of your commoner's markets?"

Another gasp, accompanied with a few whispers. Kyoya's vision had a reddish color tinging the edge. He felt like he'd just been slapped in the face all over again, but remained quiet. This was Jin's battle.

Thank goodness his girlfriend was actually smiling, "I'm so glad you asked. As I've noticed during my time here at Ouran, most of the arranged marriages I've seen are because they tie together two families to make business trading easier. Therefore, if I had ties to another family with dealings in medical practices or something similar, it would definitely help my case. Unfortunately, I can't claim that, for it's not true."

Kyoya's father blinked hard. He wasn't the only one surprised. Kyoya faintly heard someone whisper ' _no_ ' from across the room as she admitted she didn't have family ties, but… he had a feeling she wasn't done.

_Is she going to... No… would she?_

"However…" Jin's expression was one of calm before the storm, like she was about to jump off a cliff without knowing if her parachute would open on the way down or not, "I _am_ an honorary family member of the Haninozuka household."

There were gasps and whispers and even a few squeaks of surprise as she continued, "This makes me an honorary family member of the Morinozuka household as well. Having me as a part of your family would unite you with not just one, but two powerful names and the respect they carry with Japan's military and government. Not to mention my business ties with the Nekozawa family and Kagome family."

She shifted into a proud stance, lifting her chin in defiance, "Beyond the mere _names_ I am associated with, I am the top student in my class, and have always been since Elementary school. I can speak seven different languages, and taught myself four of those seven. I've also taught myself maths one full grade level above the rest of my class. I am the only student here at Ouran who is not only employed outside of school but also capable of maintaining my grades and participating in an after school club _and_ take care of my family."

She looked at the man in front of her. He wasn't showing any regret, but she could tell that she had accomplished her goal.

He was impressed.

"I think that I would make a wonderful addition to _any_ family, and I do think that most of our audience would agree that you are _lucky_ it was yours."

The room was quiet as they waited for the verdict. Even a few of the other parents were nervous.

"Well…" Mr. Ootori straightened out his shirt cuffs, acting unconcerned, "it would appear that my concerns… were unfounded." He bowed, "I apologize for my manner in speaking with you. Please, enjoy the rest of your afternoon, Miss Fujioka."

And then he walked away. Jin finally let her fury begin to leak out as her glare followed him. _He's sorry for how he was talking to me? Not because he hit his own SON?_ She clenched her fists, swallowed her anger, and turned back to Kyoya.

He was still too quiet.

The rest of the host club had gathered, asking if her boyfriend was alright. Now that she could finally look him over, Jin noticed how his left cheek was already darkening into an ugly purplish color.

"Kyoya-senpai? He's not mad at you because you're in the Host Club, right?" Tamaki let out a noise of distress, and Jin couldn't blame him. For a moment or two, she had been worried that their relationship had been the cause of the slap. At least she had the knowledge that her worries were 'unfounded'. But Tamaki's-

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I haven't been expecting this." The ravenet started to leave, but gently took Jin's hand within his as he did so. Not quite pulling, but definitely a grab. He was giving her the option of coming along with him or staying behind.

She went.

They managed to exit the room without being stopped. A few people were smiling at them, though most looked worried about Kyoya. Jin could relate. She was worried, too.

Eventually, they made it to an empty hallway. Her boyfriend seemed to be looking for something, and she remained quiet as he did.

He came to a stop just outside of a darkened classroom, one Jin actually recognized. The host club was keeping all of their costume changes and bags and such in there during the fair. Kyoya didn't even hesitate in opening the door and walking in, flicking the lights on as he lead Jin inside.

The moment the door closed, Kyoya turned around to face his girlfriend.

If he had expected pity in her gaze this time around, now that her anger had been spent, he was wrong once again. She _did_ look worried, however. Kyoya appreciated that.

Slowly, Jin raised her right hand until it barely hovered over his bruised cheek. Not quite touching, so there was no pain, but Kyoya could still feel it there. The heat rising off his face was now being radiated back. For a moment, they just stood there, Jin staring at his cheek like she was expecting her hand to suck the pain out of it.

Finally, Kyoya spoke.

"I won't break."

"You aren't the one I'm worried about breaking."

That's when he noticed how badly Jin was shaking. In his head, he called himself an idiot multiple times. It was much easier to believe that phrase at the moment. He had been so worried about his father making a fool out of Jin like he'd made a fool of Kyoya, that when Jin came out on top he hadn't even thought of what she had just gone through.

"Oh _god, Kyo-kun_ …" her voice was shaking now, " _I never want to see something like that happen to you_ again. _How could-_ " she cut herself off and licked her lower lip. "Where's the first aid?"

The two walked across the room, their footsteps a lot quieter than usual on the tile floors, like the universe was staying quiet for their sake. Kyoya pulled out a small kit from behind the teacher's desk, offering it to his girlfriend before going to one of the desks and taking a seat. Jin sat on top of the desk, a move so common now that it actually pulled a small smile from her boyfriend.

Which, in turn, was a pretty bad move, because it made his cheek smart.

Jin caught his resulting wince and quickly opened the kit. It was much more extensive than any of the stuff she had at home, but there were a few things she did recognize. Quickly slipping off the desk, she pulled out an ice pack and ran to the small fridge in the corner of the room. It was probably meant used for science experiments, but was thankfully empty at the moment, so she slipped the pack inside.

Going back to where Kyoya was seated, she snatched up a water bottle from a tiny cooler they'd brought in with the rest of the stuff. Since their costumes were going to be stuffy, water would be a necessity. Jin was grateful for her foresight even more now.

Retaking her seat, she offered a small bottle of ibuprofen and the water to Kyoya, who took them silently. He pulled a small pill from the container and swallowed it down as she continued to explore the box in her lap.

"Hm." She pulled out another bottle. Arnica salve. It said it was for bruises, so she quickly pulled off the cap. "Okay, Kyo-kun, I'm going to need to touch it."

Her boyfriend nodded, taking off his glasses and turning his head to present the bruise.

Now that they weren't in the bright lights of the parlor, it didn't look as bad. Yes, it was a little swollen and a red-purple color, but it wasn't as big as Jin had initially thought. Still, she was as tender as she could be, lightly dabbing at his skin with a finger lightly coated with the salve. Kyoya sighed at the cool temperature, his eyes closing while Jin worked.

They sat in silence for another five minutes until Kyoya's skin had completely absorbed the salve. Jin slipped off the desk once more and went back to the fridge. Pulling out the pack, she hummed unhappily at the fact it wasn't as cold as she would've liked, but for now it would work.

Kyoya sighed again when she pressed it against his cheek, the packaged gel molding to his face. He reopened his eyes when Jin's fingers started combing through his bangs, ever so gently straightening out his hair.

He reached up and took the ice pack from her, using his other hand to pull her off the desk and into his lap. Jin straddled his legs, leaning her head on his right shoulder while her hands rested against his sides, near the bottom of his rib cage.

"What do you need?"

He looped an arm around her lower back, pressing her closer to his chest, "Just stay here for a moment. Please."

She did, calmly hugging her boyfriend, letting the silence cushion them.

* * *

 

"What did we miss?"

Haruhi looked up from her cart of cakes, having taken over the position when Jin left about twenty minutes ago with Kyoya. The couple had returned, and Haruhi was relieved to see that Kyoya's cheek looked fine. The swelling had gone down noticeably, and even though they'd probably put a lot of make-up over the discoloration, Haruhi would bet that it would be gone by the end of the week.

Even so, they looked somber.

"Well… Tamaki's grandmother showed up." She glanced at Kyoya, who frowned, "I'm guessing you know exactly what that means."

"What did she call him this time?"

The brunette hesitated, " _...Filthy child._ "

Kyoya's eyes shut in a silent suffering kind of way while Jin's mouth fell open, "She said _what?_ "

"It's true," the twins added on, appearing behind them with Honey and Mori, "And she's tied him to this strange girl for the rest of the fair."

"We've never seen her before, but she seems _really_ interested in the Boss."

The twin's tone gave Jin another bad feeling, and it appeared that Kyoya had felt it as well. He accepted his laptop gratefully from Mori-senpai and powered it up, settling it and himself down at the closest table. Jin stood behind him, her hands resting gently on his shoulders.

"His grandmother called her Eclair-something…"

"You didn't catch a last name?"

"No need, I can tell you who she is." The seven looked around in surprise.

Jin straightened up, "Renge? I haven't seen you since the fair started… do you know her?"

"Not personally… her name is Eclair Tonnerre. She's the youngest daughter of the renowned French Tonnerre Family. They descend from royalty."

Kyoya spoke up, "Ah, I have heard of them, incidentally. The family has quite a history. Their wealth is somewhat of a legend among financial heavyweights. In fact, just being associated with them makes you a part of a very elite group." He caught his girlfriend's questioning expression, "They also own Grand Tonnerre, a firm that has been buying up a lot of businesses in Japan recently. It's likely most of the parents in this room know exactly who she is and will be watching her closely. But that doesn't explain why she is now following Tamaki around."

"Hmm…" Jin looked over at her little sister. Haruhi had yet to say anything. And she was facing away from the others, so Jin couldn't even read what was going through her head.

"I think-" Haruhi's shoulders stiffened. Jin paused, then kissed the top of Kyoya's head, "-that it's about time we changed into our second outfits of the day."

*Time Skip*

Haruhi walked back into the parlor to numerous whispers and compliments, but found it hard to pay much attention. In the back of her mind, she continued to run the last three minutes on loop in the back of her mind.

_Do I detect a hint of jealousy?_

Her fists clenched. She had no idea what had come over her. She had meant to just listen to Tamaki play the piano, since he didn't do it often. But hearing Eclair speaking so _carelessly_ about Kyoya being slapped by his father, and Tamaki's performance cutting off immediately… she wanted to comfort him. Witnessing that had shocked them all, especially Jin and Tamaki. Jin had gotten revenge and the opportunity to comfort her boyfriend afterwards, but Tamaki... if he was blaming himself, it was probably ripping him up on the inside. Eclair had _no right_ to suggest that!

"Hey, looking good, Haru."

The short brunette glanced at her side, where her sister was standing. Jin smiled softly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

_Did something happen?_

_Yeah..._

_You wanna talk about it?_

_No..._

Jin's face became pained, but she covered it quickly. Instead, she dropped her hand and the two continued to walk through the room. Seeing her sister in her second light grey dress and red jacket cover, Haruhi managed a smile. _Nēchan looks good. I wonder if Kyoya-senpai would let her keep the dresses?_

"How dashing!"

"Oh my!

"They look so good together, no wonder they're siblings!"

Even the host club had a couple compliments. Kyoya glanced over from his laptop and smirked, quickly turning away with a blush when Jin blew him a kiss.

"So where did the Boss go?"

"He was looking forward to this costume change the most."

Jin felt Haruhi's whole body tense up before she answered, her tone snippy, "Our _King_ is lounging around Music Room 3 with his latest prize."

Six heads turned to the short girl in surprise. The twins leaned over the edge of the couch between the pairs of siblings, "Oh my… is someone _jealous_ of the Lady Eclair?"

"Why is everyone assuming that? Like I said, I'm not jealous."

"Like you said?"

"Everyone, hm?"

She jolted, "Look… I just think he's being more irresponsible than usual today. He's making us do all of the work and abandoned us the moment he could. I mean, you said it yourself, Kyoya-senpai, he's impulsive."

"Hm, I suppose that's true. I did say that." While she couldn't see his face, Jin was almost 97% sure her boyfriend was smirking, "But in this instance he's obeying the wishes of his grandmother. In essence, he has no choice."

"No choice?"

Jin and Haruhi looked at each other. A memory sparked between them.

"Hey… why was Tama-kun's grandmother so cold towards him earlier? And she called him a-" Jin stopped, her lips pressing together. She didn't like that phrase all that much...

The five boys around them fidgeted, clearly debating what to say. Even Kyoya stopped typing on his laptop, turning around in his seat just enough to meet Jin's eyes. She saw… worry. Worry for Tamaki.

"Well, I guess everyone else knows about it."

"See… Tamaki-senpai is illegitimate."

The girls blinked.

"...Oh. So that's it."

The twins straightened up, "What do you mean 'so that's it'?"

Jin managed a weak smile, her arms coming up to cross over her chest, "Well, I guess if everyone's sharing… I was almost illegitimate."

The hosts mouths dropped open.

"Our parents got married when Mom was four months pregnant with me. I'm the reason they had such a shotgun wedding. Ah… do you all remember Eiko?"

The hosts nodded. How could they forget the Fujioka's bratty cousin who ruined a full week for them all because of her hatred for her cousin?

"Well… that's part of the reason she hates me so much. When I was born, our uncle would call me a… um, a lot of things. Including what Tama-kun's grandmother just called him. It stopped after a couple of years, but by then Eiko had it in her mind that it was okay to dislike me for being different from her."

Jin licked her lips, then straightened herself up, "Anyways… um, what's the story with Tama-kun?"

Her friends seemed to still be trying to wrap their heads around this new bit of information, but just then a well-dressed man walked up to them. He eyed the group distastefully before settling his gaze on the only one in a dress.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to be Miss Jin Fujioka?"

The girl nodded, "I am."

"If you please accompany me this way," he held his right arm out, gesturing towards the doors Haruhi had just walked out of a few minutes ago, "Your presence had been requested by Lady Eclair Tonnerre."

It was like the seven club members had all been jabbed with an exposed electrical wire. Haruhi grabbed her sister's arm, a sharp ' _Why?_ ' ready to leave her lips, but Jin shot her a warning glare.

_Silence. Let me go, Haru._

She didn't like it, but she obeyed her sister's silent command. Jin's expression softened before she turned towards the strange man.

"Lead the way."

The two walked in awkward silence through the school hallways. It didn't take long for Jin to realize they were heading straight for Music Room 3, exactly where Haruhi said Tamaki and Eclair were holed up. She didn't bother asking questions. Call it a hunch, but she got the impression this man wouldn't answer her even if she did.

They stopped just outside of the doors, and Jin reached out to pull them open.

"Wait, please."

She gave the man a suspicious glance, but retracted the hand and placed it behind her back. It took another full minute or so before she realized why they were waiting.

Eclair had been talking to someone else.

The music room doors opened up and Kyoya's father stepped out, his face a blank slate. It faltered for a moment when he saw Jin standing in front of him, but the expression passed and he walked past her and down the hallway without a backwards glance.

"Miss Fujioka? You can come in now."

Gritting her teeth, already not liking the conversation, she walked in. The music room looked just as it always did, save for the piano being uncovered. But the familiar environment was of little comfort at the moment with Eclair sitting on one of the couches. Jin suddenly got why Haruhi disliked the French girl so much, even without admitting to her crush on Tamaki. There was just something inherently _wrong_ about seeing the girl in the club room. And then there way she looked at you, as if you were a chubby puppy barking and growling at her. Like you weren't a threat, somewhat cute but mostly annoying, and she wouldn't hesitate to drop kick you once the amusement faded.

Tamaki was nowhere to be seen.

"Please, sit." Eclair smiled coldly, "We have something to discuss."

* * *

 

The light of the sunset illuminated the parlor with a soft orange light. The room felt ghostly with only six people in it, but the host club wasn't leaving. As Jin had yet to return from her talk with Eclair Tonnerre, Haruhi and Kyoya had decided to wait for her. The other four boys decided they'd stick around as well, which gave them extensive time to talk about Tamaki's situation. Except now they had gone through the whole backstory and Jin still wasn't back.

Haruhi hummed tunelessly as she stared out the window. Her mind was torn between worry for her sister and what the boys had told her about Tamaki-senpai. She would never have imagined someone's grandmother would be so cruel to their own family. It made her see Tamaki in a new light, and appreciate his cheerful and giving character all the more.

"Nēchan's been gone for a while…"

The twins frowned at the doors their friend had gone through almost an hour ago, "What do you think Eclair wanted with her?"

"Think the Boss is with them?"

Kyoya tapped his fingers on the tabletop in front of him. His laptop was opened, but he couldn't force himself to work. Today had been horrible. And to think, things had been going so well up until the Chairman showed up. In his head, Kyoya knew it wasn't Tamaki's father's fault that the fair was falling apart for the Host Club, but he did seem to be looking for someone to blame. And he didn't dare blame Lady Eclair... just yet. That was a dangerous game to play in this day and age.

Even so... Jin's continued absence was starting to worry him.

Just then, the doors opened. Jin walked through the doorway, her head down and shoulders slumped. Instantly, the others were on their feet, but they didn't approach. Something was wrong.

She stood there for a few seconds, not looking at any of them. Slowly, she took a step down the stairs. Another. And another. All the way down until she was standing on the ground floor. Jin took in a deep breath and let it out again, her right hand coming up to grab at her opposing forearm, head turning towards the windows.

"Guys… I need to talk to you."

Hesitantly, the club went forward until they were in a semi-circle around the girl. Kyoya reached out to touch her shoulders, but she shied away. His worry meter went from a five to an eight and a half.

"Jin? Whatever she told you, it's not the end of the world."

She nodded, but still refused to look at them, "I know… it's just… God, I can't believe she's doing this…"

"Doing what?"

"Are you talking about Eclair?"

_Creeeeak_

Unhappily, six of them looked away from their friend and focused on the door she'd just come through. Of course, once they realized who was standing there, their emotions became more mixed than before.

"Tama-chan!" Honey cooed.

Tamaki was standing in the opening between the parlor and the hallway, still in the first outfit the host club had worn that day. But he wasn't smiling. No, only Eclair was smiling as she stood beside him. And it wasn't a particularly nice smile. It was a smile that read 'Ha ha, I won, and now I'm going to rub it in your faces'. The cat who got the cream and was now watching the other cats starve.

Kyoya briefly glanced at his girlfriend, who seemed to have curled in on herself. Were they about to learn what was going on? If so, he only wished Jin could've told them in her own words before Tamaki and Eclair came in.

"Everyone, I have an important announcement."

The host club froze. Why did Tamaki sound so... _dead?_

Eclair's smile grew.

"As of today, Lady Eclair and I are officially engaged. Furthermore, the Host Club will be permanently dissolved after the Ouran Fair."

Jin whipped herself around, disbelief and pain etched into her face. For another few seconds, she ping-ponged between the pair at the top of the stairs and her sister. The host club noticed, and felt dread slowly fill their bodies. Tamaki's words had already cut into them, so why was Jin acting so surprised?

"That is all."

" _What…_ " Jin's mouth was suddenly set in a harsh line, "Wait a minute, _Tonnerre_. You promised-"

"Ah, Jin, Dear? Did you get to tell your friends _your_ little announcement?"

The brunette's lips twisted into a sneer as she stared at the girl with complete and total hatred, "You…"

"I'll be expecting to hear of your transfer to that _public_ school by tomorrow evening." Eclair spit out the word 'public' like it made her feel sick just to speak it, though her smile never faltered, "Don't disappoint me, or I _will_ have to go back on _our_ deal."

Tamaki turned his head slightly, purple eyes widening behind his bangs. From behind her, Jin faintly hears Haruhi make a small whimpering sound.

" _Jin-chan…_ " The brunette turned, finding the six other members of her club staring at her in disbelief.

"Is it true?"

"You're… leaving Ouran, too?"

The brunette was shaking a little and she spun back to the doors. Her mouth was open, but no words were coming out.

Eclair tilted her head, "Something you'd like to say, Dear?"

A single tear trickles down Jin's cheek as she finally looks at Tamaki. His gaze is fixed on one of the stairs between them, but for a brief moment, he looks at her. She can see it in his eyes that her announcement had been just as much of a shock as his had been for her.

But he doesn't speak. Instead, his lips pressed together tightly and he ducked behind his fringe of hair, severing the eye contact. Jin's shoulders slump, and she looked at the floor, more tears falling down her face.

Behind them, Kyoya finally managed to look away from the shaking form of his girlfriend. He couldn't even look at his best friend, so he turned his gaze to Haruhi. She was staring, wide eyed, into the space between her sister and Tamaki, like she couldn't decide which of their stories warranted more heartache. He knew how she felt, like her core had just been removed forcefully from her body.

That's how it felt for him.

Eclair smiled at the carnage, looping her arm through Tamaki's and leading him away, letting the doors slowly fall shut on their own.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you all."


	50. A Light in the Darkness!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the angst last chapter.  
> Oh, wait, no I'm not.  
> AHAHAHAHAAA...  
> But really, accept this KyoJin centric chapter as an olive branch

"WHY THAT  _ LITTLE- _ "

_ SNAP! _

Haruhi winced at the sound of splintering wood. It sounded far too similar to when her heart had shattered a few minutes ago.

"HE DESERVES A GOOD _ - _ "

_ BAM! _

The brunette looked away from the doors at the top of the staircase, where Jin had dragged one of their many fancy chairs through and, apparently, started breaking it apart. Sitting on the second-from-the-bottom step was Kyoya, his head in his hands. He didn't really seem to care that Jin was destroying some of the furniture they could've used the next day.

"I HOPE SHE-"

_ CRASH! _

Haruhi wasn't sure how her sister was doing it. She had been just as miserable and wrecked as the rest of the club when Eclair took Tamaki away, but the moment their footsteps had faded into the distance…

"BORDEL!"

_ BANG! _

Or, maybe she could understand it. At least a little. It was an odd time to do so, but Haruhi recalled a moment from the book 'Mark of Athena', when Annabeth was facing her greatest fear face-to-face. Her body had just said,  _ Okay, I can't be any more scared than I already am _ and she started working. Maybe Jin's head said,  _ We're done being sad. Let's break some shit. _

"Is Jin-chan… going to be okay?"

"DU SCHWEIN!"

Most of the boys jumped as the doors swayed with the force of the next hit. Only Kyoya remained inanimate. Haruhi couldn't find an answer to Honey-senpai's question, but she had a feeling Jin was running out of chair.

"DIN KUKSUGAR HORA!"

"Okay, maybe someone should go stop her before she starts tearing apart the school," Hikaru suggested, though his voice was lack-luster. Everyone turned to Haruhi expectantly, but she had another plan in mind.

"DRA ÅT HELVETE DU DUMJÄVEL!"

"You're right." She walked up to the moping boy on the stairs and lightly patted his shoulder, "Good luck."

"Your sister."

"Your girlfriend."

The ravenet finally looked up, and Haruhi actually saw his emotions. It was a surprise; her Senpai usually kept himself so locked up... unless he was with Jin. Now, there was so much worry and heartbreak in his eyes that it almost bowled the girl over. Of  _ course _ he would be taking the news just as bad as she was. The two closest people in his life were leaving him... God, she was a horrible person.

Kyoya's back suddenly straightened, and he turned around to face the doors. It didn't take long before the others realized why.

"She… stopped?"

Haruhi, who still had a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, could actually  _ feel _ the moment his concern for Jin overtook his own personal grievances. Quickly standing up, he climbed the stairs and slipped through the doors.

* * *

Kyoya wasn't sure what he was expecting. Perhaps a rather large mess, with scrapes on the walls and chunks of chair scattered up and down the hallway. The screams and loud noises certainly seemed to suggest so.

Instead, he received a short flashback to Halloween. His class had decided on a bonfire that day, per Jin's suggestion incidentally, and she was currently standing beside a large pile of broken wood that didn't even  _ remotely  _ resemble a chair. But it certainly looked like bonfire fuel.

He used to get a small smile on his face whenever he recalled that night. Making s'mores for Jin since he didn't want to eat one himself. Sitting beside her as their classmates made up horror stories on the fly, pretending to comfort her fake fear to encourage the speaker. Watching Jin's outline against the blaze as she threw her head back and laughed, right before she turned and beamed at him with that heart melting smile.

Now, it only served to send a sharp stabbing feeling through his chest.

Neither of them speak for a moment, just staring at the pile of wood glow orange in the light from the windows down the hall. Above them, the motion sensing lights powered up, sending one half of the hallway into grey darkness, while leaving the two of them bathed in white light.

"Why?"

The question he gave was actually many different ones rolled into one, because he just couldn't decide which was most important.

_ Why are you leaving Ouran Academy? _

_ Why did you act so surprised when Tamaki said he was leaving, too? _

_ Why are you leaving your sister? _

_ Why did you make a deal with Eclair, and what for? _

_ Why are you leaving  _ me?

Of course, Jin seemed to understand, because she suddenly dropped her head into her hands, like she just realized she had a brutal migraine, "I don't have a  _ choice! _ Do you really think I'd want to actually  _ leave? _ "

_ Leave Ouran? _

_ Leave Haruhi? _

_ Leave  _ you?

_ I don't know anymore, but you're doing it anyways. _

The silence retakes its hold, and Kyoya lets it. His own sadness was fading now, turning into bitterness and a feeling of betrayal. Half a year ago, he would've already tried to turn the conversation on her by now and start demanding answers, whether she was ready to give them or not.

But now, he knew all too well the consequences of jumping to conclusions. If he gave her enough time to sort out the words in her head, he'd get an answer. Despite all of his doubts, Kyoya knew Jin.

"You… you have to stop her, Kyoya. I think you're the only one who can-"

Her voice broke on the last word, her head coming up to stare at the ceiling. Throw in the shaky breath and Kyoya instantly knew she was fighting back tears. He wanted to go over and hug her, but forced himself to stand still.  _ What is she...  _ talking  _ about? _

Jin's voice was thick as she explained, "Her family… Grand Tonnerre. You said they were buying businesses in Japan? They…" she licked her lips before looking over at the boy, whose eyes had widened with understanding, "They're buying your family's company next."

Kyoya's mouth actually fell open as all of the pieces suddenly clicked into place. Jin kept going, like she was trying to push the words out of her mouth as fast as possible, "Eclair told me about it. I- she was talking to your father before she called for me. She's already got him on a leash, which means all the power he holds is now at her beck and call. My deal with her… she said that if I tried to stay at Ouran in secret… or tried to fight back against anything she said… she'd finish the job and leave your family with nothing. I can't do  _ anything  _ to stop it, Kyo-kun, but  _ you _ can. I  _ know _ it."

It took Kyoya a long time before he remember how to speak in complete sentences.

"You would leave Ouran… your plans for your future gone and all of us left behind… just because my family is in danger of going bankrupt?"

"Please don't say that like I'm  _ stupid!" _ Jin was definitely crying now, covering her mouth up with a hand, so her next words came out muffled and anguished, "She just wants Tamaki! But she knows his heart belongs to Haru, s-so she's trying to hurt her in any way she can! T-taking away T-Tamaki, breaking up the host club, s-sending me to public school… trying to break  _ us  _ up-" She dropped to her knees, her sobs too strong to keep standing.

" _ I hate her! I hate her! Why can't she leave us alone! I hate her! _ "

She only stopped when Kyoya's arms wrapped around her. She dropped her hands from her face and clutched at his jacket instead, wailing into the white fabric, body shaking from the raw emotion spilling out of her.

Kyoya didn't shush her, or say anything at all. He just held her. His right thumb slowly rubbed back and forth between her shoulder blades, letting her get everything out of her system. Inside his head, he made some time to chastise himself for ever thinking this had been Jin's choice. By the time she had quieted down some, he knew just what to say.

Holding her tighter against his chest, Kyoya nudged his nose into the hair just above her ear, letting the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo wash over his nerves, " _ Listen, Jin. I will  _ never  _ let someone like  _ that  _ ever come between us. We are not breaking up. I've already lost enough time denying that you harbored feelings for me in return to lose you now. _ "

The hands on his back tightened their grip, but she didn't say anything. So he continued.

" _ Even if you are forced to return to public school, I swear here and now that I won't let that change us. I will visit you each and every day, continue to take you out on dates, and keep you as happy as I possibly can. _ "

The two pulled back just a little, enough to see each other's faces. Jin hiccuped, but her eyes were no longer leaking tears. Her boyfriend managed a small smile at how flustered and hopeful she looked. No doubt if she could see herself she'd think that she looked like a mess, but Kyoya just thought she looked perfect.

He brushed his thumbs across her cheeks to swipe away her tear tracks, " _ You know, I could probably just pick you up everyday after school. It's not like I'll have an extracurricular activity to occupy my time once the club disbands. _ "

That managed to pull a weak chuckle from the girl in front of him. She gave him a small smile, which looked like sunlight breaking through rain clouds.

Hesitantly, she pressed a quick -and somewhat tear soaked- kiss to his lips, before taking in a deep breath and sighing, "Okay… okay. I'm better now. So," her eyes sharped to their usual clarity, "Now that we have a 'Worst-case scenario' plan, how do we make sure that doesn't happen?"

Chuckling, knowing he had his girlfriend back, Kyoya lead them back onto their feet, "I'm not sure just yet; the problem  _ has _ only just presented itself. First order of business  _ should _ be to take the Tonnerre's hold off of my family. If she presents no threat to anyone, we can proceed further. After all, my father is a powerful man. If he truly believes his work and livelihood is threatened, he could make things very difficult very fast."

Jin tsks, rolling her eyes, " _ Powerful- _ if he had  _ half _ of your brains he'd be a much bigger threat than you think he already is. He's letting himself be blackmailed by a high school student, all because the company under  _ his _ instruction is in jeopardy."

"Jin…"

"I'm sorry," her head hangs for a moment, but she quickly goes back to gazing at her boyfriend imploringly, "I know he's your dad, Glasses, and I know you respect and care the hell out of him but  _ damn it,  _ Kyoya… I apologize in advance, but I can hardly stand the man and I haven't even known him for more than 24 hours. Your father hasn't really  _ earned _ any of my pity, yet."

Kyoya sighed, resting his chin on top of Jin's head and holding her close once more, "Don't apologize. My father is… hard to understand at times. I don't always approve of his methods or business choices, but he is still my father, and as you said I do care about him, whether he knows it or not. I don't want my father to be known as the man who lost the Ootori Group due to his own hubris. And he  _ has _ done great things for our family's company in the past.  _ That _ should be his legacy... not this."

" _ You could do better. _ "

When the silences stretched on for longer than she liked, Jin pulled back and kissed him briefly again, "Kyo-kun, I'm  _ dead _ serious. I'd be willing to bet  _ actual money _ that if you had been in charge this whole situation with Grand Tonnerre and the Ootori Group never would've happened. Actually, you could probably just pull your family's company right out from underneath your father  _ and _ Eclair before anyone even-"

She cut herself off, eyes dropping to Kyoya's red tie. Her eyebrows furrowed. Kyoya's weight shifted to his heels, his glasses glinting harshly in the ever fading sunlight as his chin tipped downwards by a small fraction.

"Do you really think so?"

Jin looked back up, meeting Kyoya's nervous, yet excited and expectant look. She mirrored the expression, letting a true smile take residence on her face for the first time in the past couple of hours.

"I think you've got some work to do."

She briefly caught Kyoya's own mouth curling up into a smile before his face was too close to hers to actually see anything.

 


	51. This is Our Ouran Fair!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: Please, please read the Author's note at the bottom but ONLY WHEN YOU FINISH THIS CHAPTER. IT IS OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE THAT YOU READ IT, BUT DO NOT SKIP TO IT RIGHT NOW.

 

 

"Haruhi? Jin?"

The two girls kept their heads down, mutely pulling on their shoes by the front door.

Even so, they felt more than a little guilty when their father's next question came out very tentative, "Don't you want any breakfast before you go?" For the first time that whole morning, the sisters let their eyes meet. It was painful for them to do so, seeing the hopelessness and worry in each other's eyes, but they couldn't handle causing their father pain.

They hadn't told him yet, anyways.

"No thanks!"

"I'm not hungry, Dad."

"See you tonight!" They smiled at their father in unison, just like the last sentence, hoping it would be enough to cover up just how fake those cheerful words really were.

* Time Skip *

" _ Jin? _ " The whispered voice had the brunette blinking in surprise. Twisting around 180 degrees, her brown eyes grew large at the familiar head of blond hair peeking out from behind a nearby column.

"Ta-" she paused, looking around the rest of the hallway. No one else seemed to have noticed that Tamaki Suoh was sulking around in the shadows of the main hallway, and Jin had a feeling he wanted to keep it that way.

No sign of his  _ fiancee _ , at least.

Walking over as casually as possible, Jin pretended like she was about to admire the view out the window, " _ Didn't expect to see you here. _ "

The boy looked away, " _ I… I just had a request. _ "

" _ Oh? And what kind of request would that be? _ "

" _ Take care of the Host Club. Please. _ "

Jin's head jerked to the left, surprised, "What?"

"Please. I've hurt them enough by dragging them into the club without thinking of how it would affect their lives. Now that I'm disbanding the club, I can't just let them handle the backlash on their own… but I can't do it personally. You're the only one I can trust to do this, Jin. Start another club if you have to, but make it well worth their time and family name."

The blond turned his hopeful eyes to the girl, a sad smile tugging at his lips.

"You…  _ idiot. _ "

His smile dropped.

"You complete _idiot!_ _Well worth their time and family name? Are you serious? Did_ Eclair _tell you to say that?_ "

The blond fumbled, pressing himself closer to the pillar, "No… she didn't. Why do you think she did?"

Jin growls, rubbed the heel of her hand against her forehead, "I'm not quite sure how to break this to you, Tama-kun, but people perceive her as somewhat…" She frowned, chewing at her bottom lip.

Assuming that she'd lost the word, Tamaki forced the corners of his mouth to lift slightly, "Ambitious?"

"'Heinous bitch' is the term used most often."

"Tamaki, what are you doing here?"

Eclair wasn't walking very fast, but Jin had a feeling the girl could move quickly if she wanted to. Whatever, Jin was tired of being pushed around. She wasn't leaving for anything.

Be that as it may, Eclair completely ignored the other girl, speaking directly at Tamaki in a fake-sweet tone, "I thought I made it clear to you last night, Tamaki. You are not to contact any of your old club mates today. We don't want a huge scene, do we?"

For a moment, Jin saw something flickering in Tamaki's eye. A small flame of anger and hurt. And in that moment, she felt hopeful.

But then it passed, and he pulled away from the pillar, "I wasn't intending to make a scene, Eclair. I was simply ensuring that any further decisions on my part would not cause any further harm."

"Further harm?" Eclair's eyes regarded Jin before she smiled condescendingly, "Oh, I see. You expect them all to keep 'playing house' even when you're gone? That the commoner would take your place as the 'patriarch'? Silly Tamaki, have you forgotten that Jin won't be staying at Ouran after today?"

At the girl's words, Jin watched another part of her friend die in front of her, "You said you would forfeit that deal last night."

"I promised that I would think about it, but the truth is, she has broken the rule of employment while being a student at Ouran Academy. She admitted it herself in front of the entire Parlor yesterday. And as your father signed off on that order, once the word gets around to the rest of the school he'll be shamed for favoring the girl. It only makes sense for her to leave before your family name is dragged through the mud…"

Jin knew that Eclair had only  _ just _ shaved off the word 'again' from the end of that sentence. Another thick, hot surge of pure  _ hate _ rose up in her chest. She wouldn't be surprised if she looked back at the window and saw her hair up in flames in the reflection.

Probably sensing the rage being directed at her, the French girl smiled gently at Jin, "Something you'd like to say? Did you want to cut off our deal, Miss Fujioka?"

With more grace than she thought she could possibly possess, Jin managed a smile, as plastic as it was, and sweetly hummed, "Va te faire foutre."

She got the exact reaction she wanted.

Eclair gasps, scandalized, before grabbing Tamaki's arm and physically dragging him down the hallway. Jin listens to her rant in French about how  _ vulgar _ Tamaki's club mates were and wasn't he  _ glad _ now that she had asked him to disband the club. Her fiance is only looking over his shoulder, sending Jin a look that said,  _ I'm feeling better, but I'm not sure why. _

"What did you say to her?"

Jin didn't look up at Kyoya, who had just appeared at her side, when she answered, "Go fuck yourself. Or, a more direct translation: Go make yourself come."

She missed his expression, too busy glaring at the retreating brunette, but knew that he was likely either shocked or simply surprised. She didn't swear in Japanese for this exact reason, but for Eclair, she could bend her rules every once in awhile.

"Come on," he took her hand, "Let's get to the parlor. I'm sure everyone's waiting for us."

"Right…"

"Something wrong?"

"There's always something wrong when Eclair's around."

* Time Skip *

It was hard to focus on anything once they got back to the central parlor. Jin would smile and thank the parents who talked to her or complimented her abilities in and out of school, but in the back of her mind she wished she could be with Kyoya.

Maybe helping him with their little  _ project _ or just pretending like the world wasn't crashing in around them.

What was worse was that Eclair showed up about an hour into the club period, Tamaki nowhere in sight. Jin was tempted to walk over and smack the girl around until she stopped being such a self centered bitch, but Kyoya gently touched the small of her back on his way to talk to Eclair himself.

As much as Jin hated that her somewhat volatile nature was forcing her boyfriend to deal with such a horrible person, the fact that he was  _ willing _ to deal with such a horrible person for her sake made her fall in love with him even more.

She watched as Kyoya smiled pleasantly throughout whatever verbal battery the She-devil was spitting at him, but wasn't actually concerned until he turned around and called out for her sister. Haruhi was stiff as she went over to the table, even when Kyoya gave her an encouraging nod in passing. Jin opened her mouth to ask why Eclair wanted to talk to Haruhi, but her boyfriend beat her to the punch.

"When was the last time you looked at the debt you and Haruhi hold?"

She thought about it, "Not… recently. Not since…  _ wow _ , I don't think I've even thought about it since last year. I stopped thinking of being here as a punishment a long time ago."

"Well, it would seem that someone else has developed an interest in your place." Kyoya held out his journal for her to take. Glancing up through her eyelashes, Jin tried something. She tried to read Kyoya's facial expressions like she could read Haruhi's.

Now, she'd attempted to do so before. Ever since she was little Jin had wondered why she couldn't speak to others with her eyes or read their cheek twitches like she could with Haruhi. It had bugged her for a long time, and eventually she came to resent it. Talking out loud took away the intimacy, and provided room for lies. When she 'talked' to Haruhi, the only way they could hide something from the other was to look away or completely force the idea out of their head. But she could never do the same with anyone else.

Kyoya was the first person she had tried to read in years. Of course, that was quite a while ago, and as she hadn't expected anything of it, she wasn't disappointed when she couldn't. The second time she tried had been when they started dating.

After that, Jin would find herself trying to learn the language of Kyoya's expressions, but it was hard. Worse than learning a language, even, because this was a whole new ball park. There were no books she could read, comparing his expression to Haruhi's was a bust, and if his expressions  _ were _ a language, than it was a language where the words were always blurred or almost faded out, so she could only catch the barest traces. It was  _ maddening. _

Was she doing something wrong? Normally, when she was studying a new language, she'd go along all academic-like until one day she'd find a word that just  _ clicked _ everything into place, and the rest of the language would spiral out from it. And usually, it was a word that had  _ nothing to do _ with the other languages she knew. Like, her brain knew she was trying to learn a new language, but it needed something  _ brand new _ to center itself around.

"Jin?"

Her eyes widened, and it was like seeing a rainbow appear out of nowhere.

There was a slight curl of his lips, on the right, meaning he was a little amused. A small eyebrow quirk. Curious as to why she hadn't taken the notebook yet. Narrowing eyes. Confusion, and a little concern. And…  _ attraction. _

Something new.

" _ I can read you. _ "

"Excuse me?"

Jin smiled, gently taking the journal and moving closer, "Kyoya… I can  _ read _ you… like I can read  _ Haru. _ "

In the split second following her words, the brunette was worried that Kyoya wouldn't find it as cool as she did. There was a possibility he'd be weirded out, or even feel violated. After all, if someone had gone through their whole life hiding their actual thoughts and feelings from the world, how would they feel knowing that their significant other could suddenly see  _ everything? _

_ Stupid, stupid, stupid- _

He grabbed her hands, " _ You can read me? _ "

Jin swallowed, but nodded. She wasn't meeting Kyoya's eyes, worried about what she might see.

"Darling, please do me a favor, and tell me what you see right now."

Licking her lips, she did as she was asked.

_ Amazing. _

It was like witnessing the birth of a brand new color. The girl gasped, her mouth widening into a huge smile.

"Amazing…"

Kyoya's expression shifted a little.

_ Beautiful. _

Okay, now she was blushing. Looking away again, the brunette noticed that they had gained more than a few eyes with their interaction. Just as Kyoya took a small step forward, she pulled the journal to her chest, trying to ignore just how warm her boyfriend's hands felt above her fingers.

"So… debt, right?"

A quick glance gave her the question,  _ What are you talking about? _

Then he noticed the way half of the room was watching with baited breath. He smirked and captured her gaze once again.

_ Later. _

A quick kiss to her forehead and a lingering drag of his fingers across hers, and Kyoya made his way over to the other host club boys, who were chatting with each other over Tamaki's noted absence.

Jin allowed herself to regulate her breathing before looking down at the journal in her hands.  _ Our debt? Why would Eclair be worried about our debt? Because if I'm away, that'll put more money over Haruhi? Like… another twisted punishment? _

Deciding worrying about it wasn't going to help anything, the brunette flipped through a couple pages. If she remembered correctly, Kyoya had placed their debt calculations near the front of his new journal, so it couldn't be too far-

She came to a stop, her eyes widening as she read the page.

_ No way… _

Looking back up, Jin watched as Eclair daintily stood up and walked away from her sister.

"Thank you both for all of your hard work." Kyoya was smiling gently as he gained that Fujioka's attention, "After that request from Lady Eclair, your debt to the Ouran Host Club has been paid. You're both free to quit the Host Club, if you wish."

"And what better timing?"

Half of the room glanced over at Eclair's raised voice. She paid them no mind, currently smirking at the back of the head in front of her. Slowly, Jin turned around to face her, Kyoya's black journal still in her hands.

"Better timing for what, dare I ask?"

She smirked and lifted the papers that were in her hand, "Why, since you no longer have a debt to pay with the Host Club, signing these transfer papers will bear no financial burden to your family, should they?"

The bystanders who hadn't been all that interested a moment before were suddenly watching in disbelief.

" _ Transfer papers? _ "

" _ Isn't that Eclair Tonnerre? Why does she have transfer papers? _ "

" _ Those aren't for Jin, right? _ "

Jin clutched the journal in her arms a little tighter, her left hand drifting up to trace the necklace she wore, "Why do you have those, Eclair?"

"To make sure you actually sign them, of course. After this morning's insult, I wished to ensure you wouldn't go back on our deal. Now," she snapped her fingers and a well-dressed man walked over, laying a pen in Eclair's free hand, "Sign these, if you please."

Most everyone in the room gasped -well, most of the Host Club's younger guests were crying- as Eclair placed the papers and pen on a table. Jin slowly moved the journal to her left arm as she walked to the other side of the table. Staring down at the papers, she realized that they'd already been completely filled. All that was left was her signature.

_ No… this isn't what we planned for. _

Tears was already threatening as she shakily reached out for the pen. Looking over her shoulder, she saw her sister and boyfriend in the same place as before. It was clear from Haruhi's expression that she had been expecting this, meaning she couldn't feel any sadder than before. But Kyoya… the only expression Jin could read was  _ shock. _ They thought they'd have more time.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dear. Were you expecting a miracle?"

Throat tightening, Jin looked back down at the paper. Her eyes flooded when she realized something.

Eclair had written down the high school Jin was being transferred to. It wasn't Higashi High, where Beni and Hiroshi were.

No… she was going to  _ Kaisei _ Junior and Senior High School.

That's where the  _ Matsumoto triplets _ went.

She was going right back to her tormentors.

_ No… please, no. _

"Something wrong, Dear?"

Jin bit her lip, trying to stop her hand from shaking as she pressed it to the paper. Slowly, the black ink traced across the black line at the bottom, spelling out her name in elegant and forceful characters. She finished the last line just as a tear dropped onto the page.

Either the room had gone completely silent or the blood roaring through her ears was too loud for her to hear anything properly. The paper was pulled away, Jin's eyes following it as Eclair handed it to the man beside her.

"Thank you for doing business with me, Miss Fujioka. I'll send those in when I leave for France tonight." Her smile was cold and downright evil, "Have a pleasant last day at Ouran Academy."

Jin clenched her jaw as the other girl turned and walked out of the parlor, leaving behind her shell-shocked audience. The doors shut and conversations restarted. A few people tried to approached Jin, but halfway they decided against it. The brunette was back to staring at the table like she'd just signed her life away rather than a scholarship, Kyoya's black journal clutched to her chest like a security blanket. She looked ready to shatter.

Heavy measured steps passing on her left side forced Jin's gaze back up. Kyoya's father paused for a moment beside her, like he was thinking of what to say, before continuing on.

Anger suddenly burned in Jin's throat. A horrible thought had occurred.

_ What if… Eclair struck a deal with Mr. Ootori yesterday, before she called for me? What if her part of the deal was to get me away from his son? _

She spun around just as the older man and the person following him stopped beside Kyoya and her sister. The stranger bowed to Kyoya, so he was probably a member of their family's staff, but Mr. Ootori's back was as straight and stiff as ever.

"When they're young, many assume they have all the time in the world. But really, that is never the case. Don't waste your time with something that will ultimately have no value, especially when you already have a purpose in life."

Jin had already taken a few steps towards the small group by the fountain when Mr. Ootori's words froze her in place. A small, rational part of her brain knew he was referencing to the Host Club, but at the same time she couldn't help but note he could just as easily be talking about her relationship with Kyoya as well.

The ravenet wasn't even looking at his father, instead sending Jin the words ' _ I'm sorry' _ over and over again. But she could barely look at him.

Mr. Ootori and his assistant continued walking, leaving a space for Jin to go to her boyfriend and comfort herself… but she couldn't. Just yesterday, that same man had basically given her and Kyoya permission to date, saying that his concerns regarding their relationship not being beneficial to the rest of the family had been unfounded. If he was already going back on his word, possibly only a few hours after he'd said them, then what sort of future did Jin expect her and Kyoya to have with his family? Could she really do that to him?

"You don't know  _ anything _ about the Host Club."

Haruhi shoved her chair back across the tiles, standing up and marching around the table, her brown eyes piercing the still turned back of one Mr. Ootori.

"Kyoya-senpai works around the clock to make sure that everyone here is enjoying themselves on top of keeping the club on budget and staying on top of schoolwork. Did you ever stop to think that entertaining others might give each of us some fulfillment? How can you possibly say that what we do here is a waste of time when you refuse to look past your own opinion? In case you haven't noticed, you are the only person here who isn't enjoying themselves. Perhaps the problem isn't with the club, but with you. I don't care what you say, I think Kyoya-senpai is amazing… and I can't think of anyone else I'd be prouder to call my future brother-in-law."

Kyoya's father remained still for a moment, as if pondering whether she was done or if he should respond. But then the moment passed, and he kept walking.

Haruhi glared off after the man until he disappeared into the crowd before turning to the boy next to her. Kyoya was staring at her in shock.

"I'm sorry. I was just sick and tired of him bashing you and the club. I couldn't let Nēchan have every word with him."

"You called me… your future brother-in-law?" The small brunette blushed, glancing at her sister, who was also staring, "I didn't think you were one for such… long-term plans within relationships. Especially for your sister's."

"Look, just because it grosses me out when I walk in on you two making out on the occasionally flat surface, that doesn't mean I don't approve of your relationship, or whatever. You make each other happy, and when you're apart you're Hell to deal with. Good enough for me. And  _ you _ , Kyoya-senpai, don't need your father to decide where you find your happiness. My opinion on you finding it in my sister? Good choice. This is around the time I'd usually say 'be good to her', but I have a feeling you will be."

"Haru…"

Jin was smiling, finally, and held out her arms for a hug. Haruhi didn't hesitate, holding her sister tightly. At the top of the stairs across the parlor, Mr. Ootori watched the siblings interact.

"The Fujioka's, hm?"

* In Music Room #1 *

"Miss, you have a visitor."

Spinning around with a smile and her opera glasses pressed to her face, Eclair spotted her butler standing at the door, "Send them in, please."

The older man bowed, and a familiar face walked into the room.

"Mr. Ootori? Why are you here?" Tamaki sounded concerned, which had Eclair's left eyelid twitch. When was he going to learn that he had no  _ real _ place in his fiancee's business talks? At least he hadn't reacted poorly to her throwing his phone into the fish tank or fight her when she draped herself over his shoulders. It was an improvement, at least.

Still, she managed to keep her tone just as playful as always when she asked the Ootori patriarch to have a seat. Tamaki, of course, tried to apologize for forcing the man's third son to take part in his silly little club. Sensing Mr. Ootori was about to answer in a way he'd regret later, Eclair dropped her opera glasses to her lap.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

The man's jaw tightened, but otherwise he seemed perfectly calm, "Of course."

"Let's begin with your terms of the contract. Your medical equipment company is about to be bought out from under you by Grand Tonnerre." She hummed, like the idea was amusing to her, "I will divert our company of interest to one of your rivals, so long as the heir is your eldest son instead of your youngest and every member of the Board of Commissioners is approved of by Grand Tonnerre."

"Agreed." Tamaki's eyes were widening as the information washed over him.

Eclair tilted her head, "On a side note, your youngest son has poor judgement when it comes to choosing a bride."

Tamaki stiffened. He hated it when she spoke so poorly of his friends… but he knew it would upset his grandmother if he spoke up about it now.

"I do believe you do not have anything to say in regards to my family outside of a business sense."

"Miss Fujioka couldn't put the pieces together," Eclair continued, like Mr. Ootori hadn't even spoken, "She even saw you leaving our meeting yesterday, and couldn't find the hidden loop. I'd say I was disappointed, but I'd be lying."

Mr. Ootori squared his shoulders, his glasses glaring over as he waited for her to explain.

"Those papers you witnessed her sign earlier this afternoon, they were transfer documents to remove her from Ouran Academy. She'll be attending the public school a town over by next week. I got her to agree to sign them by threatening to pull the plug on your company and leave you bankrupt if she didn't. But she never connected the dots to why we were talking. She agreed to give up her future in exchange for a company that was never in danger... well, so long as  _ our _ contract remains intact."

Tamaki and Mr. Ootori were staring at the girl in shock. The move was so… underhanded and cruel. And yet Eclair was smiling like she'd just figured out how to trick her parents into giving her another cookie after dinner. She twirled her opera glasses once in her lap before continuing.

"Now then, I will have a favor to ask of you once we finish, but there is one last addendum to  _ your _ side of the contract that you have yet to clarify."

"Is there, now?"

"Jin Fujioka… and your son."

The man tilted his head down a little, showing off his grey eyes that flashed coldly, "Ah…  _ that _ addendum."

Tamaki's breath caught in his throat.

* Time Skip *

"You look nice, Jin-chan."

Jin looked up from her seat, trying to force herself to smile at the boys standing in front of her, "Thanks. I like your outfits, too."

Hikaru looked like he'd just swallowed a lemon, and the moment his senpai looked at her lap again he exploded, "What are we doing?! Are we really going to pretend like this isn't happening?"

"Hikaru-"

"No! Everything was just  _ fine _ until Eclair showed up! She's destroyed  _ everything! _ First, she takes Tamaki-senpai away! Then she forces him to disband the Host Club!  _ Now _ she's taking Jin away! And why won't that idiot answer his phone?"

Jin hunched over as Kaoru attempted to calm his twin down, tugging at the white sleeves of her dress. It was a green renaissance gown, with long white sleeves, a nice dark green color for the dress, and a triangle of gold fabric in the front of the skirt. It was beautiful, but she couldn't find herself to care. By next week, she'd be back in public school, with all of her old tormentors, and without any of her friends.

_ How did this happen? _

"Kyoya-senpai? Any luck?"

"No. He's not answering."

"Well, are you really surprised?" Jin tugged at her fingers, "Eclair won. Why would she let us see Tama-kun if she has nothing to gain from it?" Hastily, she rubbed at her eyes. They were almost constantly red now from her limbo between 'almost crying' and 'crying', "I thought… I'd at least get to say goodbye to him. I'm going to miss him. And… I never thanked him."

"What for?"

Jin's smile was tiny and miserable, but she still managed it, "For… everything." Haruhi, who was also in a dress, squeezed her sister's hand. Kyoya frowned before flipping his phone open again and harshly dialing before turning towards the window.

"Hello, Shima? It's Kyoya Ootori. Been awhile, hasn't it?"

The rest of the club stared at him.

" _ Who's Shima? _ "

" _ She's the head maid at the Suoh Second Mansion, where Tamaki lives. _ "

"He's… how could he be so  _ stupid? _ " The phone was lowered from his ear, opposing fist shaking with the anger Jin could now see pulsing through her boyfriend, "Evidently, Tamaki is planning to return to  _ France _ ."

"Huh?!"

"Tama-chan's leaving us?"

"You've got to be kidding me? After all this time and he- It can't just end so suddenly!"

"Hikaru…" the younger twin tried to hold onto his brother, but was brushed off.

Jin walked over to Kyoya, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder just as he pulled the phone back up, "Yes?" She waited as his opposing hand covered hers and Shima continued speaking.

"Do you know when he's leaving?"

Faintly, Jin heard the response, " _ I believe his flight leaves this evening. _ "

"Why is he leaving so soon?"

" _ He would've left sooner, but he said he had to wait until the Ouran fair was ending. _ "

Jin gripped her boyfriend's shoulder harshly, "Look!" She stepped closer to the window in front of them, her nose kissing the glass. Down below them, a red car was speeding down the cobblestones. A familiar blond head of hair was in the back seat.

"Tamaki!"

"Tama-kun!"

The others rushed over.

"Tama-chan, no!"

"Hey!"

"The Ouran Fair isn't even over yet!"

Kyoya grabbed Jin's hand, "My family's car should be in the parking lot! Everyone, we need to move, now!"

The brunette looked at the couches, spotting her sister still where she'd left her, "Haru! Come on! We're not letting him go  _ that _ easy!"

* * *

The sound of shoes clattering on concrete echoed through the parking lot, pounding in time to the Host Club's heavy breathing. In his head, Kyoya tried to calculate how far Tamaki could've gotten as he and the others finally reached his family's car.

He bent down and stared at the driver. It was his father's driver, but he supposed he could make do.

"We're in a hurry, can you drive us?"

"Uh… I'm sorry, Sir. But…"

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Well, you see, I've been given orders."

"Orders? From my father? About what?"

"Kyoya-senpai…"

The boy in purple slowly straightened up, realization washing over him as he turned to face the Black Onion Squad, "Ah, I see. Your orders are to protect Lady Eclair, are they not?" He watched as Hikaru pulled Haruhi behind the twins… but noticed that the other three members of their group had vanished. Silently thanking his girlfriend for her amazing intuition -and distrust of his father- he continued to keep his eyes on the men in black.

"I'm truly sorry, Sir, but the orders come from your Father. We have no choice."

"Damn it!" Kyoya brought his fist down on the hood of the car, hoping to keep himself the focus of the Squad as the biggest threat until Jin and the cousins could unleash whatever plan they'd come up with. He'd only intended to cause a loud noise.

Instead, he dented the hood of the car.

Wouldn't  _ that _ surprise his father later tonight.

"Sir, we are sorry for the loss of your friend. But this is our job. We will not be fired for disobedience."

The sound of a loud motor suddenly filled up the cavern, coupled with horse shoes and wooden wheels. The guards yelped and jumped out of the way as a motorcycle and horse-drawn carriage barreled down on them. The carriage cut off the four club members from the Black Onion Squad, while the motorcycle powered down on the other side.

Jin removed the black helmet from her head and jumped off the bike, staring down the guards as Mori and Honey handed the reins to Hikaru.

"M-Miss Fujioka-"

"Actually, it's Worthy Matron Fujioka, in case you've forgotten."

There was a simultaneous gulp as the girl grabbed her skirt and ripped the bottom half off without much effort. With the dress now stopping at her knees, she fell into a fighting position, eyes losing their softness.

The guards continued to whisper among themselves as the twins jumped onto the carriage. Jin heard Kyoya telling her sister to go get their Idiot, and she risked turning around.

"Haru? When you find that moron, you tell him  _ everything _ he needs to know, you got that?"

Haruhi met her eyes, and Jin smirked. She knew what to do.

"Yah!"

One of the guards seemed to snap out of it, "Don't just stand there! Stop that- AUGH!" He never got to finish his commands. Jin had shot forward and grabbed the top of his front plate of armor, throwing him over the heads of the men behind him.

"Next!"

The following minute seemed to take forever. All three of them jumped and weaved and wrecked general havoc among the men in body armor. Jin couldn't tell exactly how many faces she elbowed or chests she'd kicked, all she knew was this was much more therapeutic than breaking the chair 24 hours ago. Honey had said to not go easy on them, and she wasn't planning too.

However, with their combined strength and rage, it wasn't long before they started running out of people to fight. Only when Jin went to punch a guy and almost nailed Mori instead, she managed to rein in her fury.

_ Haru. Hikaru. Kaoru. They might need backup. _

Jumping back on the motorcycle, which she could do much easier now with her torn skirt, Jin grabbed the helmet and went to put it on. But a hand around her wrist stopped her.

Kyoya stared at her, "Please, be careful."

"I will."

He pulled away, and she noticed him wince. Her eyes zipped to the hand that just let her go, noticing the beginnings of a bruise starting up along his pinkie. She glanced at the hood of the car behind him. There was a dent in the hood.

"Did you do that?"

"Ah," he lightly rubbed at his hand, "Yes. I had to keep their attention on me, but I over-"

Jin grabbed the front of his colorful shirt and yanked him down for a hard kiss. He didn't complain, but managed to silently ask what that was for when she released him. Kyoya thought he was getting pretty good at this 'silent' speak.

" _ That's all manner of hot. _ " She winked, pulled on the helmet, revved the engine, and took off.

* Time Skip *

It didn't take her long to find out where the plan had gone wrong.

"Hika-kun! Kao-kun!" She started putting on the brakes, spotting the twins limping out of a pumpkin patch. Kaoru waved her off, though.

"No! Go after Haruhi! She took the carriage! I'll get Hikaru to a hospital, but help her!"

"Bring our family back, Jin-nēchan!"

Jin gasped, almost stopping the bike just so she could hug the two boys, but knew she couldn't. Instead, she nodded and put on the power. As the motorcycle kicked up dirt behind her, the memory of this morning stirred in her mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago…

" _ What, you girls can't talk to your Dad about it?" _

" _ About what?" _

" _ Something's bothering you two, and it's not good." _

" _ Dunno what you're talking about, Silly!" _

" _ I'm just not hungry this morning! You know it happens!" _

" _ You can't fool me, kiddos. Haruhi, the last time you didn't get on Jin's case about not eating breakfast was when your mother died. It took you both a long time before you started eating regularly again." _

Jin gritted her teeth and pushed the bike to go faster. This was a much higher speed than she'd ever gone before.

" _ There are some things in this world you can't change, no matter how much you may want to. Just remember, you have to stay brave, even if it feels like the world is falling apart around you. You've always drawn strength from each other, and people might see that as weakness. But know that what you two have is anything but. The two of you together? The world had better watch out." _

Breathing heavily, her hands straining from how hard she's gripping the handles, Jin glances to her right. The road! Just ahead, she sees a small incline. Probably for hikers and the like. Squaring her shoulders, she turns the handles.

If she were any less skilled or had a shorter reaction time, Jin likely would've severely injured herself or gotten her neck snapped. The dirt fell away from the edge of the small trail, tumbling down into the road. Jin barely managed to duck beneath a fallen tree branch. Gravel kicked at the back of her legs, stinging against her skin.

And yet, against all odds and fifteen seconds of her heart hammering in complete terror, the wheels hit the pavement and took off, finding proper grip again.

Just ahead, she saw the carriage and red car down the road, side by side. Shouts slipped past her ears, the barest hints of words tickling her eardrums but not telling her what they meant. Ducking low, she urged the machine faster. The handles trembled beneath her hands. How much gas had been in this when she borrowed it from the basketball team?

Up ahead, she saw Tamaki standing up in the car, staring at Haruhi as she screaming through the wind.

Then she let go of one of the reins.

"Haru!"

Haruhi reached out to the blond, not hearing her sister or the motorcycle over the sound of the carriage and wind. Jin felt her heart jack up another few beats, begging for the horses to remain in tandem and not go crazy with only one of them being held back.

In the car, Tamaki slowly reached back to the short-haired girl. Despite all the danger, Jin smiled.  _ Yes, _ she wanted to scream,  _ Come back to Ouran! You belong with us! _

A loud whinny almost stopped her heart completely. Jin watched in horror as the horses went crazy, just as she'd feared they would. The carriage slammed into the side of the bridge…

Sending Haruhi over the edge.

"Haruhi!"

"HARU! NO!"

Tamaki hears Jin and looks at her, mouth gaping even wider, if possible, "Jin? What-"

"Please! Save her!"

The blond gasps, before he nods and leaps out of the car and over the edge in a perfect dive. Dropping out of view.

Jin can feel the bike beneath her beginning to shake harder, probably not used or intended to go at this speed. She manages to keep her eyes on the road, somewhat, and is met with teary eye contact with Eclair. The French girl is staring at her, looking oddly heartbroken for someone without a heart. She looked down, then turned around in her seat to face the back of her driver.

A flurry of papers exploded out of the car, the wind scattering them across the road.

_ What? _

Jin tilted her head back as one paper flew right over her head.

_ CRUNCH! _

"AHHHHHH!"

The brunette went tumbling head over heels, her world turned upside down as the bike hit the back of the carriage.

* * *

"Oof!"

"Jin!"

Pressing herself up onto her elbows, Jin managed to lift the visor up on her helmet. When she saw where she was, she wasn't sure if this was call to panic or thank whatever god existed.

Good news, she had landed on the carriage, on the seats, with no broken bones.

Bad news, she had landed on the carriage, on the seats, with no way to steer.

But who had called her name?

Hauling herself up to see over the lip of the carriage side, she was surprised to see Eclair standing up in the car again, leaning over with concern.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to distract you!"

Jin pulled her helmet all the way off, which was kind of stupid, but she was also positive that she was succumbing to heat hallucinations from her head cooking in the thing. Except she wasn't.

The carriage hit the side of the bridge once again and she gripped the seat to keep herself from flying out like her sister.

Suddenly realizing how dangerous the situation was, Jin dragged herself up and looked at the horses. They were running wildly, but both of the reins had now dropped into the street. They were still leaning to the left, but that could change at any moment.

Turning back to the other girl, she used her hand to imitate pushing Eclair away, "Go! Get out of here! They could veer towards you at any moment!"

The French girl blinked in surprise, but eventually turned to her driver, "Faster! Get off the bridge!" She turned back to Jin, "Good luck." And sped off.

The brunette wasted precious seconds staring off after the car in disbelief, wondering what had just happened, before she was slammed against the side of the bridge against. Her fingers slid across the wood before she caught herself.

Grunting, she managed to push herself up and over onto the driver's chair, grabbing onto the far side of the carriage with her hands just as it was jarred again. She could see the horses now, and watched as the one closest to the bridge wall get sick of being pushed against it. The carriage jerked across the road until they were running right in the middle. If the car Eclair had been in hadn't sped up, she could've been driven off the road and into the river.

Carefully, the brunette picked her way to the floor. The metal bars holding the horses in place in front of the carriage were wiggling around dangerously, threatening to release the animals into the street. Which is exactly what Jin needed.

She lunged for the one on her right, fingers slipping once before finally getting a good hold on the large bolt. She twisted it to the left, her eyes darting up in front of her. Eclair's car was already around the corner and on the other bridge… but she could now see the turn. It was a large cliff, so no way forward. And the horses weren't slowing down enough for a turn.

The bolt yanked free into her hand, almost smacking her in the face.

The horses whinnied in panic as half of the metal guards fell away. The carriage jumped a little bit, slamming Jin into the floor as the wheels jumped over the bars. The horse on the right tried to pull away from the runaway carriage, but it was still attached to the other horse. Except that one was tired of being pushed around, and held the carriage in the middle of the road. Breathing heavily, Jin turned to the other side, pulling at the second bolt. Every so often, she'd look in front of them. The turn was coming up quickly.

_ Please please please please PLEASE! _

It came loose.

Jin kicked at the frame and it too clattered to the pavement, freeing the horses from the carriage, but not from each other. They ran to the side, slowing down now that a huge carriage wasn't threatening to mow them over. Except Jin was still on it, and it was still moving fast towards the turn. The cliff was growing huge as it loomed ahead of her, ready to crush the carriage into kindling and any dumb 18 year old girl who might happen to be in it.

Quickly, she climbed back over into the back of the carriage. With the horses now behind her, slowing down, she wasn't worried about suddenly veering into the side of the bridge. Except she had a crazy idea about getting off the carriage before something worse happened to her.

She only hoped it would work.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed over the seat she had been sitting in not two days before and held onto the rods on the very back end of the carriage. Lowering herself down, Jin's heart hammered against her rib cage, trying to escape before it's owner could get herself killed. Just before she welled up her courage, she clutched at the heart necklace swinging around her neck.

_ Please. _

"I'm an idiot!" She screamed into the wind before tensing her legs for a jump.

* Time Skip *

"Tama-chan! Haru-chan!"

A small blond blur launched itself at the two wet teenagers who had just crawled out of the river, nearly knocking them back in again.

"Hey, Boss! You're back!"

"Kyoya's driver had a change of heart after he saw the Haninozuka and Morinozuka family in action!"

"Where's Jin?"

All the smiles disappeared as the seven looked up towards the bridge. Their eyes widened at the wreckage of their carriage pressed against the cliff marking the turn. No sign of Jin, though.

"Kyo-chan… look."

Kyoya stumbled towards the group next to the water, not daring to believe it. He walked into the water and threw his arms into the shallows, grabbing onto something rubbery and dark beneath the water. Pulling hard, he watched in horror as the remains of what used to be her motorcycle were dragged onto the sand.

" _ Was… was Nēchan on the bridge? _ "

"She went after you."

"On that motorcycle."

Kyoya was shaking, his hands still holding onto the handlebars. From the looks of the vehicle, it had crashed head-first into something. Most likely… due to the wooden splinters in the wheel… the carriage. So either she'd been thrown over the bridge with the bike, or she'd been thrown onto the carriage… both of which were now hopeless wrecks.

"Jin!" He dropped the bike, cupping his hands around his mouth to holler across the water, "Jin!"

" _ No… no, no, no… _ "

" _ Kyoya-senpai, _ "

"No! She's not dead! Look! The horses aren't there! She got them off of the carriage! She's safe! Jin!"

The others were looking around at each other, wanting to see that someone other than them believed Kyoya's desperation. Haruhi was sniffling, cursing herself for not knowing that her sister would come after her. Tamaki took a step back, slipping on one of the rocks and falling back down in the riverbed. His tailbone hit a couple rocks, but he couldn't even register the pain.

_ This is all my fault. This is all my fault. This is all my fault. _

Kyoya took in a deep breath, "JIN!"

"Hey, Glasses, calm down! I can hear you just fine!"

Everyone spun around, laughing in disbelief and joy as Jin picked her way down the rocky beach towards them. Her green dress was missing, brown hair a total mess, and her arms were scratched up and bleeding lightly. Kyoya couldn't remember a time she looked more beautiful.

Running up to her, he cautiously placed his hands on her shoulders, making sure not to touch her arms, "You're hurt! What happened? Did you crash? How did you escape the carriage? Did you ride the horses? Did you hit your head at all? How badly are you bleeding? Is anything blurry to you at all-"

"Kyo-kun!" She hugged him tightly, "I'm fine _. _ I hit the carriage with my bike, but I landed on it. I unhooked the horses and jumped off just before it hit the cliff. My arms got a little scraped from the pavement. I didn't hit my head. I'm  _ fine. _ "

"You don't have a good track record with these things! I, for one, am quite sick of seeing you try out hospital beds!" Despite the sharp words, Kyoya's hands were gentle as he cupped Jin's face, "Don't ever do that again. I'm not about to lose you."

Jin smiles, "I'm not going anywhere, Glasses. Promise."

The boy returns the smile briefly before kissing her like his life depended on it. Jin couldn't help but think that if this were a Hollywood movie, this would've been the final scene right before the credits.  _ And they lived happily ever after. _

Except this wasn't a Hollywood movie, and her friends and sister had been watching them right up to the start of the kiss.

In an effort to keep the more lewd boys from watching her sister and Kyoya-senpai reunite - _ suck face _ \- Haruhi gently squeezed Tamaki's hand once he got out of the river again.

"Thank you for jumping after me… I was worried that you might not have."

"What? You really thought that?" The blond grabbed her hands, pulling them to his chest, "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had let you fall by yourself. And… it helped convince me that you all really wanted me back. Jin, I saw her just as you went over. Instead of saving you herself, she asked me to do it. She entrusted me with keeping you safe. That's when I knew that you truly wanted me back."

Across the way, Kyoya had finally come up for air, holding his girlfriend to his chest and looking over at his best friend, "Of course we wanted you back, Idiot. It wouldn't be the Host Club without you."

The others laughed a bit before Hikaru piped up, "Tamaki-senpai, the Host Club is the only thing that made us happy."

"We would still be lost in our small world, without friends, if it weren't for you."

"I'd still be forcing myself to not be happy."

"I'd still be forced to watch Mitsukuni be unhappy, and not say anything about it."

"And  _ that _ ," Haruhi lightly elbowed the blond before pointing at the embracing couple, " _ That _ right there was the direct result of this club. They were both pulled in because of you, Tamaki, and if you hadn't, then  _ that _ would not even exist."

The French boy looked like he was about to cry, "I thought… I thought I was just making a mess of your lives."

"You didn't mess up our lives. You  _ saved _ us, Tama-kun."

And then, he did start crying.

"Hey, Nēchan?"

Jin's heart swelled, in the good way this time, "Yeah, Hikaru?"

"What are those?"

The girl looked down at her left hand. She was still holding the papers. The ones she had scooped up off the road as she started walking back to meet with Haruhi and Tamaki when they got out of the river.

Kyoya's grip around her lower back tightened when he saw the signature at the bottom, "Darling… are those…"

"Nothing." She looked up at the boy, her eyes shining, "They're  _ nothing _ now."

Without further ado, the girl began marching towards the riverbank, ripping the transfer papers in half. Quarters. Eights. And sixteenths, before throwing them into the air like confetti. They fluttered down into the water, sinking or being carried away.

For good.

* Time Skip *

"My, my, my, Darling. You clean up nice."

"Shut up, Dear."

Giggling at the teasing, Jin let Kyoya lead her further onto the dance floor. She was back in a proper dress. Dark green, with fluttering short sleeves and knee-length skirt that made her freshly combed hair look even darker. Her bare arms were washed clean of blood, only small red nicks showing off how rough of a day she'd had.

She smiled broadly as the two danced to the orchestra. Occasionally she'd spy Haruhi being spun around by the other boys. It had been a surprise to them all when Haruhi said she'd announce her real gender to the school next week, but remain in the Host Club all the same. She might become a half-host like her sister, or keep serving to her guests, but either way, the lies were over and done with.

It didn't seem like the girls minded at the moment.

Kyoya pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, chuckling when Jin immediately put her head into the crook of his shoulder and neck. They spun around a few more times, finally allowing themselves to enjoy that the whole mess was behind them.

Or, maybe not quite yet.

"Jin, there's something I think you should know."

"Mm?"

"While I was… working on my family's company," the girl smirked at his word choice, "I came across a few emails. Apparently… Eclair tried to blackmail my father into one further agreement. To withdraw his support from our relationship."

The brunette jerks backwards, her feet halting in the middle of a spin. A flash of panic was spreading through her chest, but Kyoya just smiles gently.

"He refused."

"He… what?"

"The emails I found were Eclair trying to sway him to take up that agreement as well as protecting her and letting Grand Tonnerre run the Ootori Group's medical business from the inside, but he kept on refusing. In the last email, he stated it was the one thing he would  _ never _ agree to. Apparently… you are 'too valuable' to me and the family for him to agree to split us up."

The two stare at each other for a moment before Jin looks away, "Now I'm embarrassed. I kept on thinking he was a terrible person."

Kyoya chuckled again and pulled her back into step with the song, "My father is a difficult man to understand, remember?"

"Yeah…" Jin smiled up at her boyfriend, then noticed something over his shoulder, "Hmm… want to have some fun?"

"Of course."

Spinning the boy around, she pushed him gently in the direction of her sister, who was reaching out to take Tamaki's hand. Kyoya spared a moment to smirk at his girlfriend before grabbing Haruhi's hand, spinning off with her before she could protest.

Tamaki, of course, tries to chase after them, but Jin steps in front of him.

"Might I have this dance?"

The two pairs dance relatively close to each other, Tamaki and Haruhi glancing at each other every so often. The actual couple also spared each other a few smiles.

Jin hummed and squeezed Tamaki's shoulder, redirecting his attention, "You'll be good for her."

"Yeah? Well, you've been good for him."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything." Jin stopped and kissed the blond's forehead before turning him around just in time to catch her sister. Before they could glare at the couple who had interrupted them the first time, Kyoya and Jin disappeared into the crowd.

They weren't gone for long before the fireworks started going off. Huge bursts of light high above the school. Sighing, Jin wound her arms around Kyoya's neck, her face turned to face the brilliant colors in the sky.

" _ I feel like I'm dreaming. That I'm going to wake up in a few minutes to find out this day never happened. _ "

Kyoya smiled, steering her back to face him, " _ Shall I prove to you that it's not a dream? _ "

She nodded, and gladly pressed up into the kiss, forcing her heels to leave the ground as her toes stretched just a little more. Everyone around them was too busy staring up at the fireworks to pay them much attention, but they wouldn't have cared either way.

The couple parted, eyes half-lidded in the dim glow of the fireworks as the lights around the courtyard turned off for optimal viewing.

" _ I don't think I'm entirely convinced. Prove it to me again, Glasses?" _

" _ As you wish, Darling. _ "

* In the Chairman's Office *

"I'm sorry if my actions caused you concern, old friend. It would seem as though Grand Tonnerre will  _ not _ be purchasing my company, after all. An unexpected backer turned up and bought the company before Tonnerre had a chance to do so. And the backer said he was turning all the management rights over to me."

Mr. Suoh smiled at the window, watching the fireworks explode in the air, "That was a bold move. Which funds manager was it? I feel like they deserve a personal thanks."

"It was a student investor, going by the name K.O. And while he left his name out of the transaction, it didn't take me long to figure out who he was. Kyoya Ootori… my own son." At that, Mr. Suoh actually laughed.

"Who else? At least we know we don't have to worry about the future. I thought I already knew how brilliant Kyoya was, but he's exceeded even my expectations."

"Too right, my friend. I look forward to seeing how he will manage the company once I officially make him the heir. And I have your son to thank for that."

"Hm?"

"I know now that Kyoya is ready to lead the company, because he's finally found it. Something he values more than running the Ootori Group. He took it out from underneath me by force, and then threw it back in my face to say he didn't want it. And it was  _ your _ son who lead Kyoya to it. To their little Host Club, to his friends, and to Jin Fujioka."

"Ah… I was wondering when you'd bring her into the conversation."

Mr. Ootori managed a small smile, "I cannot express just how proud I am of Kyoya. He's found an excellent future wife. Jin will make a fine Ootori, and I do look forward to the life they are going to share together. Her family is strong, too. Haruhi, her sister, is just as wily and brave as Jin is. I won't have any complaints in being related to the Fujioka's, or seeing their traits in my grandchildren."

Mr. Suoh smiles and looks at the other man over his shoulder, "You won't, old friend? And what of the Suoh family? What complaints might you have in being related to me?"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Wow... I can't believe we're at the end. But this raises another question for me, and for you. I have one more chapter to go. Episode 26.5, and we have a few options here. I could write an epilogue and end it, retire Miss Jin Fujioka from my writing...  
> Or I could… you know… write an epilogue…  
> And start up another Jin Fujioka story…  
> Following the manga….. If you want.  
> I think it would be fun, and a lot of you have already asked me to continue on with this story. Well, that's what this would be... except a little different. I'd be starting again, from the beginning, but I promise it won't be an exact repeat. I already have a ton of new ideas of how and where to change things up… plus extra 'Ouran Theaters' and how Jin would integrate herself with the other anime characters I couldn't bring in and more closure with some of my extra story lines like the Eiko arc. But only if you'd want to read it. And if I can come up with a good title.  
> Either way, it's up to you. If you want more Jin Fujioka, I would be honored to keep going (because I like writing about her as well).


	52. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. Oh, geez, I don't even know what to say. Thank you all so much for this amazing adventure. As of this moment, there has been a grand total of 47 reviews/comments from the three sites this story is on regarding the path of Jin Fujioka after this chapter. The most response to any chapter ever, including the very first. I've read them all, compared the votes to my own interests, and have made a decision.  
> While this chapter in Jin Fujioka's world might be drawing to a close, a new one is most definitely opening. I'm honored to announce that I will be starting another story as this one ends: Big Sister Fujioka: Manga Edition  
> Besides, someone told me I had to write about Jin until my death. We'll have to see about that, but I'm actually a little nostalgic about having the opportunity to write Jin and Kyoya falling in love all over again.  
> And keep an eye out for little... bonuses I might add on to this story here and there... for fun-zies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that's not mentioned by name in this chapter is Yuri on Ice - Single

 

* 6 years later *

* June 17th *

The faint colors of a spectacular sunset flooded through a nearby window, gently painting the white tiles on the ground in a rainbow spectrum.

Of course, for all of her love of sunsets, Jin couldn't create much interest in the picturesque moment. She was far too invested in staring at the man in front of her, anticipation rolling around in her gut.

At the age of 24, Kyoya Ootori looked even more handsome than the day she had met him. She could hardly believe the man was real sometimes. When she woke up in their apartment every morning, often times she'd just stare at Kyoya's sleeping face beside her and try to convince herself that this was actually reality. Which is why her boyfriend woke up most mornings to find her gazing lovingly at him from her own pillow.

Kyoya licked his lower lip, staring at her like she was his whole universe. Jin was worried that if he kept that up, her heart would swell until it was big enough to crush her lungs, but neither did she ever want him to stop. Silent words were being pelted at her, going on and on about how beautiful she was. She responded as best as she could, making sure that her expressions were obvious, as they had only just started silent two-way conversations. It would never be as fluent as her talks with Haruhi, of course, but it worked for now.

Somewhere in the back of the brunette's mind, she knew that her father and a few other family members were watching them closely, not daring to speak or otherwise break the moment. Her sister and the other host club boys were standing a little closer to extend support, but the moment still gave them the feeling of being completely alone as they waited.

Said waiting was pure agony, but Jin endured.

The moment was close now, she could feel it, even though she couldn't hear anything over the roar of the blood in her ears. Her hands were shaking slightly. Kyoya's eyes sparkled behind his glasses; he must feel it, too.

Jin thought about her last name. It was probably a strange thing to think about, considering the time and place, but she did. Fujioka. That name would die out once she, Haruhi, and perhaps even Eiko were married. Did that bother her father? Or would he be more happy that his daughters were married and in love? She thought the latter was more likely.

He didn't seem to be willing to let that happen earlier than he was comfortable with, however. Jin had overheard somewhere that her father had forbidden Kyoya to even ask for permission to marry her until they were both graduated from University, and definitely not before they got their first jobs. It was one of his "conditions" for giving Kyoya his blessing.

But now, with two University degrees sitting side by side on an apartment's shelf where the future CEO and Head Accountant for the Ootori company lived, Jin knew it was almost time.

Her heartbeat somehow quickened as Kyoya opened his mouth. He told her about how she had saved his life. Loved him and, in turn, brought love out from within himself that he didn't even know he had. How he owed her so much, and how he felt he didn't even have the beginnings of ways to repay her, but he wanted to start by giving her his love every day for the rest of their lives.

Jin knew there were tears dripping down her cheeks and could only hope her father couldn't see them. They didn't need his loud wails at the moment… that could come later. Haruhi would know, but she'd be able to hold her cries at a lower volume. And she could ignore Tamaki's sniffles.

Kyoya stopped talking and Jin started. It was like she couldn't get the words out fast enough, like she needed to tell him everything she felt before the moment came, and it was so close… so close she could  _ taste _ it… or perhaps that was her tears. Either way, she managed to share everything she'd never been able to put into words before. Her loneliness since she was six years old. The monster in her chest that seemed to devour every trace of happiness she might've had until she felt hollow. Hollow for ten long years, only able to fight back with the love her father and sister gave her.

And then... Kyoya happened.

He made her feel. Pushed her buttons in the wrong and right ways and made her feel more alive than she'd thought was possible. Complimented her personality so well that she couldn't imagine it any other way. Opposites who were so alike. And after almost seven years by his side, there was no denying that Kyoya was hers, and she his. Nothing would, or could, ever change that.

By the time she finished, there were definitely tears in Kyoya's eyes as well. Though how she could see it though her own was a mystery.

The silence between them stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Their words for each other, and no one else, seemed to hover between them. Jin tried to absorb exactly what would happen next.

Kyoya spoke again. It was barely a full sentence, but the emotion was just as real as when Jin responded in turn, but she almost wanted to scream, ' _ No more words!' _

And there weren't any.

At least… not for them.

_ Jin Fujioka… _

"You may now kiss the bride."

Kyoya wasted no time in lifting the thin veil away from Jin's face, one hand cupping her cheek and the other going around her waist. The church hall erupted into applause as they went in for a kiss. Their bridal party, comprised of the original Ouran Highschool Host Club and their siblings, were the loudest of them all.

_ Jin... Ootori. _

* 4 years later *

* February 2nd *

Jin hummed along to the song playing over the car radio, fingers tapping on the center console as she stared outside. There was a light dusting of snow covering the sidewalks they were passing, a testament to how cold this winter had been. As the car rolled to a stop at the light, her chin shifted a little along her left fist. Something hard pressed against her chin, and she pulled away to look at it.

Even after being married for four years, seeing the beautiful diamond ring perched on her left hand always had Jin grinning like an idiot. She often asked herself exactly  _ how _ she'd managed to pull it off.  _ Married to Kyoya Ootori… _

"What's that smile for?"

The brunette looked to the right, her smile growing even more when she saw her husband sitting behind the steering wheel. His eyes were on the road as always, but she knew that if traffic were any less congested he'd be holding onto the hand she had on the center console.

"Oh, no real reason. I just have the biggest crush on my own husband."

His response was a well-used chuckle, eyes briefly flicking over to Jin before refocusing on the road, "Is that so? What a coincidence.  _ I _ happen to have a substantial crush on my  _ wife. _ "

Jin grins and ducks her head, hardly able to believe how happy she is, before straightening up, "So… why do you think Hikaru called for a group lunch?"

"Not sure. All I can say is he had better hope it's important enough to excuse how it forced us to cancel our lunch date."

"Hey, lighten up," she poked at his shoulder, "We can go twice next week."

"I believe my brother-in-law would call that 'ruining the aesthetics'."

Jin barely managed to cover up snort. Kyoya's tone of defeat whenever he referred to Tamaki as 'brother-in-law' was one of the best things that had come out of Jin's sister marrying Kyoya's best friend. "Fine, we can go out tomorrow."

"Can't. I have a luncheon with a few corporate backers. The email didn't give me a 'Plus one' option."

The brunette sighed, leaning her head back against the seat, but she was still smiling, "Friday."

"Your sister's birthday, which is when we will also be celebrating  _ your _ birthday this year."

"We can't have a lunch date on the same day? Just between the two of us?"

Her husband's eyes twinkled with humor, "...Perhaps."

"So," she leaned forward in her seat, staring ahead into traffic, "Now that we've fixed that problem, what's the bet that Kaoru finally proposed to Akane?"

Kyoya smirked, "Still a hopeless romantic, I see."

"Oh, come on! What do you think?"

"His fashion business is growing rather exponentially. He could very well have something to say about that."

"Workaholic."

Just then, Kyoya pulled the car into a car tower, looking for an empty spot. As he did so, Jin studied him in the shaded light. She remembered just how long it had taken her to convince Kyoya that they did  _ not _ , in fact, need a personal driver. The only 'extra personal' they had hired after their marriage were Kyoya's three personal bodyguards, but they mostly hung around the Ootori Group's corporate headquarters. Because when Jin wasn't four floors below him, they all knew she was more than capable of protecting her husband.

Then again, Tachibana-san, Aijima-san, and Hotta-san did come over to the house every once in awhile for tea and a nice chat with Jin. It had been hilarious the day Kyoya got back home from a quick shopping trip to find his wife sitting with his bodyguards, who were laughing so hard they were in tears.

But without a driver, and a perfectly good company car at their disposal, Jin had finally agreed to put their garage to good use…

So long as Kyoya learned how to drive.

Two years of driver's education did the trick. Kyoya still preferred to not be behind the wheel when the two made long distance travels, but he was getting pretty good at driving through the city, something Jin wasn't all the comfortable with. It was a nice middle ground, and Jin had to admit driving through Tokyo during lunch hour was nicer than fighting through the train stations.

He slotted the sleek black car into an empty stall and powered it down. Jin unbuckled her seat belt and went to open the door when Kyoya gently cupped her chin and kissed her. She moaned and kissed back, eyes falling shut as their lips parted automatically.

Jin's left hand wrapped itself around his tie just as her phone went off. Parting with a lewd ' _ pop _ ', she pulled the device out and pressed the answer button.

"Yeah?"

"Are you guys ever showing up?"

"Kaoru, we just parked. We'll be there in less than a minute."

"Uh huh, so you  _ weren't _ thinking about doing any 'flippity-flop' in the back seat?"

"...Aren't you 27 years old?"

"There are youngin's in this diner."

"Fine, you get a pass. We're heading over."

"You want us to order your tea, Nēchan?"

Jin smiled, so happy that the Hitachiin twins had joined in on calling her Nēchan, "Of course. Bye!" She hung up and slipped the phone back into her pocket, "We should go. They're getting impatient."

Her husband chuckled and pressed one last kiss to her cheek before opening his door, "I believe they simply like to ruin my fun."

"Well, that too."

As promised, the married couple took less than a minute to exit the parking tower and enter the diner right next door. It was a quaint little place, but the food was marvelous. The only reason they knew about it was because Jin used to babysit the owner, who had lived in the apartment just beneath the Fujioka's when they were still in high school. Nowadays, the original Host Club used it as a weekly lunch spot to catch up and spend time together.

The moment the Ootori's walked into the heated building, which started working on defrosting their noses, Jin turned to her right and asked, "So, what's happened?"

Her sister grinned and waved at the couple, "About time, you two!" The other nine people sitting down smiled as well. Everyone was finally accounted for.

"We're no later today than we've ever been. Need I remind you that the Ootori Group's corporate headquarters is nearly ten miles further away than the rest of your businesses?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes and stood up, along with his girlfriend Maaya Horri, to let the married couple slide down the booth so the sisters could sit by each other, "So defensive, Kyoya. Did we interrupt something?"

"As a matter of fact, you did. My weekly lunch date with my beautiful wife, incidentally." He helped Jin out of her coat before shucking his off as well, "So, out with it, Kaoru. We're already have a lunch planned for this Friday for Haruhi and Jin's birthdays. What's the occasion?"

The other redhead who was sitting across from his brother smiled even wider, glancing over at his girlfriend, Akane Erizawa. The pretty blond was squirming in her seat, and Jin smirked when she realized her hands had been hidden underneath the table the whole time.

"I've proposed to Akane."

The table erupted into applause as they held up their joined hands, a pretty sapphire dotted engagement ring glinting on the blond's finger. Jin bumped her shoulder against Kyoya's. He responded by softly pinching her side. Even so, the bespectacled man was smiling as he congratulated his friend. Now, the only one left who wasn't either married or engaged in their little group was Hikaru. And even now, the other twin was eyeing his girlfriend softly as she started babbling to her friend about wedding plans.

The two most recently-made brides in their group were starting to pitch in their advice as well. Mori's wife, Hisayo, was already listing the different coupons available for wedding cakes from her family's company, which ran the most prestigious and well-known bakeries across Japan and most of China. Reiko Haninozuka was offering to perform a couple spells that would ensure a perfect wedding day, mostly by cursing those who would ruin it with… misfortune.

Meanwhile, Jin tapped Haruhi's side, slightly pursing her lips and raising an eyebrow.

_ When are you making  _ your _ announcement? _

_ Probably next week, but Tamaki wanted to do it on Friday. I don't think he knows I talked to you about it and wants to make it like a birthday present. _

_ Well, I'm personally glad that you did, because I talked to Kyoya after the call and... we're trying now, too. _

Haruhi's eyes widened, her face breaking into a smile, _ Really? That's great news! _

"Excuse me, everyone, can I have your attention?" Tamaki smiled as a majority of the table turned towards him, save for Akane and Reiko, who were discussing the pros and cons of the different spells Reiko was listing on a napkin, "Haruhi and I were going to tell you this sometime next week, but I'm going to go stir crazy if I don't tell you now."

Kaoru's smile was slowly dipping, as was Haruhi's. Jin, however, was blinking in surprise.  _ He... wouldn't. Right? _

"Friends, Haruhi and I are expecting."

Half of the table burst into another round of clapping and congratulations, but Kaoru actually stood up from his seat, leaped over the Morinozuka's and Haninozuka's, and smacked Tamaki upside the head. Mori, thankfully, managed to grab the redhead around his waist and place him back into his seat, but Kaoru didn't seem interested in actually harming the blond. This was precisely why the club had the front corner table all to themselves. While they might be visible from the doorway, they were mostly hidden from the rest of the diner, which let them get away with their shenanigans. Not to mention it was usually slow around this time of day.

In fact, he was laughing a bit as he started berating him, "Will you quit your constant hijacking? It's gonna get you into trouble one of these days, Tamaki!"

"Hijacking?" Tamaki had a cross between confused and insulted expressions on his face, which only made the others around the table laugh a little harder, "I've never hijacked anything!"

"Oh, please." Kaoru waved a hand between himself and Akane, "Other than what you just overshadowed a few seconds ago, might we go through the list? No, wait, that'll take too long. Let's just do the Suoh-hijacking-Ootori list." The twin lifted a hand and raised his pointer finger, "Case numero uno, the day Kyoya proposed to Jin. You  _ literally _ asked Haruhi to move in with you a few seconds after Kyoya started to lead Jin onto the balcony."

"H-hey! How was I supposed to know that's what he was planning?"

"It was their anniversary, the balcony was covered with L.E.D. lights, and he actually  _ showed us all the ring not even a full week beforehand. _ Gee, now that you mention it, I  _ do _ see how you didn't know." Hikaru laid the sarcasm on really thick, and for once Tamaki seemed to catch it full force.

"Well, that was only one time-"

"Not quite, Tamaki." Kyoya was sporting a small frown, remembering how he'd had to wait for Jin to stop babbling about how her little sister was moving in with Tamaki before he could reinstate the moment, "Don't forget how you hijacked my  _ wedding, _ as well."

"Okay, hold on, Mon Amie. I did  _ not- _ "

"You proposed to Haruhi during the damn reception, Idiot!"

The memory resurfaced.

It had been a beautiful moment for the most part. About halfway through the reception, Tamaki had taken to the piano. After a short explanation that Jin had given him permission to play a song for the new couple, who consisted of his two closest friends, he'd invited them to the dance floor and took a seat on the bench. Kyoya and Jin silently agreed on the way to the floor that Tamaki was likely going to play that same song he always seemed to play, and were touched that he'd play it on their wedding day.

But he'd surprised them. It wasn't anything like that, at all.

The song had started fast, with a running melody. There was a sudden stop... and it picked right back up again, adding in a heavier base note line. It was beautiful and perfect, depicting snowfall and sunshine and blooming flowers. Kyoya could imagine Jin skating around an ice rink as the song played overhead, her hair fluttering around wildly and her face expressing freedom.

Jin was grinning widely at Tamaki as her new husband started leading her in a dance, their feet keeping time but their upper bodies following the quick melody.

And then the others joined in, walking up onto the stage to pick up the instruments that been hidden until the right moment.

Kagome-sensei on violin.

Shido Takaogi on an electric piano.

Gina, one of the kids who lived in her apartment complex, tapping out a rhythm on a snare drum.

Jin was crying for the umpteenth time that day, not protesting when Kyoya hugged her close at the sudden stop. They swayed in place as the song went solely to Tamaki again, their guests watching with tears in their eyes. The bride managed to pull herself together as Tamaki began picking up the tempo, Kyoya leading her back into the dance as if they had rehearsed it. There were still a few tears as they twirled around the dance floor like they'd been made for this moment. Their friends and family watched in awe as they flawlessly moved together.

The couple ended the song tightly wound around each other, their noses brushing. Everyone burst into applause, sending out a few wolf-whistles when Kyoya kissed his new wife.

Tamaki stood from his piano bench and walked down from the stage, skirting the couple until he was standing in front of Haruhi's spot at the bridal table.

"Haruhi?" A small portion of the room glanced over as the blond smiled nervously at his girlfriend, "As much as I would've loved to say that was for my two best friends on their wedding day..." he knelt down on one knee and pulled out an engagement ring, "Could you do me the honor of letting me say it was for my future In-laws, and marry me, Haruhi Fujioka?"

Back in the present, Kyoya scowled a little deeper at the blond, "Who hijacks his own future brother-in-law and sister-in-law's wedding?  _ Honestly? _ "

"Yeah, and what about the whole thing when Nēchan and Kyoya got their own house? When I told you about that you went straight online to buy us a house that's basically next door!"

Tamaki shook his fist in the air, "How dare you all turn my own wife against me! Have you no shame?"

"Oh, come on, Tamaki," Jin rolled her eyes, leaning against her husband to calm him down, "You have to admit you've made quite a trend for yourself. It's almost like you've turned our lives into a competition."

The rest of the table laughed.

Everyone except Tamaki, who turned a little red.

Hikaru was the one who leaned over the table and started cracking up, "Are you serious? You've started a competition with your own In-laws?!" The laughter quickly got louder, and Tamaki's blush grew darker. But he did manage a sheepish smile.

"You know... I think I did. It kinda started when Haruhi and I got together at the Ouran Fair back in high school. I just thought it was a little funny how both Kyoya and I had fallen in love with Fujioka girls, being best friends and all." Suddenly Tamaki's smile dropped, and he pouted into his tea cup, "But what wasn't funny was how Kyoya met Jin later than I met Haruhi, and he didn't even like her at first, and yet they got together before we did."

Jin tilted her head, "That is true..."

"He left out the part where he's an idiot, and I'm not." Kyoya kissed his wife's cheek despite her scoff and slipped an arm around her waist. When he looked back up, Tamaki was now pouting in his direction.

"I figured that whatever announcement Haruhi and I would have, it would always be the second one we all heard, because of  _ course _ you and Jin would do it first. I just tried to catch up, is all. And now I've succeeded," Tamaki smirked, "I'm the first to have children with my beloved."

The table went quiet. What he'd said was true. The Ootori's already had the title of 'First to Get Together', 'First to Get Married', 'First to Buy a House Together', and probably a lot of other firsts... but Tamaki and Haruhi were the first to start having a family.

_ That we know of _ , Kyoya's mind supplied. His eyes quickly darted down to Jin's stomach and back again. As much as he wanted to alert Tamaki that Jin could very well be pregnant too, considering they'd spoken about trying for a child perhaps a week ago, something held him back. Clearly, the blond was already feeling competitive. No need to rile him up earlier than necessary.

Even so... his pulse was climbing the longer the staring contest went on.

Abruptly breaking the challenging eye contact with his friend, Kyoya took a steady sip of tea, "Is that so? Well then, I assume you won't mind if I then attempt to take the title of 'Most Children'?"

"What? No!  _ I'll _ have the most kids! You-"

"Not-"

"-happening."

The men turned to their wives, who were glaring at them in defiance.

"There is  _ no  _ why you're using my uterus for some dumb competition."

"You boys get  _ three _ pregnancies  _ only _ ."

"Three." They emphasized the number by speaking it in unison.

Kyoya and Tamaki's eyes met over their wives' heads, and they realized that some things just weren't worth it. Kyoya raised his hands in defeat while Tamaki nodded. Smiling again, the girls relaxed.

Tamaki, however, wasn't done, "So... we'll draw on the whole 'Most Children' title... but that doesn't mean I won't be winning any more firsts, Ootori. This was only the beginning."

"Is it, now?" Jin tried to hide her smile. She could hear the awakening competitive spirit in her husband's voice, a thrill shooting down her spine and the implications, "I suppose it's lucky that I've already piled up quite a few myself before you even announced the competition. For example, I'd be quite willing to place a substantial amount of money on the bet that Jin allowed me to bed her before Haruhi even let you kiss her in public. Would you be willing to take me up on that?"

Tamaki went impossibly red as the rest of the table either started laughing or mock-fanning themselves, "Y-you! That is not an appropriate way to speak of your wife in public! And are you implying that you had... had-"

"Intercourse?"

"Don't say that out loud! But... yes,  _ that _ , before you were married?"

"Yes. We were both ready and consenting, which was the important part. Perhaps you simply feel so conservative on the subject because you are married to Haruhi. I'm glad to state that I don't know much about your sex life apart from the fact that you clearly have one -congratulations on the baby, by the way, Haruhi- but I'm fairly sure yours is painfully vanilla compared to mine. And likely not as common." Kyoya immediately ducked after his last word, barely managing to avoid Tamaki swinging a menu at his head.

The rest of the table was laughing at the blond's face, arguing about whether he looked more like a tomato or a cherry. He started telling them all to shut up about it, even as Haruhi began to giggle.

Jin was laughing along with the rest of them until a warm breath puffing on her ear sent little shivers down her arms.

" _ Don't make any plans after work for the next few days. _ "

* February 8th *

"Jin? Darling, are you home?"

Kyoya shut the front door behind him, quickly toeing his shoes off. There was no answer, but he wasn't concerned for a number of reasons.

Reason number one, the house wasn't small. It was very possible that Jin could be upstairs in their bedroom or downstairs. Of course, it wasn't like the place was a mansion, either. With only two stories -three if you counted the finished basement- there weren't many places you could be and not hear someone shouting your name from the other end of the house.

Kyoya liked the house, and Jin had loved it, which gave it extra points in his book. With a dining room, living spaces on the main floor and in the basement, kitchen, laundry room, den/office, breakfast nook, five separate bedrooms and four bathrooms, it was much larger than anything Jin had even dared dreaming of when she was growing up, but it was still perfect. There was a large yard surrounding them with trees setting up a sort of separation from their neighbors -including the In-laws- and yet it was within walking distance from the end of a train line.

There weren't many places like this in Japan, and while it had been pricey, the Ootori's had never regretted the purchase.

Not bad for a pair of high school sweethearts.

"Jin?" He tried again. Still nothing.

Kyoya sighed, slipping off his winter jacket to hang up in the closet. This was sort of his fault, even though it wasn't. He'd been held back at work for about an hour today for a Skype meeting with the CFO of the Ootori hospitals in France. Renge had taken to the position well, even if he'd spent at least ten of those minutes turning down some of her more outlandish ideas to keep the Board of Commissioners sitting with him from dying of heart attacks then and there.

Either way, he'd taken the company car home while Jin rode the train back. Some days that this happened, she'd simply wait at home for him to join her before they started making dinner. Except sometimes she would get home and decide to make an errand run downtown for groceries or whatever else they might be lacking in the house. And while Kyoya greatly appreciated how she was willing to make a quick run for things they needed instead of relaxing after a long day of work, it was always better, in his opinion, to be welcomed home with a kiss instead.

Moving to close the closet door, Kyoya blinked out of his thoughts when the wood bounced back into his hand. Frowning, he looked down at what was blocking the door. It was a shoe that had fallen when he opened the closet for his coat. Jin's work shoes.

Sighing, he crouched down to place it next to it's pair neatly, but paused when he noticed something strange.

Her winter boots were still here.

And so were all of her other shoes.

Eyes flicking upwards, Kyoya noticed that her winter coat was also hanging up. Now... if Jin was still home, then why wasn't she answering?

_ Hmm... Perhaps she's playing a game? _

Kyoya smirked at the thought. If this was the kind of game he was thinking of, he would be happy to oblige.

Slowly straightening up, he shut the closet door as quietly as possible, listening intently for any sort of noise to indicate where his wife might be hiding. It was never an easy game when she hid from him. Since she used to play hide and seek using air vents against both a Haninozuka and a Morinozuka, Jin was very good at keeping quiet, even if she was moving from place to place. If Kyoya were to have any luck finding her within the next ten minutes, he'd have to hope that she wasn't wearing house slippers or socks and padded across one of their tiled floors in bare feet.

Placing his work suitcase on the floor by his shoes, Kyoya tried to figure out which way to go. The main floor of their house was a giant circle, with the staircases in the middle. If he went through the door right in front of him, he'd find the stairs that lead to their basement. Down there was a living room-like area with a couch and television set, as well as a bathroom, his work-at-home office, and a guest bedroom.

The whole left side of the staircase was the main living room. If he went that way around, he'd get to the back of the house where it was nothing but floor to ceiling windows until the middle, where a pair of sliding glass doors lead to the back porch. There was another door to the backyard in their basement as well, one of the perks of the house being set on a hill.

Right across from the sliding doors, and set above the stairs leading downstairs, was the opening for the staircase that went upwards instead. Four bedrooms and two bathrooms, including the master bed and bathroom, were up there. At the moment, most were empty or just guest bedrooms, but Kyoya hoped to rectify that soon.

If he ignored the sliding doors and continued around the circle, he'd end up in their dining room. It was pretty bare at the moment, with their large table swapped out for a much smaller one considering there were only two of them. Next to that was the kitchen, complete with an island and state of the art equipment. Jin had already used all of the items in there at least five times, which was good because Kyoya had no idea how to work things like  _ blenders. _ If he went through the kitchen, he'd find the laundry room as well as the door that lead to their garage, which he had just parked in. They didn't use that door all that much simply because they always forgot to place their house slippers back there.

And finally, right between the kitchen and the foyer where Kyoya was still standing, was the door to the only main-floor bathroom and the breakfast nook. The 'nook' had large windows that opened up to the front yard, a window bench with a plush cushion and many pillows piled on it, and a small table with only two chairs. Jin and Kyoya liked to eat breakfast there on lazy mornings, watching the world go by outside as they ate. In the deep winter, Jin would switch the table out for a Kotatsu, which she'd take naps underneath over the weekend or quietly read her book there instead of the turned-freezing-cold window seat.

Kyoya had just started compiling a list of Jin's possible hiding places when he noticed something else that was out of place. There was a little blue bag on the table in the breakfast nook, like for birthday gifts or party favors. There were colorful ribbons curled up on the handles, green and purple tissue paper sticking out of the top, and a small yellow sticky note pressed to the side facing him.

'To: Kyo-kun'

The ravenet's smirk eased into more of a smile. Ah, so that's what this was. Jin must've planned some sort of surprise, though he couldn't imagine what for. It definitely wasn't his birthday and their wedding anniversary wasn't until June, so unless he'd forgotten something, which was unlikely, then this was a simple spur of the moment gift.

Walking over to the table, he began pulling the colored tissue paper out of the way. The bag was pretty small, so there was a definite limit on what it might be. And to be honest, his imagination was currently failing him. Jin wasn't one to buy excessively expensive gifts unless it was a birthday or similar holiday, so a new watch was out of the question. Perhaps it was a small knick-knack that would help him think of her, but he usually bought those himself.

There was more tissue paper in the bag than he'd expected, going all the way to the bottom. He went slow just in case she had wrapped anything up  _ inside _ the paper itself, but eventually he pulled it all out and reached his hand back inside to pull out the gift. But he froze just before he touched it. Or, them.

There were three.

In little plastic cases.

"Kyoya?"

The man blinked quite a few times before he was able to force himself to look away, turning towards his wife instead. She was standing in the living room with a nervous smile on her face, waiting for him to speak. Kyoya blinked again before turning back towards the gift, staring past his hand that was still stuck in the bag, his fingertips outstretched and only a few centimeters away from the plastic cases.

They were holding three different pregnancy sticks. With blue pluses.

"You're..." He turned around once again. Jin was nodding, grinning widely.

Eyes dipping to the bag and then back to his wife, his smile is gradually returning even as he says, "No... you're playing a prank on me..."

The brunette giggles, clasping her hands together by her mouth, shaking her head, "I'm pregnant, Glasses!"

To say her husband was happy with the news would be the understatement of the century. Kyoya charged his wife, kissing her so passionately she was lifted off her feet. The bag on the table had been knocked over in his haste, spilling the little cases onto the table, testaments to the little life growing inside of Jin Ootori.

* May 31st *

"Mr. and Mrs. Ootori?"

Kyoya and Jin stopped talking, looking up at the man dressed in all white who had just entered the room. They nodded and the doctor shut the door behind them. Jin squirmed a little from her spot on the table, abuzz with excitement, her dressing gown hanging loosely around her body. So far, the day had been great. She hadn't woken up with nausea this morning, and her baby had decided to give her a break and  _ not _ make her crave those stupid cinnamon spice jolly ranchers. Jin was most  _ definitely _ carrying Kyoya's kid, because she'd been eating so many spicy foods she was worried her tongue was going to catch on fire.

"It says here that you're getting an ultrasound done today."

"Uh huh!" Jin happily lifted her legs up with her and leaned back so she was partially reclined.

Kyoya smiled softly at his wife as their doctor chuckled, "Someone's excited. First child?"

"It is." Kyoya softly traced a circle around the back of Jin's right hand. He might not be as obvious as his wife, but he was excited.

"Then let's get started." The man sat down and prepared to draw some blood, "Do you wish to know the gender?"

Both parents shook their heads, "Our friends and family have set up a bet on what it's going to be. Besides, we'd like to be surprised." The doctor laughed, placing a bandage over the inside crook of her right arm and labeling the vial.

As he started powering up the machines, the girl quieted and her smiled died just a tad. She hadn't said anything, but both she and Kyoya knew that she was a little bigger than Haruhi was. Jin tried to convince herself that it was because she was taller/bigger than her sister, but she was still worried that something was wrong. She and Kyoya would've tried to come in sooner to get it checked, but with their schedules as hectic as they were and preparing their house for a child, they hadn't had a lot of time to do so.

Add in the fact that Kyoya's father had been admitted to the hospital with a stroke just three days ago... yeah, it had been a rough week for them both. Thankfully the older man was fine now and was recovering, because he hadn't wanted to sour the birth of their first child with them worrying about his health. And yes, those had been Kyoya's father's exact words. Kyoya couldn't put his finger on it, but his father was acting... differently since his incident. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything bad.

"Well, according to your dating scan from a month ago... you should expect your little one to arrive on August 30th."

Kyoya's small smile turned smug, "Well, I suppose that explains your stomach size. You must've been pregnant before we thought." He kissed the back of his wife's hand, abstaining from her lips while there was a stranger in the room with them. Jin smiled at him, but went back to staring at the ceiling as the doctor squeezed the warm gel onto her stomach. Something wasn't right here.

August 30th... that was almost a full two months earlier than either of them had expected. And yes, while that would explain why her stomach was a lot bigger than Haruhi's, Jin couldn't help but feel there was something amiss. If her memory served correctly, the due date was actually  _ sooner _ than her sisters, which was in late October. Of course, she'd had a hard time hearing Haruhi over the phone with Tamaki screaming hysterically in the background over the photos they'd been given, so it was possible she might've misheard... but then again...

"Alright... keeping the gender a secret, let's take a look at the little one." Jin gave the doctor an encouraging smile as he pressed the scanner to her stomach, spreading the warm gel around.  _ Something's not right... _

"Looking good... strong heartbeat. Nothing different from your last... hmm."

The Ootori's paused, staring at the doctor as he frowned a little at the monitors. Kyoya wanted to stand up and look at them as well, but Jin tightened her grip on his hand and he tossed out any idea of moving away from her. The doctor moved the scanner around, his eyebrows raising, but the corners of his mouth continued to pull down ever so slightly.

"Is there something wrong?"

The doctor looked away from the monitor, one side of his mouth finally lifting into a half smile full of amusement, "I suppose that depends on your definition of problem, Mr. Ootori. It would seem as though the child we saw during your first visit decided to hide something that day."

Jin's eyes widened, her heart rate picking up with excitement, hardly daring to believe her own mind. She knew it ran in her family on her mother's side, but she'd never really thought about it...

She sat up a little, "Do... do you mean..."

"Congratulations, Mrs. Ootori. You are pregnant with twins."

The woman let out a breathy laugh, "Twins... oh, my go-  _ twins _ , Kyoya. We're having  _ twins. _ " She looked over at her husband, who was staring at her exposed belly with a 'deer-in-headlights' expression.

"Kyoya?"

His mouth opened, shut, and he let out a sigh through his nose. Speechless.

Jin started laughing, leaning her head back against the chair, "See,  _ this _ is what you get for turning this into a competition!"

Her husband glanced up at her smiling face and saw that she was actually excited and pleased with this development. Looking back at her belly, Kyoya thought about the  _ two _ lives currently developing within them.

"Well, I suppose this means we'll win the 'Most Children' title. Tamaki's going to throw a fit." Kyoya chuckled, smiling as his wife laughed harder.

* August 30th *

"Mr. Ootori? Would you like to hold your daughters?"

The ravenet peeled his gaze away from Jin, who was still breathing heavily and soaked in sweat on the hospital bed. Even so, she managed to lift her head a little and watch as her husband nodded mutely, gently accepting the two small blankets from the nurse, one pink with white polka dots and the other white with pink dots.

Kyoya stared down at the little girls, and instantly his heart melted. They were perfect. In the back of his mind, he remembered the day Ranka had pulled out the baby photos of his bride-to-be all those years ago. There was a photo of Jin from the day she was born, and if he were to take a photo of his own daughters right now they would be a perfect match. No doubt they'd look just like their mother as they grew up... save for the patch of black hair on their heads that they'd inherited from him.

One of the girls yawned, the one swaddled in white and currently tucked into his left arm. She let out a tiny whine, and opened her eyes. Kyoya felt his breath catch in his throat. His daughter had the same soft brown eyes as Jin, sparkling golden in the light of the hospital room as she stared up at him. Considering the two girls were identical, he knew the other girl shared those eyes, too.

One of the nurses smiled gently at the father as she slowly elevated Jin's upper body to prepare her for holding her own children, "The one in white with pink dots is the eldest."

" _ Junko Ootori _ ," he whispered, staring down at the little girl who continued to stare right back. He and Jin had come up with two girl names and two boy names, considering they didn't know the genders. Each of the two names had been assigned to either the first born or second born, so no matter what gender came out first or second, they wouldn't need to argue over which name to give to which child.

The little girl yawned again, her eyes shutting momentarily, and Kyoya took the opportunity to look back at his second daughter.  _ Setsuko Ootori _ , his mind supplied.

" _ They're perfect. _ "

"Kyoya..."

The man turned to his wife, feeling a single tear trickle down his cheek. Jin was crying too, holding her arms out. Receiving an encouraging nod from the nurse, Kyoya carefully placed the little girls into his wife's arms. Jin's tears flowed out faster as both of the girls opened their eyes and stared up at their mother, curiosity echoing within them. There was a bit of wiggling from the pink blanket as Setsuko's hand slipped out. Kyoya leaned closer and held out his pinkie. The infant didn't hesitate before wrapping her tiny fingers around his, and the ravenet couldn't stop the next few tears from leaking out even if he'd tried.

Now, the father was sitting on the hospital bed, leaning just a little bit over his exhausted wife and their baby girls, both of them in different stages of crying. When the couple finally managed to look back at each other, Kyoya smirked and kissed her forehead.

"I take it back... in this instance, I don't mind sitting on your hospital bed with you."

His wife laughed, but it was broken with a sudden onslaught of happy tears.

"Mr. Ootori? You have visitors. Would you like me to send them in?"

Kyoya nodded, wiping at the faint tear tracks before slowly slipping off the bed, "Yes. If you wouldn't mind. All of them."

Tamaki and Haruhi walk in first, the blond helping his well-rounded wife into the room. They both looked at the little blankets and burst into tears, quickly taking two of the chairs on the other side of the room. Ranka and Kyoya's parents came in next, making their way to the side of the hospital bed but being pushed aside by Fuyumi before they could get a good look.

"Oh my... they're  _ precious, _ Kyo-kyo!" Kyoya's sister hefted up the toddler that was on her hip and whispered, "See those two little girls, Michio? Those are your baby cousins."

The small ravenet nodded, staring intently. As the youngest of Fuyumi's two children, and with four older cousins, the young boy had yet to see people in his family who were younger than him. He now knew why Eshima had been so unhappy that she and her father were stuck at her dance recital all the way across Japan when their Aunt Jin had gone into labor. His cousin's were so  _ small _ .

From the side of the room, Ranka tried to keep himself from crying, but the moment Yoshio placed a hand on his shoulder he broke down. He had  _ grandchildren. _ The last time he'd been so happy had been the day Haruhi had been born! His son-in-law's father was also crying slightly, grinning at the hospital bed that held three members of his family. After the older man's stroke, his emotions and behaviors had taken a few shifts. That was normal, but after a few months he finally settled into a much... happier state of being. He started spending more time with his grandchildren and talking about his family's lives rather than the business. His children wouldn't said it to his face, but it had been so much more than they'd ever hoped for.

The Hitachiins came in next, wives trailing after their excited husbands, whom Fuyumi quickly made room for at the side of the bed less they bowl her over. As expected, the boys had almost spontaneously combusted when they learned another pair of twins was joining their circle. For the past three months, the Hitachiin brothers had showered the Ootori's with little tidbits and suggestions, as well as mentioning at least three times a week that they'd always be willing to coordinate outfits and babysit whenever once the children were born. Jin had teasingly suggested that she'd better place locks on the baby's nursery window so the twins wouldn't steal them in the night, to which her husband vehemently suggested they ' _ get their own. _ '

The Haninozukas and Morinozukas entered last, as Kyoya's older brothers lived too far away to make the commute, but they were fully expecting phone calls. And Jin would call Beni once the sun rose in Finland.

Honey quickly hurried over to the end of the bed, "Who won the bet?"

"You and Tamaki. May I introduce you all to Junko and Setsuko Ootori, our daughters."

The blonds high-fived. Haruhi and Kaoru exchanged shrugs, as if to say ' _ Eh, we were half right. _ ' Mori and Hikaru didn't really seem to mind that they'd been completely wrong, at least.

Ranka steps around the bed to stand by his son-in-law, "Can I hold them?"

His daughter nodded and he quickly sat down in the chair next to the bed, waiting as Kyoya carefully moved his daughters from their mother's arms to their grandfather. As the man cooed softly at the infants, Kyoya felt a hand softly grip his shoulder.

" _ Don't think I've forgiven you for beating me once again. Haruhi is still keeping to her three pregnancy rule, so you've officially won the 'Most Children'. But she  _ was  _ pregnant first, don't forget. _ " Tamaki was glaring pretty heatedly at the ravenet, but his eyes softened when he looked at the white and pink blankets in Ranka's arms. " _ However... I've always wanted a large family _ ."

* September 19th *

Jin's eyelids slowly peeled themselves apart at the sound of crying coming from the monitor next to her head. A small throbbing was already starting above her right eye, her body protesting at being waken up in the middle of the night for the tenth time in a row. She remembered how her father had warned her that newborns almost never slept through the night, needing to be fed or changed or simply comforted often, so she tried not to feel bitter.

However...

She managed to get one leg out of the bed when the covers were suddenly thrown off. At the sudden shock of cold, she sat up quickly. Kyoya snatched his glasses from his bedside table and began marching towards the door.

"Kyo?" He didn't answer. Jin quickly stood and followed after him, grabbing her robe and wrapping it around herself. What was he doing? It was her turn to get up for the girls. Kyoya did it yesterday... so why was he up?

Jin followed her husband all the way into the nursery, which was the first door on the right coming from their bedroom. She watched from the doorway as he went to the conjoined crib that was pressed against the side wall of the large room, right next to their master bedroom so they'd be able to hear the crying through the wall just in case the monitor's batteries ran out.

Kyoya grabbed the far sides of the crib, leaned over so both of the baby's could see him, and ordered, point blank, "Stop." At the word, a small flare of purple aura scattered around his body before quickly retreating.

Jin stared, open mouthed, at her husband. Yes, she knew he had low blood pressure in the morning and really hated being woken up in the middle of the night for  _ any _ reason, but he'd never complained about the crying. She almost started getting mad when a little sound reaches her ears.

Giggles.

Confused, she tiptoes over to look inside the cribs. The little girls were giggling, legs tucked up as they stared at their father. Junko was reaching up with a tiny hand, making a grabbing motion as she did so. Her sister followed suit as Jin glanced over at Kyoya's face. He was staring down at the little girls in complete puzzlement, even as he let go of the cribs and let the girls grab at his fingers instead.

"I don't think they're scared of your angry face, Glasses." Despite how she'd wanted to get angry at his temporary loss of temper, Jin couldn't help but smile as Kyoya continued to watch his girls in surprise, "This is going to be a very entertaining eighteen years."

*3  years later *

*August 1st*

"Come on, Jun-chan. Say 'ahhhh'..."

"Mm-mm!" The little girl shook her head with a smile, pressing her lips together as she did so. Setsuko laughed happily from her matching booster seat, stopping only when Kyoya turned the spoonful of applesauce towards her. She quickly shouted 'No' before covering her mouth with her hands, both of the girls laughing at the word.

Their father frowned, which only served to make the girls laugh harder. Seriously, they were too old to be making him feed them by hand, but here he was. And to think, he and Jin had thought they were doing so well when the twins hadn't gone directly into the 'terrible two's. Looks like they were only late bloomers.

Taking in a deep breath, he lowered the spoon and rested his head on his fist, "I thought you two loved applesauce."

"No!" They giggled in unison, Junko repeating the word in English for good measure. Above his head, Kyoya can faintly hear the water rushing through the pipes as Jin took a quick shower. He almost wishes he could've asked one of his friends to babysit the twins just so he could have a day off with his wife, but they all had children of their own now, most of them not even a year old. And Kyoya  _ did _ love spending time with his beautiful daughters... even if they were driving him crazy at the moment.

Taking in a deep breath, he grabbed the spoon and started moving it towards Junko, who abruptly screamed with a huge grin on her face. He almost dropped the spoon. Junko stopped, but then Setsuko turned towards her sister and screamed back. And now they were screeching at each other, both trying to reach a higher note than the other. They must've inherited their mother's singing voice, because the screams were plenty long and they didn't seem to be running out of air quickly. If their neighbors lived any closer, they probably would've thought Kyoya was murdering his daughters.

Hardly able to take it, he dropped the spoon back on the plate with a large clatter and falls back in his chair, covering his face with his hands.  _ How does Jin do it? Am I just a bad father? I'm definitely a terrible husband if it falls to Jin to make them eat. I swear, she's been doing everything for the girls lately even with working from home on top of it. And I can't even help with getting them to eat lunch? How's Jin going to take it? _

The man almost contemplates slipping out to the back porch for a moment and getting some fresh air, but... the girls are quiet.

Surprised, he drops his hands to look at them. They squeal and giggle, kicking their feet and watching their father expectantly.

_ No way. _

Sitting up a little, he eyes his girls warily.  _ They're almost three _ , he reminds himself, but still brings his hands up again to cover his face.

_ One... two... three! _

He pulls his hands away, prompting more laughter. Kyoya smirks in triumph.

The trio continues to play Peek-a-Boo for the next couple minutes, putting the girls in such a good mood they start munching on their carrot sticks all by themselves. Even Kyoya starts having a good time, sticking is tongue out at the girls every so often just to make them laugh harder. In the back of his mind, he knows he should be feeling ridiculous, but for some reason he doesn't. Perhaps it's from being a parent for so long. Or he just loved his daughters.

"Peek... a...  _ boo! _ "

Junko squeaks with laughter, clapping her hands while Setsuko starts covering her own face. "Daddy! Daddy! Peek-a-boo!" She'd uncover her face and quickly cover it again, shouting out 'peek-a-boo' quite randomly, but it serves its purpose and gets Kyoya to laugh. That's around the time he noticed his wife crying in the staircase, standing on the bottom stair with a hand over her face.

Worried, he stands up and runs over to her, leaving the sisters to play the game by themselves.

"Jin-" he's cut off with her throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. It took the man a moment and quite a bit of panicking before he realized that Jin wasn't upset. She was grinning. These were happy tears.

"Jin?"

"I'm... just... so  _ happy! _ You're such a good Daddy, Kyoya! Oh, God, that was beautiful!" She kept crying, words growing garbled.

"Ah..." He's not quite sure what to say other than to continue rubbing her lower back. This wasn't exactly normal behavior for his wife. In fact, the last time she'd done something like this was when he had surprised her with some sort of gift or thoughtful action when she... had been...

The couple seems to come to the same conclusion at the same time, pulling away a bit to stare down at her stomach.

Jin blinks away her tears, " _ No way… _ "

Kyoya smirks, "I do believe that's pregnancy number two."

* Present Day *

*September 18th*

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Kyoya looked up from his paper filled desk just in time to see two bright-eyed little girls run in, practically feeling his eyes softening at the sight of his daughters.

Setsuko's pink dress skirt fluttered around her legs while Junko's pant hems kept jumping up with every step, showing off her Hello Kitty socks. Kyoya was suddenly grateful to Hikaru and Kaoru always offering to babysit. The twins had started wanting to dress themselves every morning, but they hardly ever clashed because of all the outfit 'lessons' they pseudo-uncles gave them. Not to mention the cute clothes they were given all the time for their birthday.

Pushing himself away from his desk, Junko was the first one to take residence on his lap, her long black hair pulled up into pigtails with her favorite purple ribbons to avoid falling into her face. Setsuko didn't seem to mind being left on the ground. She just grabbed his right hand and smiled prettily at her father.

"What are you two doing in here? It's not time for reading already, is it?" He glanced at the clock. Nope, it was only two in the afternoon.

"No, Daddy. Is it okay that we're in here while you're workin'?"

"Mommy said we could this time, but we want to make sure!"

Internally cursing their mother's name for trying to give him a break from his work with sabotage, he pulled his other girl into his lap, "It's alright, girls, but  _ just this once _ , alright? No matter what your Mommy says, I'm not just hiding from you all down here."

He frowns and narrows his eyes at them, which only makes the girls laugh. The look dissipates back into a gentle smile as the girls start telling him about the simple homework problems they had just been solving for their kindergarten class.

To everyone's amusement, Kyoya's children had turned out to have the same reaction that their mother had when he became grumpy; which was to laugh. He had, at first, tried to keep that discovery a secret. But Jin told Haruhi, who told her husband, who proceeded to tell everyone else in their family and friend group.

However, no one besides Jin had witnessed it until a few months ago.

Everyone had gathered at the Ootori household for the twin's fifth birthday, all three generations together and doting on all of their children including the birthday girls. Tamaki, of course, accidentally made a small comment on the food Jin had made by hand and the ravenet had let the barest traces of his evil aura leak out when his children began laughing. When he looked around, he saw that the other kids were nervously looking away, but his two daughters and newborn son were all smiling happily. Setsuko had run up to him, asking to be picked up, and began squishing her father's face, trying to make him make that 'angry' face again.

His parents and siblings had laughed the hardest.

Suddenly, Setsuko perked up, her hair bouncing over her shoulders, "We forgot! Ju-Ju, remember? Mommy said you have to come upstairs, Daddy! Right away!"

"Yeah, what Se-su said! Hurry, Daddy! You hav'ta hurry! Mommy said it was  _ super important! _ C'mon!"

As the little girls started tugging on their father's hands, horrible thoughts started filling Kyoya's head.

Jin had fallen down.

Kazuki was hurt.

The company had called because a project dropped through.

Or the worse possibility of all...

Something had happened to the baby.

Charged with adrenaline, Kyoya quickly scooped the twins up in his arms and took off, rushing out of his home office and towards the staircase. There was a white noise filling his ears by the time the three ascended from the basement, heart thudding wildly as the door burst open and they entered the parlor. He spun around to face towards their living room just in time for Jin to release his son's hands.

"Da!" The small brunet boy squealed when he saw his father standing before him and started waddling forward on shaking legs.

"Da, Da, Da!" Continuing to babble, Kazuki held his arms out for his father, his mouth stretched into the biggest smile possible for the little 15-month-old as he walked towards the older man.

Immediately, all of the worry and energy left Kyoya's person, causing him to sink down to his knees and onto the carpet. Releasing his daughters, he instead held his arms outstretched for his youngest as the little boy continued with his first steps.

Junko dropped down beside her father, hitting the ground with splayed hands and calling out encouragements for her baby brother. Meanwhile, her twin carefully climbed onto Kyoya's back, going on about how Ka-ki had pulled himself up with the help of the couch when their Mommy had told them to go get him from the office.

Kyoya couldn't keep his eyes off of his son as he staggered carefully and calculatedly across the room. So many people had told him that while the girls looked like Jin but with his hair, Kazuki was a spitting image of his father with his mother's rich brown hair, brown eyes, and captivating smile.

With his last few steps, the toddler fell forward into Kyoya's hands, looking up at his father all giggly. Clearly pleased with himself.

Pulling his son against his chest, Kyoya looked up at his wife who was sitting on the couch, a small lump just starting to show on her stomach for the third time in the past 6 years. She was smiling warmly at the scene, the smile turning into a grin as her husband stood up to move over to the couch. Setsuko tightened her grip and ended up piggy-backing with her father across the carpet, Junko running alongside him.

Sitting down into the cushions, Kyoya pressed a quick kiss to Jin's lips as their children started situating themselves in their laps.

"Mommy? Daddy?" The couple looked down and found themselves faced with Tamaki-level puppy-dog eyes. Kyoya was going to have to have a talk with their uncle over what he did and didn't teach his nieces and nephew. If they started flirting with their classmates on the playground, bones would be broken.

"Since Zu-ki can now walk by himself-"

"-can we please get a puppy?"

" _ Pleeeeease? _ "

Kyoya smirked, flipping a strand of hair from one side of Setsuko's head to the other so her part remained straight, "You really want a dog that bad?" The girls nodded, Kazuki nodding along even though he didn't really know what he was agreeing too.

Jin hummed, resting her head on her husband's shoulder, "I dunno, Glasses. They make a pretty convincing case."

"Says the woman who wants a dog probably more than they do."

"Guilty. You've got the final say."

The ravenet raised an eyebrow at the three pairs of brown eyes staring up at him. Briefly, his eyes flickered to the baby bump that would result in his youngest child. He secretly hoped that, whichever gender it was, he'd pass his grey eyes down to at least one of his children. He knew Jin was hoping for that, too. Either way, the thought of the fourth Ootori gave him an idea.

"Once your mother's had the baby and  _ they _ start walking… perhaps we can visit the shelter."

The twins gasped, pure joy radiated from their faces as they wrapped their arms around their parents, staying mindful of their little siblings, both born and unborn. Now full of energy and imagining what their life would be like with another little sibling and a dog in the house, they jumped down to go find toys to play with. Of course, as soon as Junko pulled the legos out from their play corner Kazuki started squirming in his father's lap. With an amused smile, Kyoya set the boy down on the carpet and watched him crawl after his sisters, who quickly included him in their project.

Kyoya felt Jin cuddle up to his side and looked down at her. Her eyes twinkled with humor and happiness.

"We did discuss it. And I know that you've been thinking about adopting a dog since we moved out of the apartment."

"I know. I just didn't expect you to tell them outright. We're never going to here the end of it, those girls are just as manipulative as you are." Kyoya pinches her side lightly and she laughs softly, "So, will you forgive me for sending the twins into your office so early?"

"You mean the sabotage? I believe I can forgive the intrusion this one time. It was for a good cause."

Jin smiles wider and kissed his cheek.

* That Night *

"Mommy?"

"Yes?" Jin gently kissed Setsuko's forehead, her hands gently tucking the girl in.

"Can you tell us a story?"

The woman heard a bit of shuffling above her head and leaned out from underneath the bottom bunk just enough to watch as her other daughter move to peek over the edge, "Can we, Mommy? We went to get Daddy when Zu-ki walked!"

Knowing she was outvoted, Jin smiled gently, "Alright."

The little girls excitedly wiggled out from underneath the sheets, Junko skillfully climbed down the ladder from the upper bunk so all three three could walk over to the couch. The twins had moved to the room closest to the staircase after they didn't need the nursery any longer, settling in the second largest room in the house considering they'd be sharing it for some time. Next to the window that overlooked the front yard, there was a medium sized bookshelf and a cushy couch that the girls had dubbed the 'Story Spot'. Every story time ever took place here.

Their mother sighed as they settled in, hiding a smile as the twins tucked themselves into her sides. She knew which story the girls wanted to hear tonight. She got a 'request' like this every so often. And she never got tired of telling it. What was better, was that the girls never asked for it outright any more once their parents started questioning why they wanted to hear it so much. It was funny watching the girls try to conceal their intentions. They didn't have their parent's poker faces  _ yet. _

"Alright, girls. What story do you two want tonight?"

The twins giggled before announcing in unison, "Make one up!"

"Oh? Anything you want in the story in particular?"

More giggling.

"Make it about a pretty maiden!"

"And a handsome roughian!"

"O...kay. If you're sure..." she started running her fingertips through their hair, making it through Setsuko's twice before coming to the bottom of Junko's locks, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden who lived in a flowery meadow, just a little ways away from a thriving kingdom. It was a simple place, with simple pleasures, but the maiden who lived there thought it was perfect."

"She had a sister, right?"

"A little sister?"

Jin smiled a little wider, not upset at the interruption. This happened every story night. She knew where this was heading. "Yes, a little sister. Not much younger, mind you, and with such close ages, they were always together and knew what the other wanted to say without needing to talk. It was their own special magic. Now, our story begins one early fall day-"

"No, Mommy, it was the spring!"

"Yeah!"

"Oh, silly me, I forgot. An early  _ spring _ day, no different from any other. The older sister was outside in their garden. The cherry trees around their home were in full bloom, the soft pink petals just starting to fall in beautiful waves. The girl brushed a couple stray ones out of her hair-"

"Her  _ brown _ hair!"

"Yeah, she had brown hair!"

Jin laughed lightly, "Okay, girls. Be truthful, what story do you  _ really _ want to hear?"

At their discovery, the twins giggled again, "Can you tell us the story of how you and Daddy met?"

"And fell in love?"

"Again?" Kyoya suddenly appeared at the doorway, where he had actually been listening in since Jin began her storytelling. Kazuki was blinking sleepily in his arms, turning a little to nuzzle at his father's chest as the two moved into the room. "I would assume you two would get tired of that story eventually."

The girls shook their heads, very seriously, "Oh, no, Daddy. Never."

"Se-su and I promised each other we wouldn't get boyfriends unless it happened like it did with you and Mommy."

At that, Setsuko pouted, "But when we told some girl on the playground your story, she told us that it wasn't true. That you're supposed to date a lot of people when you're old enough before you get married."

Jin hummed, still petting her daughter's soft hair, "Some people have a hard time finding the person they love. I suppose I was lucky enough to find your father. I only had one boyfriend before I married him."

The girls gasped, leaning closer. Was she saying… that she…

"Now," Kyoya slowly sat down on the couch with them, gently bouncing their baby brother in his arms, "Don't start thinking I was boyfriend number two. And, by a stroke of luck, I too only had one girlfriend before I married your mother." At his confirmation, the girls relaxed.

"I wanna only have one boyfriend."

"One who looks at me like Daddy looks at Mommy," Junko agreed.

"Like what?"

Setsuko gasped and pushed at her mother's thigh, staring at her father, "Like that, Mommy! Like that!"

Jin looked at Kyoya just in time for the girls to whine, "No Daddy! Why'd you stop?"

"Stop what? This?" He looked back at his wife and studied her. Her brown eyes curious as she looked back, and yet playful still. Teasing.

_ What look? _ She asked.

He felt a half smile appear. A warm feeling expanded across his chest as they sank further into it. Kyoya reached over with his right hand, cupping her cheek in a gentle caress.

_ I love you so much, _ he responded.

"That look, Mommy."

Blinking and trying to hide her grin, Jin turned back towards the little girls, "Oh... I see. And you want our story tonight?" They nodded, Junko lightly fisting one of her hands into her father's shirt to tug him closer. He conceded, still slowly bouncing his son who was now contently sucking his thumb.

The couple shared another smile before Jin leaned back into the couch, "Very well. Do you want Aunt Haru's and Uncle Tamaki's story, too?" Two heads nodded quickly and she sighed, "Then I suppose I should start the day your Aunt Haru decided to stay behind after school ended, to look for a quiet library so she could study…"

* A few hours later *

"Your father and I watched as fireworks went off above the school, showering everyone in different colored lights. Your Aunt Haru and Uncle Tamaki were standing a little ways away, still in a dancing position even though they weren't moving. I told your father that I was sure the whole day had been a dream. I'd never been so happy before in my life, and he offered to prove to me that it was real. He kissed me beneath the fireworks, promising in words rather than actions that we did it. We had won. And that was only the beginning."

Jin stopped talking, letting the room slip into total silence. Junko and Setsuko were sound asleep at her sides. Kazuki had been placed in his own room across the hallway by his father when she began recounted their first car trip together to the little boy's sisters. Kyoya was the only listener still awake, watching her with that special look he saved only for her.

They waited for a moment, just in case the girls weren't really asleep, but eventually Kyoya scooped up the girl closest to him to take to bed. Cradling Junko in his arms like he was holding the light of salvation, Kyoya carried his daughter across the room to place on the top bunk. Jin wanted to help him by carrying Setsuko, just as she used to, but knew he wouldn't be pleased that she was exerting herself while pregnant with their fourth child.

So, she remained seated as he came back to collect their other daughter, and was still there when he walked over to help her up.

They stayed standing there for a moment, pressing their foreheads together in the silence.

" _ I never get tired of that story. _ "

" _ Me neither. _ "

Jin sighed and pulled away, leading her husband out of the room and into the hallway, where she paused once more. Kyoya had left the door to Kazuki's room open, in case the little boy woke up, and from this angle she could see all three of her children sleeping peacefully. Slipping behind her, her husband's hands came up to protectively cradle her somewhat protruding belly. It was a familiar position, one they had recreated often over the past two, now three, pregnancies Jin had gone through.

The woman sighed in bliss, leaning back to rest her head in the crook of her husband's neck, " _ Glasses? _ "

Her husband hummed lowly, lacing their fingers together as hers joined his across her stomach, " _ Yes? _ "

She turned back to him, eyes shining nothing but love, " _ I'm so glad Haru accidentally wandered into your club room that day. _ "

Kyoya plants a kiss on her lips, " _ Me too. _ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not crying! You're crying! Okay, well, maybe I’m crying, too.  
> What better way to end this story than with KyoJin babies? Lil' cuties. Totally gonna play with them and their cousins and their friends that they'll know from birth... in some form or another.  
> Keep an eye out for BSF: Manga Edition in the near future. I've actually been planning on it since maybe halfway through this story, I just wanted to make sure you wanted it as well. I'm so happy you do.  
> Thank you all for everything, but don't think for a second you've gotten rid of me just yet.  
> See you next story!


	53. Blooper Reel! Part 1!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First bonus chapter!  
> Got a request to do this, and procrastination is a terrific motivator. Besides, I love bloopers of all shapes and sizes. I just hope I keep up with the characterization.

 

"Uh… we're doing what now?"

"Exactly what I just said!"

Renge walked further into Music Room 3, still in the green dress she wore to the Fair. Outside, cars and limousines were pulling away as everyone started to leave. The students of Ouran now had a whole weekend before their next day of classes, and everyone was sure to be talking about the Host Club drama. Said host club was currently trying to change back into their normal clothes when their manager came storming in.

She stopped right in the middle of the room, hands on her hips, and announced, "We're making another movie!"

Jin was the first to move, slowly bringing her hands in front of her chest in a 'T' position, "Time out, Renge…  _ why? _ "

"Isn't it obvious?" The French girl began twirling around the room, clearly stuck in another fantasy, "Haruhi Fujioka, once thought and beloved by all of Ouran as the newest host, now finally comes clean to everyone as not a boy, but a girl! I  _ need _ the… *ahem*, I mean, the student body needs the backstory!"

"Hm," Kyoya pulled his black journal out from under his arm, "The sales would definitely increase our budget. Are you thinking of making it more of a… documentary rather than fanservice?"

"Exactly!" Renge began her crazy laugh as the others thought it over.

Jin crossed her arms, shifting her weight onto her left leg, "Hmm… it actually sounds…  _ fun. _ Getting to relive all of the crazy things that happened." Something tapped at her shoulder and she looked over. It was Haruhi.

"Nēchan, as interesting and helpful as this sounds for the club, and for helping to explain my secret to the rest of the school… I'm not sure how accurate this is going to be."

Jin smiled, "If you forget the fact that I wrote down all of the crazy things that happened to me. Remember how I had to keep a journal when I went to America and send it back to Japan for it to count as a year of school?"

"Yeah."

"I kept it up. I have  _ pages _ of things. And don't forget my memory for details. The only shortcoming I can think of would be for the weeks I wasn't here."

At that, Kyoya looked up from his journal and smirked, "I believe  _ I _ can help with that. For you see, I kept a short list of the details involving Haruhi's first few weeks of being a host, including the problems that we came across, just in case we encountered similar situations later on."

Jin threw her arms around her boyfriend's shoulders and kissed his cheek as Renge raised a hand in the air, "Pull out your old cosplays and get ready for the camera, boys! Um, and girls! We've got two days to make a movie!"

* Starting Today, You are a Host! *

The curtain behind her moved and Haruhi turned around quickly, struggling to see without her glasses.

"Here, change into this."

"... What is it?"

"A school uniform."

_ Uniform? _ "Why?"

Instead of answering like  _ normal people _ , the twins lunged at her. Four hands were now trying to pull off her sweater and her shoes and whatnot, chanting the word 'change' over and over and over again.

"Hey! Let go of me! Seriously, I - _ augh, _ shut up!" Haruhi grabbed the uniform and pushed the boys away as best as she could. They tumbled out of the changing room, and immediately collapsed into laughter. The short brunette sat down on a nearby bench and pouted.

Her sister poked her head through the yellow curtain, a big grin on her face, "You told the twins to shut up on your first day of knowing them?"

"You can shut up, too, Nēchan. I just forgot my lines. Considering we got them this morning, can you  _ really _ blame me? You know I'm a terrible actor!"

Her sister continued to smile, "Considering we only have the rest of the weekend to film and produce this, I'm afraid I can't cut you a lot of slack. And besides, you're actually doing great. I bet it's because you're playing  _ yourself _ instead of someone else."

Groaning, the girl dropped her head, "Fine. Let's go again."

"Alright, reset! Episode 1, Scene 12: 'Haruhi Receives her Uniform!' Take 2!"

Haruhi watched her sister leave and sweatdropped.  _ She's taking this role as Director too seriously. _

(Since the club is so low on funds, they couldn't hire an actual Director with all of the extras and stage hands required. Jin and Renge are joint-owning the title for the weekend, with Kyoya as their Deputy Director.)

*\/*

The curtain behind her moved and Haruhi turned around quickly, struggling to see without her glasses.

"Here, change into this."

"... What is it?"

"A school uniform."

_ Uniform? _ "Why?"

Instead of answering like  _ normal people _ , the twins lunged at her. Four hands were now trying to pull off her sweater and her shoes and whatnot, chanting the word 'change' over and over and over again.

"Hey! Let go of me! Seriously, this is harassment!" When the boys didn't stop, Haruhi shouted, "Okay, fine I'll change but you two have to  _ get out _ !" She grabbed the uniform and pushed the boys away as best as she could. They tumbled towards the opening between the yellow curtains… but only Kaoru made it through to the other side. Hikaru somehow got tangled within the fabric and immediately started struggling.

"Kaoru? Kaoru, what happened? Where am I?"

"Hikaru!"

The older twin continued to squirm until the whole curtain came down, falling to the floor in a wriggling yellow blob, still calling out for his brother. Haruhi and Kaoru stared at each other for a moment before the girl started using the uniform in her hands to shield her body from his gaze.

"Stop looking! You pervert!"

"Ahhh!" Kaoru shielded his eyes, turning around and running away… straight into the door that lead back out to the music room. He fell back on his butt in a daze.

Behind the camera, Jin was cracking up while her Deputy Director cut the scene. Kyoya smirked and stepped onto the set.

"Nice improvisation, but as this  _ is _ a documentary, we might want to stick as close to the script as possible."

"Sure thing, Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi and Kaoru nodded, still giggling a bit. From the curtains on the floor, Hikaru's left arm managed to escape enough to hold up a 'thumbs up'.

"Good. Now, let's fix the curtains and try again." He walked back to the camera crew where his girlfriend had already dropped to one knee she was laughing so hard, " _ Third time's the charm I suppose. _ "

*\/*

"Oh, really? That must've been terrible. I can't imagine what  _ I _ would do if my bag fell into the pond." Haruhi worked hard to keep her face blank. "And you… mmm, you are just  _ awesome. _ With your blue shirt and your hair… love it!"

"Cut!"

The actress they'd hired to play Ayankoji sat back in her seat, laughing, "I'm sorry, everyone! What's my line again?" Across from her, Haruhi had a hand covering her mouth, stifling her giggles.

*\/*

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Haruhi bit back a smile and readjusted the red bow on her neck, "Listen, Senpai, you guys can address me as a boy or a girl or even as an it. I'm not all that picky. In my opinion it's much more important for a person to be recognized for who they… I can't read. Really."

"Cut!"

Haruhi quickly rubbed her hands through her hair, "Okay, the cue cards aren't helping!"

"I was worth a shot. You've got a long line." Jin waved off the guys with the cue cards and they scurried off the set, "Nice screaming, Tamaki. Let's take it again, from the top, please."

"Goodbye my beautiful voice," the blond rubbed at his throat, "It's been nice knowing you."

"And cut the sarcasm!"

* The Job of a High School Host! *

Tamaki straightened up, not in the least bit flustered by his previous actions, "Oh, I almost forgot to mention! Next week, the Ouran Host Club is sponsoring a party all up in here!"

Haruhi's eyebrows crinkled in confusion and she turned back towards Tamaki's table, "Did you just say-"

"I know what I said, keep going!"

"Uh… no." Jin made a circling motion above her head, "Reset!" She sat back in her chair with a huff. "You know... the last episode went by so smoothly."

"It was just a phone call between you and your sister."

"That's kind of what I meant."

*\/*

As if on cue, Tamaki spoke again as if he hadn't been weeping like a toddler experiencing a tantrum a few seconds ago, "Definitely not. If you want to be a host that badly, you going to have to show us how far you're willing to go, Haruhi! I order you to master… the Hustle in one week! And you will-"

The blond shook his hands towards the camera before Jin could cut the scene, "Wait, wait, keep it moving, I've got this!"

"O...kay."

"*Ahem* Definitely not. If you want to be a host that badly, you going to have to show us how far you're willing to go, Haruhi! I order you to master the Funky Chicken in one week-"

"Are you just * _ bleep _ *-ing with me, Tama-kun?"

"There's too much pressure! You wanna say these lines?"

"Not really. Too hoity-toity for me. Reset! From the top!"

*\/*

"I'm in love-love! From the first -okay,  _ no! _ I am  _ not _ reading this thing out loud!" Haruhi crumbled up the script and threw it as far away as possible before turning around to pretend retching.

Kyoya pressed a button that allowed him and Jin to speak into the sound booth, "Haruhi, we need your voice-over for the letter. Please unwad your script."

"Why don't  _ you _ read it, Kyoya-senpai? You're the one who wrote it!"

Jin looked up at her boyfriend, " _ You _ wrote that cheesy letter?"

"No. The twins compiled the actual words. I just edited it."

"And you  _ kept _ all of that 'love-love' and 'Noah's Ark' stuff? How in the hell did you successfully 'court' me?"

"Luck. And my devilishly handsome good looks."

"Hey." The two looked through the glass and saw Haruhi glaring at them, "Either help me with this stupid voice-over, focus on your jobs, or at the very least  _ flirt with each other with the mic off! _ "

Kyoya quickly lifted his hand off the mic button.

*\/*

"We're supposed to marry, and I would love to if only she felt the same way. So, if she's been doomed to spend the rest of her life by my side, then maybe by traveling the world I become ta-"

Suzushima cut his failed line off with a loud raspberry, hanging his head in shame and walking towards the door, continuing with the fart noise the whole way. He rounded the corner into the hallway before he ran out of air, promptly joining in with the laughter instead.

Haruhi had to grab the closest chair to keep standing as Jin called for a five minute break for the crew to recollect themselves before trying the scene again.

* How to be an Older Sibling! *

Haruhi went through all her previous photographs as she made her way down the stairs.

"Hey, Haruhi?"

"Wah!" The brunette jumped and dropped her camera. The plastic rectangle tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs, ending up in a pile of shards in the courtyard.

"Uh… oops?"

"Tamaki, the cost for that prop is coming out of your pocket."

"EHH?"

* Beware the Physical Exam! *

"You are absolutely right, Mademoiselle. All bloo… Blooty?" Kyoya double checked his script, which he'd had the foresight to tape to the outside of his old black journal, now merely a 'prop'. Sure enough, where it should say 'beauty', it read 'blooty' instead. On. Paper.

With a completely straight face, the ravenet looked towards the camera and his snickering girlfriend and said, "All blooty is bootiful."

The entire cast cracked up.

*\/*

"What is it now…  _ Daddy? _ "

Kyoya managed to keep his composure for perhaps a full second before he shuddered, "Ugh!" He started laughing while also pretending to spit the taste of the word from his mouth. Off scene, Jin was trying not to laugh as she spoke to the camera men.

"I, uh… do you think we can just cut to Tama-kun's face right after that? I don't think Kyo-kun can say that phrase… ever again."

"Mon Ami… it wasn't that bad!"

" _ Really? _ "

*\/*

"Wow, Kyo-chan! How did you figure out he had the wrong school?"

"Well, there's no way that such a small time doctor... would ever be able to get into Ouran Academy that was absolute * _ bleep _ *."

Jin shook her head, "The  _ daughter _ , Kyo-kun. No way the  _ daughter _ of such a small time doctor-"

"I know, I know!"

"Kyoya-senpai,  _ how _ are you messing this up?"

"You're the only one actually holding your script  _ in your hands! _ "

*\/*

"Kyoya, would you please find a map of all the public schools in the area? I'd like to help this man find his daughter."

There was a slight pause after Tamaki spoke.

"Wh- _ urp. _ " Kyoya's face went completely red and he clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh, god."

His friends were all bent in half they were laughing so hard.

"Nēchan, your boyfriend is  _ gross! _ "

* Meeting Big Sister *

The hosts froze for a moment before Haruhi shoved the twins to the side and ran out of the circle.

" _ Nēchan! _ " She tackle hugged the person who had opened the door and knocked them both backwards into the hallway, Jin falling flat on her back with her sister's weight on top.

"Oof! Haru… I don't think you had that much enthusiasm last time."

"Sorry, Nēchan."

*\/*

"Jin, if you love Haruhi as much as you claim, then why did you go to America for a whole year and leave him behind?"

Jin's smile faded, "Haru and I are both our own separate people, who want different things. It just so happened that there was a school in America that was taking students interested in Accounting from the school I was attending, and I wanted to go. Haru understood. We massa-  _ Massaged? _ "

Renge called for a cut from behind the camera as the brunette fell sideways on the couch.

"What are words?! My debut is ruined! Goodbye… my beautiful and promising acting career!"

"Huh, maybe you  _ should _ change careers."

" _ Shut up. _ "

*\/*

"Haruhi, your guests are waiting. As for you, Ms. Fujioka…" he inspected her for a moment. Her face was still a little flushed from all of her laughing earlier, and her eyes were sparkling clearly up at his. "Perhaps… for the rest of the day, you can remain at this table and serve your own guests. Would that be alright? It's just for the day, mind you."

Jin's smile dimmed into a playful smirk, "Oh, absolutely not, Mr. Ootori. That's the most terrible idea I've heard all day. Oh no, talking to guests, how will I ever-  _ Mmph! _ "

Right before she ended her line, Kyoya grabbed her around the waist and kissed her  _ hard _ , dipping the girl backwards. They straightened up after a few seconds, breathing heavily.

"Wh-wha… Kyoya!" She shoved at his chest, "We've just  _ met! _ Now the scene's ruined!"

"Apologies, but I had to make amends."

"Amends?"

"If I'd had any sense at all back then, that's exactly what I would've done and we wouldn't have skirted around each other for so long."

His girlfriend blushed as Renge sighed and shouted, "Reset!  _ And keep it in your pants this time _ , Kyoya-senpai!"

* Attack of the Lady Manager! *

"NO IT ISN'T!" Tamaki's shout caused both of them to jump in place.

"But I thought you wanted her to have a good... bleh bleh le-bleh le- _ bleh _ bleh bleh?"

"Cut!" Jin smirked at her boyfriend, who was glaring daggers at the script inside of his journal prop. "Glasses, how about we take away your script pages and try having you just  _ memorize _ like the rest of us?"

* Jin Study 101! *

Once Haruhi was done with her morning rituals, she went back into the kitchen and saw a plate of pancakes awaiting her on the table. Along with the rest of the Host Club.

"What are you all doing here?"

"Jin-chan made pancakes!"

"They're a part of the scene!"

Jin smiled at her little sister, "They had me make about three batches. I couldn't let the food go to waste and it's close enough to our lunch break. We'll have enough left over for the scene, I promise."

Sighing, Haruhi nodded before taking a seat next to her recently-made boyfriend and piling two fluffy pancakes onto her plate.

Kyoya looked up from his spot at the table, "Jin? Did they provide any other brand of butter?"

"Um…" Jin frowned and opened up the prop fridge made to resemble the one in the Fujioka's apartment, "Yeah. Looks like a high brand one."

"Could you bring it over here?"

"What's the magic word?"

"Bring me the butter." Everyone stopped and stared at the ravenet, who smirked and tacked on a teasing, "Please?"

"Actually, the magic word was 'Broom', but I'll accept your 'Please' because I like your face so much." She walked over, set the butter carton down, and kissed Kyoya's forehead.

Both of them ignored how the rest of the club was giving the cameras faces of disgust.

* The Twins Fight! *

"We take our job  _ very _ seriously, Boss."

"Last night we-" Kaoru suddenly stopped, his lines slipping from him. Noticing the ways his hands were waving in front of his face, the redhead suddenly moved them to the right side of his body, followed by his left, "Aaa~lohaaa~"

Hikaru clapped his hands and walked away, throwing his head back in laughter. Tamaki snorted, bending over by his waist.

"Cut!" Jin rubbed at her forehead, eyeing the clock outside the windows, "We're  _ never _ going to get these to processing in time…"

*\/*

"Okay, so which one of us is Hikaru?"

The girls shared a look, "Haru, you point to Kaoru, and I'll point to Hikaru?"

"Absolutely."

The girls pointed at their target and answered in perfect unison again, "Kaoru is on the left, Hikaru is on the right."

"Uh oh! Looks like you got it wrong!"

For a moment, Haruhi and Jin said nothing, then they smiled, "Uh, no, we didn't. I know we're right."

"You guys may look different- I mean alike! * _ Bleep _ *" Jin sat down on the floor and curled up into a little ball, "Leave me alone to die."

Hikaru snorted, "Oh come on, Jin-nēchan, it wasn't that bad!"

"I just told a pair of identical twins they look  _ different! _ "

"Y...eah, okay, that was pretty bad."

*\/*

With a deep sigh, Jin calmly walked over to the fight. Haruhi saw her sister approaching and stood up from her seat, grabbing her lunch as she went. They passed by each other and exchanged a high five.  _ Tag in. _

Jin stood on Kaoru's side of the fight and watched as Tamaki was grabbed by Hikaru and thrown for all he was worth. She planted one foot behind her and held up her hands. The blond was caught by the front of his jacket and quickly dragged away from the fight.

What the brunette failed to notice was that the two brothers stopped targeting each other the moment her back was turned, both of them picking up bowls of vanilla pudding and throwing them as hard as they could.

"Heads up, Jin-nēchan!"

"Huh? Ah!"

Tamaki managed to roll out of the way, but Jin didn't have enough reaction time. The pudding splattered all over her body, head to toe. The room burst into applause at the trick well done, even as the Hitachiin twins ran for their lives before Jin recovered from the shock.

She stared blankly ahead, not quite comprehending what just happened. From behind her, she heard a familiar chuckle, "My, my. It looks like your newest 'siblings' got the best of you, Darling. I owe them a thousand yen now, thank you for that."

Scowling, Jin spun around and grabbed Kyoya by his shoulders, squishing their bodies together and getting the sticky food all over Kyoya's front.

"Jin!" The boy shouted in outrage, attempting to pull away from his girlfriend's iron grip as the room started cheering louder, "What are you doing! We can't afford to-" His protests stuttered to a stop when she suddenly turned her head and licked a streak up his neck, taking away the pudding that had moved from her neck to his during the 'hug'.

More than half of the female extras in the room faint as she steps back, smacking her lips together, "Not a bad flavor, if I'm being honest."

"Um…"

"Reset, please!" Renge pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead, "And a quick reminder to our main cast: This is supposed to be rated 'PG'!"

"Um… I'm not sure if that's gonna work out so well in future episodes…"

*\/*

"The truth is I hate your guts!" Jin pressed her fingers to her mouth, more than a little shocked at all the anger in his words.  _ They are faking it… right? _

"You took the words right out of my mouth. In fact I hate you so much that I bought a Beelzenef curse doll!"

Tamaki screeched and withdrew to the far corner of the room, watching in horror as Kaoru pulled out a black pen from his jacket pocket, "I'm going 'ta write… I…'m gonna keep talking and then I'll do this next line. From...!  _ Aaaahhhhhh _ * _ Bleep bleep ble-bleep _ *! Why can't I do this * _ bleep _ *?!"

"Cut!" Jin laughed, her hands still clasped over Honey's ears, "Cut! Kaoru? How about you go over your lines for that and we'll reset?"

"Thanks," Kaoru frowned, pulling out his script, though it was clear from his eyes he was still cursing inside his head.

*\/*

They started walking towards the twins, where a girl was asking, "So are you two going to keep your wild hair color even though you made up? It's much easier to tell the two of you apart now!"

"Ha, no it isn't."

"Hm?" The twins turned their heads to look at the sisters, who turned around with matching teasing smiles.

"Today the pink one is… one of 'em, and I don't know which one the blue one is. I… I hate them."

"Woah!" Kaoru fell back against his brother, holding a hand over his heart, " _ Harsh _ , Haruhi!  _ God! _ "

"Words can  _ hurt _ you know!"

"Sorry. Re-do?"

"No! Go away!"

"You've hurt us for the last time! We must leave now… forever!"

The boys walked away, noses in the air. Jin just rolled her eyes, "Right. Well, we're reshooting that scene in about thirty seconds, so you might want to wrap up on that 'forever' business a little quicker. Reset!"

* The Apology *

Haruhi shrugged and walked to the changing rooms in the back, "Works for me."

Just as she pushed the curtain aside, her sister screamed from inside the changing rooms, "Who the * _ bleep _ * gave me this dress? Where's my Demeter cosplay?"

She stormed out of the dressing room wearing a green dress the same shade as the robes she  _ should _ be wearing, but this one was much…  _ skimpier. _

It had a deep v-cut that reached all the way down the cleft of her breast and a skirt so short Haruhi was sure her sister's panties were peeking out in the back. Jin's face was red, but it was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. Tamaki immediately wheeled on the twins.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! I  _ knew _ I shouldn't have put you two in charge of grabbing our cosplay from storage!"

The twins began laughing, "It was worth it!"

"Look at Kyoya-senpai's  _ face! _ "

The ravenet was turned around, refusing to look at his girlfriend, but the damage had already been done. Even his ears were turning red as he held his journal in front of his pants in a way he  _ hoped _ was casual looking enough.

Jin's face was red as well and she shifted, "Um… ten minute break, everyone." And she quickly backed away into the changing rooms.

* The Grade School Host is the Naughty Type! *

"Come closer, lost one.  _ What _ was it you just called me?" The elementary student came to a stop just a few steps away from where they were grouped. He was eyeing Tamaki a little oddly, but he still answered.

"The King?"

"Ahh! The King! Yes, I am the King of the Ouran Host Club! Long live the Host King!"

Jin rolled her eyes and looked at the kid, "Hello! Welcome to the Ouran Host Club. What's your name?"

"I'm an elementary 5th year. SHIDO TAKAOJI!" The boy pointed at the tall blond, then hesitated, "Was that… too much?"

"Uh…just a little bit."

*\/*

Unfortunately, if Haruhi thought she was going to be able to get away without a few problems herself, she had another thing coming. Shido backed into her as she attempted to carry the tea set away.

Once the glassware was steady again, she glanced down at the boy, "You okay? Don't worry if the guys are acting really strange right now, you'll get used to it. I'm new around here too, and so is my onēchan. It took us a while to get used to-  _ grow  _ used to, I don't know my lines either, Kid. Sorry."

"Reset for my little sister…  _ again _ ."

As they all reset the scene of Shido insulting each of the Host's mannerisms, the small boy tugged on Haruhi's jacket sleeve, "Just so you know, I knew you were a girl."

"Yeah, we figured. Sorry about having to lie about it."

Tamaki suddenly covered Shido's eyes, "Okay! That's enough! I think Shido should take care of the tea set for you, Haruhi." The twins showed up next, patting Haruhi's head and commenting about how 'manly' she looked.

"Guys? We cut the scene. Guys? _Guys!_ _Stop it, you're confusing poor Shido!_ "

*\/*

"It would seem that right now we have a perfect bleda… da, bleh bleh blebba lebba dabba dabba doo…"

Kyoya turned on his heel and began walking back to his original place, the hosts laughing wildly. Shido let himself hang freely from the actual hooks holding him comfortably against the wall for a moment before returning his feet to the stand sticking out of the fake wall.

*\/*

"If I had to pick a character for him… yes! He's the Naughty Type! Jin-senpai? Could you please place Shido back on the floor so we can begin his training?"

She shrugged, but did as Renge asked.

Jin grabbed the back of Shido's shirt and pulled up… except the boy wouldn't budge. Frowning, she looked around him at the wall and sweatdropped.

"Uh oh."

The boy's head turned, trying to look behind him, "Uh oh? What 'uh oh'? Why 'uh oh'?"

"Ah… your uniform is stuck on one of the hooks."

"Get me unstuck! Get me off this wall! I don't want to be stuck here forever!"

"Shido! Calm down! Ah, someone help!"

Kyoya rubbed at his eyes, "And cut the scene while you're at it!"

*\/*

"Alright. So, Mori-senpai, you're going to open up the janitor's closet, and Kyoya-senpai and Jin-senpai are going to come out. The twins will say their lines, followed by Jin, and then we cut. Got it?"

The tall ravenet gave the girl a 'thumbs up' before moving to his spot.

"Ready? Action!"

Mori quietly slipped out of his hiding place behind the curtain just as their teacher 'extra' disappeared around the set's corner. He nodded as the others crawled out, then looked towards the janitor's closet. Jin and Kyoya weren't coming out. Perhaps they didn't know that the danger had passed?

He walked towards the door, but before he could get close enough it burst open and Kyoya was shoved out into the hallway. He stumbled and fell backwards, managing to keep himself up on his feet by grabbing the door handle of the closet door that had closed as suddenly as it had opened.

There was a very pregnant pause as they all looked at each other, Kyoya growing steadily redder. His hair was a complete mess, sticking out in places like someone had yanked handfuls of it in different directions. Lipstick stains were dotted all over his face and neck, especially around his mouth, tie undone and hanging around his neck with his jacket unbuttoned and completely pulled off of one arm. His white button down was no less rumpled. And, like icing on a cake, his glasses were crooked, almost falling off his nose.

There were a few more seconds of silence before the twins held up their phones and snapped one photo each.

Kyoya's eyes turned murderous and he began chasing the redheads down the hallway, shouting at them to delete the pictures while simultaneously scrubbing at the stains across his skin and fixing his clothes.

Jin slipped out of the closet, lightly dabbing at the dark red lipstick that she definitely hadn't had on a few minutes ago. Despite Kyoya's appearance, she looked just as pristine and poised as when she'd walked into the closet, but there was a mischievous look in her eyes.

Noticing the shocked expressions, she smiled prettily, "What? I don't have any on screen kiss scenes with him until Sunday. I had to find  _ some _ time to mess around with him before tomorrow."

Renge was fanning herself frantically, scrolling through the photos the twins had sent her as they continued running for their lives, "R-right. W-well… I suppose we'll take a short break to… um… cool down. Excuse me, please."

The others nodded, quickly taking their leave. Jin just smiled and shook her head.

"I don't know why you're acting so surprised. He thought I was leaving, and then that I'd died, and now with his father's approval we're basically engaged. You really thought we'd be  _ more  _ civil after all of that?"

* Operation Jin is Pretty! *

This, of course, just caused Tamaki to shout about how it made more sense than they thought (it didn't) and why couldn't the twins just agree that he was the best candidate to deliver the flowers (they wouldn't) and eventually Kyoya just plucked the roses out of Tamaki's hands and walked into the classroom. He placed the flowers on the girl's chair as the bell rang.

Tamaki followed, pouting, and a few minutes later the rest of the class of 2-A filtered into the room. Quite a few people glanced at the flowers placed in Jin's seat, so by the time she actually walked in the first thing she heard was 'there's something for you on your chair'.

The brunette blinked and walked over to her desk. After staring at the roses for a few seconds, she picked them up and sat down, reading the notes tied to each flower. Tamaki tried not to stare, but he was so excited about seeing her reaction he couldn't sit still.

The girl was quiet as she read the notes, but she was smiling warmly. Until the last one. Her eyes narrowed and she pulled the paper away from her face.

"Wait… who-" her face went  _ beet _ red and she jumped out of her seat, "Kyoya!"

"Yes, Darling?"

The girl clenched the note in her fist and shook it at him, "Don't you 'Darling' me you kinky * _ bleep _ *! This is lewd, even for you!"

From behind the cameras, the twins peeked out from either side of Renge.

"Leeeewd?"

"Even for Kyooooya-senpai?"

Jin, if possible went even redder, "Okay, fine. Payback. I get it. But be very careful going forward, Kyoya Ootori." The girl marched over to his desk, leaning down to his ear and practically purring, " _ You have no idea what goes through my head when we're alone, do you? _ "

She nipped at the shell of his earlobe before withdrawing and heading back out into the hallway, slipping the paper into her jacket pocket.

"Let's try that again… Reset!"

*\/*

The ravenet boy didn't even look up from his journal, "And why should I care if Jin likes me or not? It wouldn't matter one way or the other."

The twins smirked, "Say that you don't care about being her friend all you want, Kyoya-senpai."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're calling her Jin instead of Ms. Fujioka now."

Kyoya stopped writing in his journal, "A slip of the tongue."

" _ I'm not sure I really want to know _ where  _ he's been slipping his tongue. _ "

"What was that, Hikaru?"

"Nothing!"

Jin blushed, the boom mics having picked up on  _ exactly _ what the twins said and transferring it to her headphones, "Let's… try that scene again."

"What did I tell you?" Renge shook her head, "P. G."

* Jungle Pool SOS! *

The twins, however, looked incredibly confused, "A plastic pool? What's that?"

Haruhi tilted her head back, trying to think, "Let's see… It- ahabada-da poooool goood." Jin snorted.

"Reset! Haruhi, you have your line?"

"Got it, Renge! Sorry!"

*\/*

"Whoo!"

Jin felt water spraying all around her, splashing at her face and just drenching her from head to foot.  _ Man, I'm glad I left my glasses at the table. With all this water I wouldn't have been able to see out of them anyways! _ The tall girl twisted her lower body and moved to the left side of the surfing modulator. Another twist and she was on the right side.

"Heads up!"

The girl looked ahead of her just in time to catch a beach ball right in the chest.

"Oof!"

Jin tumbled off the board, the rush of water carrying her up to the top. Her foam 'surfboard' knocked her in the head as it followed.

"Ow…" she coughed up the mouthful of water she'd gotten from her unexpected swim before looking at the base of the modulator. Tamaki was screaming at the twins for endangering his 'sister', while they tried to shout over him and apologize.

A warm hand gripped her shoulder, drawing her attention elsewhere, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Jin shook her head, letting Kyoya help her too her feet, "Not the first time I've wiped out."

He was able to kiss her forehead once before Renge shouted through her megaphone, "Reset!" She leaned down on the railing of the high angle camera shot, shutting her eyes, "We're never going to get this done in time... but at least Jin-senpai and Kyoya-senpai didn't made it a sexual 'swimsuit slip' scene."

"Ma'am?"

"What?"

Looking back down at the modulator, Renge groaned and lifted the megaphone once again, "Kyoya-senpai, I'm going to ask you this one time only. Reset and  _ get your hand off Jin-senpai's butt! _ "

*\/*

"I have a feeling that's where Jin probably ended up. It might be tough because we'll have to make it through this jungle area  _ here _ . We're talking about 800 meters or so."

Honey reached up and pointed at the question marks on the map, "What are these tre- green… with the jungle 'n stuff." The blond shut up and hung his head in defeat, allowing for Haruhi to pat his head softly as Jin called for a reset.

*\/*

She was more concerned with the fact that the remaining eight guards had  _ guns _ aiming at Mori and Haruhi. Her sister turned and hugged Mori in terror, and Jin saw a flicker of fear in Mori's eyes.

_ Hell to the no. _

As the two men on either side of her reached to grab her arms, she charged at the one on her right. Before the man could react, she grabbed his gun with her left hand and knocked the guy's head to the side with her right elbow.

Except she missed. Her elbow swung harmlessly in front of the man's face. Even the camera had picked up on how fake it was.

The teenager and the extra stared at each other for a moment before the guy in the suit suddenly crumbled, "Ahhhh! I'm defeated! The light… I'm seeing the light…"

Jin was quick to catch on, letting out an 'evil' laugh, "Mwahahaha! Witness my prowess! My blows need not touch my victim to claim their life! The Dark One is appeased! I have brought down this pitiful soldier, which poor soul shall be my next victim?"

Behind her, Haruhi was gripping onto Mori's arm, trying to stay upright as the two laughed.

* Shelter Mayhem *

"Perhaps I could stand outside and encourage buyers-"

"No good. Buying an animal is different than buying a pair of shoes," Jin mumbled around her apple flavored jolly rancher, "You have to really commit to buying, caring, and loving the animal for a long time."

"But I can juggle really well!"

Jin paused, tilting her head, "You… can?"

"No."

Kyoya resisted the urge to face-palm, "Reset… for my  _ idiot _ best friend."

*\/*

Her sister rolled her eyes, "Besides, I don't have the time to read over every adoption paper before I deliver it, and I doubt anyone else here is going to see the amusement of Tamaki adopting twenty dogs at once."

Kyoya looked out the window again just as Tamaki was tripped by the smallest dog, leading to a 'lick-fest', "I'll try to contain him as best as I can, but no promises." The girls nodded and the three watched the playfulness for another few moments.

As they watched Tamaki be nuzzled and stepped on by multiple dogs, Kyoya cast a wary look towards the shorter of the two girls. But a sudden scream made him look back outside quickly. Tamaki was now curled up on his side, holding his hands in his lap with a look of pain.

Kyoya grimaced, "Ouch."

"Uh… let's get Tamaki-senpai to the First-Aid tent and film the inside scene. I think we have what we need from him."

*\/*

Kyoya didn't get a chance to respond because the twins raced past them again, still searching for some cleaning material, and Jin shouted after them, "One of you is going to fall and die and I am not cleaning it up!"

Literally not two seconds after she said that, Hikaru rounded the corner of the cages and ran face-first into a low-hanging sign, falling flat on his back.

"Hikaru!"

The three other 'actors' rushed to the fallen boy's side as Renge lounged in her 'stand-in' Director's chair, "At this point, I'm not even surprised. Cut the scene and take him to the First-Aid tent! We'll wait to do this scene at the end once Hikaru recovers!"

"You all saw that, right? I did warn him!"

* The Sun, the Beach, and the Host Club! *

"Hey, do you think that for this time around, I could wear a less revealing swimsuit? I mean… I know we're going for authenticity, but there are  _ some _ corners we could cut, right?"

Kyoya glanced up from his  _ actual _ journal and eyed his girlfriend. She was wearing a very familiar black bikini and was tugging at the left strap so she wouldn't fall out of the top.

"I think the * _ bleep _ * not."

Her eyes lifted to meet his, pupils dilating ever so slightly before the twins burst into the changing rooms and grabbed Jin by her arms.

"You're on, Jin-nēchan!"

"And Renge's assigned us to be your relationship censors until tomorrow evening!"

"Our  _ what? _ "

*\/*

Kyoya glanced down at the pad of paper in her arms, recognizing the cover, "What is that? A textbook?"

"What? No, it's for my drawings. A sketchbook." Her face turned doubtful, "You  _ have _ seen a sketchbook before, right?"

"Of course I have," Kyoya held out a hand, "May I?"

The girl handed it over, "Sure. I'm not quite done with the last one though." As soon as she said that, Kyoya quickly flipped to the final drawing and stared at it for a few moments.

"This is a drawing of Hikaru and Kaoru?"

"Yeah."

The boy nodded before flipping backwards in the sketchbook, pausing every so often to look over the drawings in detail. It wasn't until he got more than halfway back to the front that he spoke at all.

"These are all... quite amazing! I'm impressed! Did you draw each of these freehanded? You have…  _ oh. _ "

Frowning, Jin peered over her boyfriend's shoulder and paled, "Ah!" She tries to take the sketchbook back, but he pulls it away, "You weren't supposed to see that! I thought I'd ripped it out!"

"Oh  _ my _ . That's  _ me _ , isn't it? I had no idea…"

"Kyoyaaaa…"

"Cut!" Renge scowled and threw the megaphone down before walking away, "PG. A PG rated documentary. That's  _ all _ I ask for."

*\/*

"Think I can get a tan from all this fake sunlight?"

*\/*

"And I have the perfect prize for the game's lucky winner." Kyoya smiled deviously as he revealed three photos of Haruhi in her younger years. There was even a volleyball shot. He'd had a feeling that these photos would come in handy at some point.

Except his friends weren't staring at the photos with want. They… actually looked a little shell-shocked.

"What?"

They cracked up, falling to the sand and pounding the ground with their fists. A terrifying idea came to mind and Kyoya quickly turned the photos around to stare at them.

The pictures weren't of Haruhi… their were of  _ him. _

Embarrassing snapshots of him getting stuck in cosplay, falling asleep with his mouth open on the Fujioka's couch and a sharpie mustache on his upper lip, and even one of the photos the twins had taken on their phone earlier with him looking like a hot mess.

" _ JIN! _ "

*\/*

"Jin, look!"

The brunette lifted her gaze up from the sand and saw three familiar looking forms running towards them. It looked to be Hikaru, Kaoru, and Kyoya. She raised a hand to wave just as something barely glanced across the right side of her head, fake glass scattering into the sand.

"Whoops." The extra sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, holding up the neck of the breakaway bottle, "Ah… can we go another time?"

"Ha! You can't harm me!"

*\/*

"You're stronger and faster than I am! There's a doctor who-save-" Kyoya growled and released Mori's arm, "-someone saves!"

The scene fell apart and Jin perked up in her friend's arms, holding up a hand, "I can save."

"Shut up."

The girl nodded and went limp again.

*\/*

Kyoya struggled to keep a blank face while Jin panicked, but not even a few seconds later the girl scowled at him, leaning back into her pillows, "I suppose you think you're some comedic genius?"

He smirked, "Quite. Your face was priceless."

Jin grabbed the pillow that he'd stuffed by her left side and swatted the boy with it, "Since when did you stop acting like a stuck-up prick?"

"Since I realized how delicious you looked in your black bikini."

The next swat hit him dead center in the face as she laughed, Hikaru and Kaoru walking onto the set and dragging their senpai away.

"We'll bring him back when his hormones have died down, Jin-nēchan!"

"No, we don't have time! Bring him back!" Renge looked around her chair, "Where is my megaphone?"

"Cake break!"

"Honey-senpai! That's not a toy!"

*\/*

The ravenet to Jin's left patted his lips with his cloth napkin, "Very well. Excuse me, everyone." The two boys walked silently out of the room. The doors banged shut and Haruhi's head dropped.

"Maybe he's right… I should... learn how to read. Someone get those cue card's  _ out _ of here!"

"Cue card holders? Head home! Now, if only the rest of you would stop  _ messing around _ and we could do the same!"

*\/*

The younger Fujioka stared at her sister for another few moments before reaching up to rub at her bare arms, "Guys… I'm really sorry..."

Instantly everyone was hugging Haruhi, cooing over how cute she was and forgiving her immediately, but she wasn't done.

"-that I'm about to puke… all over you."

They let her go really quick after that.

*\/*

"... What the * _ bleep _ * is this scene?"

"Uh, Jin? Could I speak with you out in private for a moment?"

The two slipped into the hallway for maybe thirty seconds before, "KYOYA OOTORI YOU DID  _ WHAT _ TO MY BABY SISTER?"

*\/*

"You won't do it. It wouldn't do you any good, or give you a benefit..."

Kyoya regarded her blankly for a moment, almost like he hadn't heard her. Then his lips curved in an amused smirk, the closest he probably would ever come to smiling, before pulling away. He appeared to be holding back his amusement as he brought a hand up to rearrange his hair, "I suppose you're right, in your own way."

"-and… that you look great, without your shirt on. I can see why Nēchan fancies you."

"Ah, so that's what it was. I was wondering what finally convinced her to like me. Is it the same with you and Tamaki?"

"Nah. He takes his shirt off too much for it to really leave an impact, while you don't do it as often. I think it was more the fact he can speak French."

"Cut! Can you two have tea over your love lives  _ after _ we finish shooting?"

"Sure!" They raised a thumbs up at the camera, where Jin was shaking her head, still a little mad, but also amused.

*\/*

Hearing the sounds of shifting fabric, Jin peeked through her eyelids and saw a shirtless Kyoya holding a bottle of water out for her. She smiled gratefully and took it, "Thanks. Do you think you could put a shirt on, now?"

"First, it's no problem. Second… why should I? Is it distracting you?"

Kyoya's hands pressed against the armrests of her chair, leaning closer to his girlfriend's face. Somehow, she managed to keep a steady voice when she responded, "Not at all. But if you keep it off for too long I might start a petition for me to replace Haruhi in that last scene we shot."

"I have no opposition to the idea. Though I will very likely not follow the script in that scene."

"Cut!" Renge marched over and grabbed Kyoya by the ear, dragging him away, "In. Your.  _ Pants _ , you two!"

* Road Trip with the Fujioka's! *

Haruhi only laughed in response and rooted around in the large bag at her feet, "I'm going check our stuff one more time to make sure we didn't forget anything."

"Better hurry, Haru. We're coming up on the exit for the Tohoku expressway. No turning back once we hit the toll booth."

"Okay, okay, I'm hurrying!" The short haired girl patted the very front pocket, feeling the shapes pressed against in, "First aid kit for small injuries. Car charger for our phones." She unzipped the main pocket, "For me, two textbooks and  _ The Lightning Thief  _ and for you, one beginners book on the Swedish language. An aux cord. Two water bottles. Cheez-it… what the?"

Her fingers closed around a square-shaped wrapper and pulled it out, blushing a dark red but also smirking and holding it out towards her sister when she realized what it was, "Ah… I think this is a gift for  _ you. _ "

Jin lifted her hands from the wheel and jumped out of the car. The blurring landscape they had rolling by the windows was making her dizzy, but she managed to climb off the set and start chasing the twins around.

"Stop putting condoms in all of my props!"

Kyoya frowned and glanced at his prop journal. Not having a good feeling, he grabbed the spine and lifted. No less than three extra-small condoms fell out onto the table. A light pink blush reached his cheeks as he turned to glare at the running trio.

"Hikaru, Kaoru? As much as I appreciate the gesture, I don't think we're the same size."

"Cut! Throw those things away and reset! Hikaru and Kaoru, you're in the time-out corner for five minutes!"

"Awww…" the redheads moped all the way to the far corner of the room, where a sign that read 'Dirty Joke Makers' with a down-pointing arrow done hastily in blue sharpie was pinned above it on the wall.

*\/*

Kyoya leaned back in his seat, a little too uncomfortable to be completely satisfied, "Except for the Fujioka girls, it would seem. And don't forget the original plan was for us to be in the same car as them, which would've been even more cramped. Face it, Tamaki, you didn't think this 'trip' all the way through."

"* _ Bleep _ * off."

The twins perked up and whistled, "Wow, Boss…"

"We didn't think you had it in you…"

"Neither did I. I guess Kyoya just brings out the worst in me."

"My girlfriend  _ can _ hurt you."

*\/*

"Okay, now it's my turn-"

_ Screech! _

"AHH!" The car braked really hard and the eight occupants were sent forward, being caught by their seat belts. They screamed and clutched at each other or various parts of the car interior. Kyoya's glasses slipped off the end of his nose and fell onto the floor before he could snag them.

" _ Merde! _ "

"Ow!"

The car stopped braking and everyone was sent back into their seats with racing heartbeats. Kyoya reached down and felt around for his glasses. Thankfully they hadn't fallen beneath the seat in front of him, and he quickly jammed them onto his face.

"I'm so sorry, Haru! Are you okay?"

He looked towards the front of the car. Jin had her left arm swung out in front of Haruhi, except she'd put it up too high and smacked her sister in the nose. Haruhi was cradling her face, but offered a thumbs up to the cameras outside the window.

"We're good… go again!"

*\/*

"Okay, now it's my turn-"

_ Screech! _

"AHH!" The car braked really hard and the eight occupants were sent forward, being caught by their seat belts. They screamed and clutched at each other or various parts of the car interior. Kyoya's glasses slipped off the end of his nose and fell onto the floor before he could snag them.

" _ Merde! _ "

The car stopped braking and everyone was sent back into their seats with racing heartbeats. Kyoya reached down and felt around for his glasses. Thankfully they hadn't fallen beneath the seat in front of him, and he quickly jammed them onto his face. He looked towards the front of the car. Jin had her left arm swung out in front of Haruhi, but retracted it as soon as Kyoya saw and placed both hands back on the steering wheel.

She snarled at the car in front of them and slammed her hand on the horn for two seconds, " _ Salaud! En-aaaah-la-la-laaaaa! _ "

The hosts laughed as Jin went from cursing to singing gibberish.

*\/*

"Okay, now it's my turn-"

_ Screech! _

"AHH!" The car braked really hard and the eight occupants were sent forward, being caught by their seat belts. They screamed and clutched at each other or various parts of the car interior. Kyoya's glasses slipped off the end of his nose and fell onto the floor before he could snag them.

" _ Merde! _ "

The car stopped braking and everyone was sent back into their seats with racing heartbeats. Kyoya reached down and felt around for his glasses. Thankfully they hadn't fallen beneath the seat in front of him, and he quickly jammed them onto his face. He looked towards the front of the car. Jin had her left arm swung out in front of Haruhi, but retracted it as soon as Kyoya saw and placed both hands back on the steering wheel.

She snarled at the car in front of them and slammed her hand on the horn for two seconds, " _ Salaud! Enule! Va te faire voir! _ "

Tamaki lets out a strangled gasp and stares at the girl, horrified, "JIN FUJIOBL-AHHHH bleh-bleh bla-bla!" The blond boy rubbed at his face as the others laughed, "Names! Words! Mean nothing to me, they do!"

Renge's grip on her megaphone was so hard her fingers were growing white, "As much as you're all having fun… none of us can go home until we get this episode done! So will you please  _ focus!? _ "

"I've kept it 'in my pants' this time, Renge. Am  _ I _ doing a good job?"

" _ Kyoya-senpai so help me I will put you on the morning set-up crew DO NOT TEST ME RIGHT NOW! _ "

* Time Skip *

"Okay…" Jin frowned at the list of 'episodes' they had cobbled together from all the things the host club had done together between Haruhi joining and Haruhi revealing her gender, "So that… sixteen episodes."

"Out of  _ fifty! _ "

"Yeah… tomorrow's going to be busy. Well, at least we'll have the rest of the evening to study our scripts. That should help."

Renge didn't respond. She just grumbled and stormed out the door. Jin resisted the urge to shout after her that it  _ had _ been her idea.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering why there's only fifty blooper-centered chapters instead of fifty-one, I'm cutting out the flashback of the Fujioka's life. Sorry, just the way it is.


	54. Blooper Reel! Part 2!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um… I made a mistake with Part 1 by only doing those sixteen chapters. The youtube video I found was labelled as part 1 of 2, so I assumed I was cutting the bloopers in half. It wasn't until I posted it that I thought… there can't be that few bloopers in the rest of the show, right? Yeah… they just hadn't gotten around to posting the 3rd video. Oops. Oh, well.
> 
> So… I had a lot of material to work with. Quite a bit got cut out, considering this is around the time that Jin started messing up the story line. But I hope you find these enjoyable all the same!

 

 

"Okay, everyone! It's our second day of shooting and we've got a lot of work to do! Each of these episodes is going to be twenty minutes long and we have thirty-four left to film today!"

Jin narrowed her eyes, stifling a yawn, "I-is that why you you told us to come in at 6:30?"

"Yes." Renge looked ready to spit fire, "Even if we somehow managed to film each episode perfectly and moved seamlessly through each scene, we'd still need almost twelve hours to get it all on camera. And since we know that  _ neither _ of those things will happen today, we'll need as much extra filming time as possible! Now, Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi, to your places!"

The other first years nodded, blinking lazily as they moved to their seats. Hikaru was leaning heavily on his brother, struggling to keep his eyes open. Jin pressed her forehead to the crook of Kyoya's neck. He calmly wrapped his arms around her waist and waited for the four 1st years to get into position.

"Alright everyone? Episode 17: A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy, Scene 1, Act 1: Haruhi goes out for Coffee! And… Action!"

Immediately, Hikaru falls sideways out of his chair, snoring before he even hit the ground.

"Cut!"

Jin yawned, nuzzling closer to her warm boyfriend, "There's anozer one for tha' blooper reel…" she slurred.

* A Challenge from Lobelia Girls' Academy *

"Good! Now you should probably go get into your cosplay! We need to make sure everything fits!"

"I will once you let go of my leg, Honey-senpai!" The girl began staggering to the back of the room, her friend holding on tightly to her and laughing playfully. Jin laughed as well, knowing they probably looked utterly ridiculous right now. But her laughter suddenly cut into screaming when she fell forward.

"Owwww…"

"Jin-chan!"

"Nurse!"

*\/*

"I thought you hired stand-ins for those * _ bleep _ *!"

"I did!" Jin and Renge watched as security attempted to get the Zuka club off the set. Haruhi was hiding behind her sister, at Tamaki's insistence.

On the other side of the lawn, they could still hear Benio laughing about how they couldn't  _ possibly _ be considering replacing the Zuka club with 'extras'. Even so, she and the other two were keeping well away from Jin and her icy glare.

"I hope they catch them soon. We don't have time for this!"

*\/*

"Nice dress. I never realized you guys kept them."

Kyoya sighed, pulling on his black wig while keeping his back turned to the doorway, "Very well, let's hear them."

"Hear what?"

"Any jokes you'd like to make."

"I don't want to make any jokes."

"Oh, no?" He finally turned, raising an eyebrow, "You sure found this hilarious the first time I dressed up like a girl."

Jin hummed, walking up to her boyfriend and adjusting the way his dress skirt fluffed out, "Yeah. It's still kinda funny, because you're the last person I would've expected to go along with it. The humor was more based on your personality rather than your actual appearance. Besides, the first time caught us off guard."

"So, you're saying it doesn't look… bad?"

"No." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips before turn around and walking away, "I'd lay off the purple lipstick, though."

* The Female Host! *

Readjusting her beret once last time, Jin smiled and knocked her hip against the kitchen doors, making them swing outwards for her. The moment she did, someone started talking to her.

"I'm still positive your original outfit would've been just as well received as your current one."

"Were you waiting out here for this-" she frowned, "That wasn't right."

"No indeed. Perhaps we should bring those cue card-mmph!" The boy bit the bread suddenly in his mouth in half and chewed, glaring at the girl who looked far too pleased with herself.

Though, to be honest, it  _ was _ really good bread.

*\/*

Readjusting her beret once last time, Jin smiled and knocked her hip against the kitchen doors, making them swing outwards for her.

"OW!"

Jin jolted as the door stopped swinging much too early, running around the wood and staring in horror at the boy holding his nose on the other side, "Kyo-kun! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

The boy groaned softly rubbing at his reddening nose, "Yes… I was a bit off my mark…"

"Reset!"

* A Day in the Life of the Fujioka Family! *

Mori was gently keeping her head upright while Honey knelt beside them, encouraging Jin as Kyoya gently placed a small sushi roll in her mouth, "Jin-chan, you have to eat this now or you could get super sick! Okay? Can you chew that up now?"

It was like pulling teeth. Jin was slowly chewing the fake-fish, clearly running out of strength, and the boy's attempts to remain calm are replaced by panicked looks.

She all of the sudden ceased movement and slumped sideways against Kyoya's chest. The chopsticks clattered into the dirt on the ground as he grabbed at her shoulders and shook her frantically, "Jin?!"

He pressed his ear against her chest before slowly pulling away, " _ No… please. _ "

Slowly, the ravenet lay the girl down onto the dirty floor, her hair spread out around her head like a halo. Kyoya cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her skin. Then, tentatively, he leaned down a pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

The moment he pulled away, she gasped and blinked her eyes open, "K-Kyo?"

"Jin!"

The two embraced tightly as the screen faded to black.

Standing offset, Renge was rubbing at her forehead, "Okay… cut off everything that happened after she passed out and he called her name that first time. I need to go talk to the  _ lovely couple  _ about the difference between a documentary and a Disney movie."

*\/*

Kyoya's eyes dipped to the girl by his side one last time before standing up, "It's alright, we'll take care of it. You two were gracious enough to invite us in without much forewarning we were coming, so how about we pay for lunch? You can order some of-of all of your sushi favorites."

The ravenet wrinkled his nose and sent a very pointed look at his girlfriend, "Not a word."

"I didn't even say anything!"

"You were going to."

"True." She kissed his nose, "Let's reset!"

Renge raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak.  _ At least they're not  _ totally  _ all over each other like yesterday. But I have a feeling that Kyoya and Jin 'hung out' for a while last night to get over the fact that they didn't lose each other. Their reasoning is kinda sweet, I guess, but someone should ask Haruhi if she's been traumatized recently... _

* Ferret Hunting! *

"I'm sorry, Jin, but I don't know what to say to comfort you."

The girl had another hiccup-like laugh and gave him a watery smile, "I know that, Glasses, 'm not stupid. And, 'm sorry to make you uncomfortable like this, becau- and you're not a- MEH!"

The brunette pulled out of their hug and began pacing, her hands lightly patting her cheeks in time with her steps, "Hemini, hemini, hemini, hemini…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means 'hemini, hemini, hemini…'"

"So… nothing?"

"Nothing."

* Big Brother is a Prince! *

Now it was Jin's turn to purse her lips. She passed the small child off to Tamaki, caught up to Umehito as he walked dejectedly to the doors, and smacked him upside the head.

"Stop it!" She paused, a confused expression taking over before she added on, in the same angry voice, "I forgot what my line was!"

Umehito frowned, rubbing at the back of his head, "Does that mean we have to do that scene again?"

"Sorry."

*\/*

The blond relaxed under her touch, fingers plucking out another note, "You'll sing, won't you, Jin-chan?"

"Have I ever not?"

Umehito smiled before reaching up to tune the guitar. He quickly went through each string methodically, and by the time half of their 10 minutes was up he went to strum the guitar… and started up a fast melody, his head bobbing just a little to the beat.

The others looked at each other in confusion, but Jin just gasped before laughing. It might sound weird on an acoustic guitar, but she'd recognize the song anywhere.

" _ Been a long time since I rock 'n rolled _

_ It's been a long time since I did the stroll _

_ Ooh, let me get it back _

_ Let me get it back _

_ Let me get it back _

_ Baby, where I come from _

_ It's been a long time _

_ Been a long time _

_ Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time! _ "

"CUT!" Renge marched over to the two friends who were high-fiving, "May I remind you two that we are on a  _ schedule? _ "

"Sorry, Renge, but he played Led Zeppelin… I can't  _ not  _ sing Led Zeppelin!"

* Jin's Unwilling Competition! *

"So… Eiko's getting an extra too… right?"

"Yeah, but only because she's celebrating her mom's birthday. And she can't act."

Kyoya looked shocked and stared at his girlfriend, "You mean to say that you would've invited your cousin to play herself if it were possible?"

"Uh huh."

"Why?"

The Fujioka's straighten their backs, "Oh… we never told you guys!"

"Told us what?"

"We saw Eiko a few months ago, and she was  _ totally  _ civil!"

Tamaki fell backwards onto his chair, "Really?"

"Yeah. She said she was capable of being angrier, and not just with me. Meaning, she's stopped terrorizing me since she has something she's better at!"

"...Wow. Your family is messed up."

*\/*

"You know, I've been meaning to ask."

"What?" Jin and Kyoya skated around the rink lazily while Eiko's stand-in was instructed on the delivery of her lines. The brunette sighed and closed her eyes to listen to the sound of metal slicing over ice, knowing Kyoya wouldn't let her fall or crash.

"When you said you'd go to the Somerset house in England, but only if I paid, was that you asking me out on a date?"

"Not really. More mentioning my lack of travel funds."

"And if we had the time next weekend… would you mind putting your passport to use once again?"

"Get my father to agree and I'd love too."

"HEY! Would you two stop flirting with each other and reset? You're already dating!"

Jin sighed, "Back to work."

* Honey's Three Bitter Days! *

The twins gravitated over to the other two, reaching out in an attempt to hold Honey down. Of course, he started squirming away from them, "What are you doing?"

"Honey-senpai!"

"Just let her che-OUCH!"

"Oops! Sorry, Kao-chan!"

Jin snickered, "Cut! Honey-kun… I know you're upset, but you don't need to smack Kaoru in the face."

"I didn't mean too!"

*\/*

Her classmates were silent, so she rounded off her argument, "And if you think about it, Mori-senpai cares so much about Honey-senpai and his well being… he may be blaming himself for this whole cavity business."

The three lapsed into silence until they walked into their classroom. Kyoya sat down at his desk and smiled up at Jin, who popped herself up atop said desk and almost immediately slid back off again.

Renge cut the scene as the three started laughing, Jin using Kyoya's desk to remain upright.

* Sick Day! *

"And have you faint on the way? Strange, but I'd rather avoid that."

"I won't faaaa…" Jin's eyes rolled back and her whole body became a deadweight. Of course, right at that exact moment Kyoya's foot stepped on a sheet of paper laying in the hallway. The two went down  _ hard. _

"Owww… owowowowow."

"Jin? * _ Bleep _ *, my head… are you alright?"

"Yeah… your body cushioned my fall."

"That's good. Do you mind getting off so I can breathe?"

"STOP HURTING YOURSELVES! RESET!"

*\/*

"Hika-chan?"

Tamaki zoned back into reality to see the redhead standing a good 10 feet away from his senpai, "Uh… couldn't someone  _ else _ do that, Honey-senpai?"

Honey's face twisted into a scowl as he marched over to the 1st year, shoving the bowl into his hands and dousing the both of them with the now lukewarm water.

"Ahh! Sorry Hika-chan!"

"Eeeeeehehehewwwwwww!" The twin jumped away and started waving his hands around, shaking off the 'sick' water, "You got her  _ germs _ all over me!"

"Dry off and reset! And stop being a Drama Queen, Hika-kun! That's Tama-kun's job!"

"Hey!"

* Haruhi in Wonderland *

"Hold on… Haru, I thought you said I didn't appear until the end?"

"Um, well…"

"Haruhi? Why was I both the caterpillar and… some sort of dark-dressed royalty?"

"Ah… both of your question sort of go together."

Jin and Kyoya spared a glance before turning back to the short brunette, "How so?"

A few minutes later Jin was giggling and poking her sister's cheek, "Aww… you've always supported my relationship with Kyo-kun!"

"No, I didn't!"

"You've  _ dreamed _ about us getting together!"

"It was weird! And it never happened again!"

"No wonder you referred to me as your future brother-in-law."

"Shut up! Are we doing this scene or not?"

* I'm a Bigger Fan Than You Are! *

"Boys with messy black hair and sassy personalities have literally destroyed my life."

"What?"

"Think about it! Misha Collins, though the hair thing is debatable, and Castiel, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sherlock, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter-" Jin suddenly stopped counting on her fingers and pointed towards Kyoya, "-and now him. It's getting out of control."

Haruhi snorts and starts laughing, "Wow, Nēchan. I never realized you had a type!"

*\/*

"Haru! Haru!"

The brunette jumped in her seat, nearly falling out of it in the process, as her sister ran over to her. For one moment of pure panic, she was worried that somehow Jin knew what she had been thinking even without eye contact.

Thankfully Jin just ran up to her, holding her phone out in front of her with an extremely large smile on her face, "Haru! Haru! It's Nathan Fillion! Nat-en Fill-Aaaahh!"

She lightly jogged around the table and back to where she came from as Renge called, "Cut!"

"No, no! Keep going! I got this!"

* Covering the Famous Host Club! *

Jin watched as the blond pretty much tackled her little sister into the grass. She went to run forward but a hand caught her upper arm before she could move. The grip pulled her backwards into a strong chest, spinning her around in the process so she would meet the kiss head on.

They were allowed to savor the moment for a few seconds before Renge started screaming again.

*\/*

The 3rd year jumped in his seat, "Oh, was I? Right! I wanted to, um," his eyes flicked up to Jin and back down at his desk, "I realize that in our attempt to reach more viewers our newspaper has kinda lost-been-sight-kinda-been…  _ blegh. _ Line?"

Jin stomped on the ground with her shoes, but her foot got caught up in the heavy skirt fabric and she almost fell again, "You mean I have to trip again?"

"I'll catch you."

"Yeah, but if you slip then I'll take you down with me like  _ last  _ time!"

"...Fair point."

*\/*

He stood up and lead his club members in a bow, "Please help us. Let us do our cover story on the Ouran… ran. The Ouran-ran-ran Host Club."

Jin struggled to hide her giggles even as the extra was dragged off set by one furious and stressed out manager.

* I Wish I'd Never Been Born! *

"Hmm… so even alternate me knew you had feelings for me?"

"Yes. But the alternate you also made the first move so, you know, a couple minor differences."

"Wait…" Tamaki looked at his friends in confusion, "Kyoya… you told me  _ you _ made the first move."

"Oh… did he now?"

Yup, Kyoya was officially in trouble.

* The Refreshing Battle of Karuizawa! *

Haruhi collapses against her sister's shoulder and mutters an apology as Misuzu-chi ran from the kitchen, "Oh my! You must be the  _ dashing _ boys Jin and Haruhi have told me about! The famous Ouran Highschool Host Club, correct? Just call me Misuze-meh… why don't you call me my name?"

*\/*

"They're such model employee's, it's a crying shame I can't- I thought I less tiiime for that first part I need slow down, slow dooown Honey, I love you both so much!" The extra, who was dressed up as the Fujioka's 'uncle' suddenly leaned back and gestured grandly at them, "I LOVE YOU!"

The two girls fell onto the floor they were laughing so hard.

*\/*

"Of course. First off, Honey-senpai may be cute, but Misuzu-chi is looking for the more 'attreshive'... kend of geuy to stai herre, so he's ouh."

Haruhi giggled, "Did you bite your tongue, Nēchan?"

"No. But I might as well have."

* Late Night Chats *

Jin pulled her head out, hair a rumpled mess, "I know, right? I just wanna-" She broke off the sentence by dropping to the floor and rolling herself over the blanket, effectively burritoing herself inside, only her feet and some of her hair sticking out of the ends. The lump that used to be Jin Fujioka wiggled twice before going still. A voice called out from inside, muffled from the many layers around her.

" _ If any of you need me... I'll be starting my life as an inchworm. _ "

As the rest of the cast started laughing, the lump starting moving across the floor, scrunching up in the middle and stretching back out again, slowly moving towards the doors.

"Cut! Jin-senpai,  _ if you don't know what your line is just  _ ask!"

*\/*

The elder Fujioka pondered the suggestion for a moment before huffing and rolling off her half of the soft blanket. She pulled out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone out of one of their bags and stuck it into the DVD player, but she wasn't fast enough. Jin turned back around just in time to see Haruhi tucking the rest of the 7 foot blanket under her legs with a smug smile.

"Hey!"

The girls laughed as they pretended to fight over the blanket. Haruhi grabbed her pillow and lightly smacked her sister with it when the sound of a camera going off reached their ears. Frowning, Jin slipped off the bed and walked over to the closet, pulling the door open.

The twins tumbled out, falling into a mess of limbs.

"Wha…"

Quickly standing up, they brushed off their shirts and walked off set without a word.

"...What just happened?"

*\/*

The elder Fujioka pondered the suggestion for a moment before huffing and rolling off her half of the soft blanket. She pulled out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone out of one of their bags and stuck it into the DVD player, but she wasn't fast enough. Jin turned back around just in time to see Haruhi tucking the rest of the 7 foot blanket under her legs with a smug smile.

"Hey!"

The girls laughed as they pretended to fight over the blanket. Jin whapped her sister in the arm with a pillow, and Haruhi fell off the bed.

"Haru!"

"Reset!"

* Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date! *

"Well I don't know about them, but I'd love it if you called me Honey-kun!"

"Mmm."

"Tama-kun does have a nice ring to it."

Kaoru looked over from the bar seat, "We wouldn't mind it either."

Hikaru, who is sulking for some reason, merely grunts.

And Kyoya… remained silent. Hikaru leaned over and whispered, " _ I think Kyoya-senpai would prefer you call him Da- _ "

"Nope!" Beni clapped a hand over the redhead's mouth, "Nope, nope, nope! Rated PG!"

From behind the camera, Renge screamed incoherently.

"Renge?"

"Finally! Finally someone understands! Beni-senpai if you weren't gay I could kiss you! Now reset!"

*\/*

Suddenly the girl slipped off and took a few steps backwards, "Hey, Ben-kun, remember when you used to gel your hair up into spikes everyday for school?"

Beni stops laughing, "Jin-"

"Or how about when you used to  _ strut _ down your home's hallways, pretending you were a  _ model? _ " Their roles quickly reversed as Beni started chasing the girl around the room. The others can hardly breathe.

"Oh! Oh! How about how you put on suspenders and pretend to talk like an old man whenever Hiroshi called you old?"

"J-Jin? That's not in the script!"

"What about the time you popped a yoga ball from bouncing on it too much?"

"Stop!"

"CUT!"

The two stopped and stared at each other for a moment. Then Jin moved one foot back and held her hand out to the boy, " _ In the naaaame of loooove~ _ "

Beni was still glaring for a moment, enough for Jin to start nervously sweating, before he reached back, " _ Before you breeeeak my heaaart! _ "

Jin smiled and clapped her hands, "Sorry about that Ben-kun. Forgot my line."

"I hate you."

"RESET!"

*\/*

The boy didn't get much time to think on that, however, because not even ten seconds after they started clearing away the garbage, Hikaru's mouth was flying loose once again and Haruhi was smacking him across the face.

"That's not something for you to decide, Hikaru! Ahmnahaaa I'm still yelling at you! Pull your… tank top strap up! Yah!"

*\/*

Kyoya's eyes narrowed a little, his hands reaching out to pluck at Jin's top, "You've got a strand of hair… there…" He pulled, but it seemed to be stuck on something, "Hmm."

Jin looked down and blushed, "Um… Kyo-kun? Maybe I should get that?" She moved his hand away and grabbed the hair with her left hand. Her right reached down into her tank top to move her boobs apart, allowing for the strand of hair to be pulled out from between them.

When she looked back up, her boyfriend was facing the other way, a hand covering the lower half of his face while the top half was completely red.

"Told you I'd get it."

*\/*

Haruhi tilted her head, "Yeah, sure."

"Will you out with me, to-  _ blah, blah-blah, blah~ _ "

*\/*

Kyoya stumbled against the wall as Tamaki released him to stop Hikaru from eating off Haruhi's cone, and he felt another body collapse against his.

"Oof! Oh, I'm sorry Kyo-kun."

Jin moved away from the wall, letting the boy have some breathing space. It was then that Kyoya realized why he'd been crushed between the cement and the girl; when Tamaki had pulled him inside, Kyoya had wanted to make sure that Jin wasn't left behind. Their hands were warmly clasped together.

He didn't let go, instead using their clasped hands to pull her even closer.

"My apologies."

"Um… Kyo-kun?" Jin blushed, "I-I'm the one who should apologized, I crashed into you."

" _ I pulled you. If I had grabbed onto your other hand- _ "

" _ But you didn't, so don't apologize. _ "

At the front of the stand, Kaoru was angrily shaking the blond, " _ What are you doing, it was finally going well! _ "

" _ They can't share an ice cream cone, that's indirect kissing! _ "

" _ You didn't seem to care when Jin and Kyoya did it this morning! _ "

" _ Wait, what? _ " Tamaki looked over at his best friends before rolling his eyes, "I don't think the term 'indirectly' is what you're looking for."

Kaoru followed the blond's line of sight and sighed, "I thought you guys were going to be more professional today!"

* Playing the Name Game! *

With their small height difference, it would only take one of them to tilt their head to close the remaining distance between them. Her grip on his shirt tightened.

_ This is a good moment. As good as any. _

"I'm  _ baaaack~ _ "

Tamaki's eyebrows went up as he and the rest of the club watched from behind the scenes, "Wow… they were so close. How many times did they say they were interrupted?"

"Are we talking intentionally?"

"Or unintentionally?"

*\/*

Quickly throwing on a simple Navy blue two-piece, Jin grabbed her usual blue and green towel and went back out into the cafe. A particular head of hair caught her attention and she smirked. The Arai boys were keeping an eye on the pool, right? Which meant  _ she _ could just relax and cool down in the AC for a few moments.

She was quick to locate the perfect seat.

Her smile stretched into an evil smirk as she crept up behind her boyfriend and stuck her cold and wet hands down the back of his t-shirt.

Kyoya yelped and jumped a few inches out of his chair, fingers clattering against his laptop.

" _ JIN! _ "

* Kyoya's Reluctant Day Out! *

"Look at this flyer I found, Kyoya! Doesn't this sound fascinating? Commoners hold these events they call 'Expo's all the time! Products from all around the world are gathered under one roof so commoners can enjoy the joys of expensive traveling without paying as much! Attending this expo will give us, as privileged beings, a better understanding of the Fujioka girls; Haruhi mostly since Jin is at least partially involved in our world. You guessed it, Kyoya! We're going on a field trip! Haruhi and Jin will not be joining us today, as having them around will harm our learning experience by trying to explain everything."

The ravenet on the bed didn't respond. He was still curled up on his side, chest rising and falling in fake slumber.

Tamaki tilted his head, "Kyoya?" He crept over to the side of the bed his friend was facing and almost yelped, backpedaling off the set.

" _ He actually fell asleep! Quick! Quarantine the area! _ "

Jin rolled her eyes, stepping onto the set. She sat down on the bed next to her boyfriend, reaching out with her left hand to gently shake his shoulder, " _ Kyo~ Wake up sleepy head. You can take a nap after this episode during lunch. Come on, De _ -Ah!"

Kyoya's eyes had opened into the narrowest of slits right before his arm came up to grab Jin around her waist, pulling her down onto the bed with him.

"Uhh… Kyo-kun?" She tried to get up, but froze when the grip tightened and her boyfriend growled lowly in her ear.

" _ Ten. Minutes. _ "

The brunette managed to lift her head a little and send Renge a ' _ help _ ' expression. Their director was glaring at the couple on the bed, tapping her foot in agitation. She was already wearing her outfit for later on in the episode, but the bright colors did nothing to make her look less capable of murder.

Out of nowhere, the Hitachiins slipped up behind their 'Director' and whispered in her ear. She sighed, then announced, "We're breaking for lunch a half hour early!"

The crew started to chat among themselves, grabbing their packed lunches and walking out the door. Jin dropped her head back on the pillow in relief, glad that Kyoya's impromptu nap hadn't become a huge problem for production.

Until she tried to get up.

Kyoya was keeping her pinned.

" _ Don't. Move. _ "

"Kyoyaaaa… I want foooood…"

"I'm not moving."

His stomach growled, and Jin turned onto her side to poke it, "Ha! You're hungry too."

"I'm much more sleepy." The boy rolled onto his back, pulling his girlfriend with him. He cradled the back of her head and pulled her closer, pressing his lips to the top of her head, "Please… stay with me. Ten minutes."

She sighed, but eventually wrapped an arm over his torso and hooked a leg over his waist, "Fine."

*\/*

"I simply want you both to understand that since there is no one of consequence to me as to whether I can speak the lines as written."

Kyoya scrunched up his nose and rubbed at his eyes, "That nap was a mistake."

His girlfriend lightly kicked him underneath the table, "No * _ bleep _ *, Sherlock."

*\/*

She's completely unaware of her sister sneaking off to Kyoya's other side.

"You're buying that for Tama-kun and the twins?"

He shrugs, "Well, it does look like something they'd enjoy, so-"

Jin pops up onto her tiptoes once again to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head at the last second and captured her lips with his instead. She pulled back and swatted at his shoulder, "Kyoya!"

"Reset! You've been doing so well today, Kyoya-senpai! Don't muck it up now!"

"Apologies. Couldn't resist."

* A Stressful Dance! *

She went to read about the fall sports starting to recruit when her vision was suddenly filled with a blond head of hair and purple eyes.

"Yes, Tama- _ ehhh! _ "

From behind the newspaper, the twins had snuck up behind their boss and gave him a little shove, almost forcing him to kiss his female classmate. Thankfully for them all, Tamaki managed to turn his head at the last minute.

Unfortunately, the two also tumbled to the ground, the newspaper flying wildly out of Jin's hand. Tamaki grunted and pushed his hips up, getting his already bruising waist away from the chair seat it had fallen into.

" _ That hurt. _ "

"Tamaki. Please move you hand."

"Hm?" The blond looked down at the girl beneath him and realized that his hand was pressed right in between her… he gulped and looked away.

A hand grabbed the back of his school jacket and yanked him to his feet. Tamaki squeaked in terror when he discovered it was Kyoya.

"Um… I can explain?"

*\/*

She laughed again, allowing him to spin her twice more. The two continued floating across the dance floor, unaware of how the entire congregation had stopped to watch. There was one group of girls who were sitting at a table, arms crossed and huffy expressions on their faces, but the rest were cooing and melting against each other.

The music slowly began to wind down, Kyoya moving his hand from Jin's to wrap around her back instead, holding her close. Tamaki stood up from his chair, leaning over the white tablecloth of the table.

He continued to stare as they moved progressively closer. Confused, he looked down at the twins, who were staring at the table as though they were expecting a beating.

" _ Did you forget your lines? _ "

They shook their heads just as all the extras gasped. Kyoya and Jin were kissing in the middle of the ballroom, lit up from the overhead lights like they'd just dropped out of an honest-to-god fairy tale.

"CUT! Hikaru! Kaoru! You have a line there!"

"Right!"

"Forgot!"

Now Tamaki was really confused, "What?"

"Kyoya-senpai said this was our punishment for pushing you onto Jin-nēchan earlier."

"We had to let him experience what was  _ supposed _ to be their first kiss if we hadn't interrupted."

* Chika's "Down With Honey" Declaration! *

Hoping that no one would be too hurt by the time she got upstairs, Jin ran as fast as she could out of the library. A few random students called out congratulations on being crowned queen last Friday, but she barely heard them.  _ Why is Honey-kun fighting another student? He's usually never so aggressive, even when upset! _

As she approached the music room doors, her phone went off again.

**Haruhi:** _False alarm._

_ Wha- _

_ BAM! _

Jin ran straight into the door, knocking her face against the wood before falling backwards.

"OW!"

"Jin!"

Kyoya jumped onto the set, quickly followed by the others as Renge began lightly hitting her forehead against the table in front of her.

*\/*

Pulling back, Jin stands up and looks down at the boy. He's frantically trying to push himself up, but the dagger embedded through his shirt collar and into the floor keeps him pinned down.

"Hey, Chika."

_ Riiiiiiip. _

The boy rolled away and jumped to his feet, "I'M FREE!"

Jin stared with wide eyes as the boy stood up and started parading around. His collar had a small nick on the side where Jin had stabbed at the edge, not in the middle, giving the younger boy the opportunity to free himself.

*\/*

"It's totally normal, and way boring. We're going to find something more entertaining~"

Hikaru's voice cracked suddenly at the very end, and he stopped skipping with his brother, "We're going to find something more entertaining~"

Kaoru smirked and sang back, just a little higher, "We're going to find something more entertaining~"

The twins laughed and Jin tilted her head, "Have you boys ever thought about joining the choir?"

* A Fight Between Old Friends! *

As the official locked Jin's equipment into her own box, he shakily made his way back to the middle of the room. Standing opposite of the spectators, they could easily see how his arms were trembling.

"This match between Master Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Honorary Matron Fujioka will continue until one opponent has been rendered defenseless, or completely overpowered. But… if we could not have a half-hour long match like last time, that would be appreciated." He cleared his throat and raised a trembling hand, "Are you both prepared? Then, you may begin!"

" _ Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh~ _

_ Oh-oh-oh~ _

_ Oh-oh-oh _

_ Caught in a bad romance~ _ "

The room looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where the singing was coming from. Renge was screaming at some poor camera men, but Jin and Honey looked pleased. Just as the chorus started up, they started dancing in sync.

" _ I want you love and _

_ I want your revenge _

_ You and me could write a bad romance~ _

_ (Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh~) _

_ I want your love and _

_ All your lovers revenge _

_ You and me could write a bad romance~ _

_ (Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh~ _

_ Oh-oh-oh~ _

_ Oh-oh-oh _

_ Caught in a bad romance~) _

The music suddenly cut off and the two fighters/dancers were laughing, exchanging high-fives while their audience applauded.

*\/*

Jin breathes in sharply, but she returns the grip. Slowly, she sits up on her bed and leans in closer, their fingers falling in between each other's. She pauses when she can see herself faintly reflected in Kyoya's glasses.

" _ I promise. _ "

Kyoya hardly hears her, beginning to lean in when, as his luck would have it-

"JIN-CHAN!" Honey-senpai was wheeled into the room on his own hospital bed, the host club right behind him. "We can share a room now!"

Everyone cheers, but they're quickly cut off when Kyoya grabs Jin's Bokuto from underneath the hospital bed and points it at them.

"Kyo-"

"Get out, or I will skewer you."

The hosts turned and ran for their lives, Jin's hysterical laughter chasing behind them.

* Lobelia Girls' Academy Strikes Back *

"Chizuru was more into Jin, but Benio was  _ all over _ Haruhi."

"And there's no telling what was going through Hinako head."

Ranka let out a horrified screech before calmly sitting back in his seat, "Well, obvilosilil-lil-lil-ly~ Sorry."

*\/*

Jin was giggling, lightly biting down on her thumb as she read over her script. She faintly heard familiar footsteps right behind her before a pair of lean arms wrapped around her waist, a chin resting itself on her shoulder.

"What's so amusing, Darling?"

The brunette smiled, pressing her cheek against the boy's temple, "You're so clingy all of the sudden, Glasses. Why is that?"

"I do believed I asked my question first."

"Oh… well, I was just reading the script and…" she snickered, doing her best to look at her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye, "Did you really see me turning around in slow motion when you guys came to collect me?"

Kyoya hesitated just a second too long.

"You did! Oh my goodness, could you be even more cheesy?"

"I could dip you at the altar at our wedding."

The girl froze as he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, walking away as if nothing was wrong.

"Wait… altar? _Wedding?_ _Kyoya, come back here you little *bleep*!_ "

* Jin Takes A Risk! *

It was all true.

Kyoya  _ liked  _ her.

Meanwhile, Kyoya was quietly running back though his words, knowing he must've said something terribly wrong. Jin had gone very still in his arms and he was trying to think of an apology -though he wasn't quite sure what for just yet- when she looked up at him. There was something... different in her eyes as she stared at him. He didn't dare speak.

And, as it turns out, he didn't need to.

Kyoya watched as hesitation momentarily filled her face before she quickly pushed herself up onto her toes-

"Oh, Jin~senpai~"

"Kyo~ya~senpai~"

"Where are... you~?"

The couple froze, their lips literally a few millimeters away from each others.

" _ They did not… _ "

The twins burst out of the bushes, all grins, "Ah, there you two are!"

"Did we interrupt anything?"

Jin's lower eyelid was twitching, and she opened her mouth to tell them off, but whatever she was about to say was quickly muffled by Kyoya's tongue. It was perhaps the harshest kiss he'd ever prompted, not that she was complaining, but by the sound of gagging off to her right there were two people in the near vicinity who  _ were _ .

"Alright, you two. I think you've proved your point. Please stop trying to eat each other's faces and reset. Hikaru and Kaoru? You're going to be wrapping up all the cords once we finish shooting."

"Awwww! We were just having fun!"

"And besides, Kyoya-senpai and Jin-nēchan are  _ clearly _ having  _ more _ fun."

There was a faint  _ pop _ from behind the twins right before Jin answered, a little shakily, "You ruined the memory of our uninterrupted first kiss. I think we reserve the right to traumatize you."

* The Door the Twins Opened! *

Tamaki, with as much grace and inner peace as he could muster, did not in fact give into his desire to strangle the two identical boys, "For the last time today… Hikaru, Kaoru? If you are not going to tell me whatever it is you're trying to tease me with, please leave me alone."

Hikaru laughed leaned backwards over the back of Tamaki's couch, staring at the blond upside-down, "No way, Boss."

His brother copied his move, "We're havin-WOAH!" Kaoru suddenly slipped onto the couch cushions, his feet falling over his head as his hands scrambled for purchase on the couch cushions, "HELP!"

Tamaki slipped an arm over his torso to keep him pinned to the back of the couch while Hikaru and Jin grabbed at the redhead's legs. Renge simply threw the pile of papers into the air and walked away.

*\/*

"And this is-"

Kyoya leaned forward, right hand outstretched for a handshake while his left arm wound itself around Jin's torso, "Kyoya Ootori, Jin's boyfriend, also second year. I trust your flight was-"

"She could do better!"

The ravenet froze, his smile still on his face as he slowly turned to look over his shoulder, "Excuse me?"

The twins stared back with blank faces before they took off for the other end of the set… or possibly Canada.

* Until the Day it Becomes a Pumpkin! *

Surprisingly, Ayame was the one to look over her shoulder and smile at the other brunette, "Nonsense! Even if we don't pick your idea, I for one would like to hear about what commoners do for fun and relaxation!"

_ Do jello-shots count?  _ Another couple blinks, "Well, I always enjoyed… um…" Jin's eyes went wide and she stared at her desktop, snapping her fingers, "A… oh my god, it's on the tip of my tongue."

"Bonfire?"

"* _ BLEEP _ *! YES! THAT THING!"

*\/*

A lid slowly swung open, revealing Nekozawa-senpai curled up inside. For once, the boy looked completely at home in his surroundings. His shoulders weren't slouched, and while the smile on his face wasn't any less evil than before, it lacked the occasional nervous dips that came with him being in a brightly lit atmosphere.

"Ume-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Hm… two reasons. One, I overheard a few weeks ago that my old music tutor and friend is now in a relationship with a particular… um, what's going on?"

The coffin lid was slowly closing again, completely cutting Nekozawa off. The group stared in confusion as there was a faint knocking sound coming from the inside right before it reopened…

...and closed again.

"Uh… can we have someone come over and check the machinery in Ume-kun's coffin? Thanks!"

* Family Outings! *

"Well, we should probably follow them…" Tamaki froze in the middle of a step when a familiar hand fell on his shoulder, gripping it tight.

"No need to act so tense, Tamaki. As much as I… wish I knew my lines, I'm afraid that's not the case."

*\/*

" _ I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I´m sure~ _

_ And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door~ _

_ Now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself do-own! _

_ Cause I just can't wait till you write me you're coming around... _

_ I'm walkin' on Sunshine~ _

_ Woah-oah! _

_ I'm walkin' on Sunshine~ _

_ Woah- _ WOAH!"

Jin fell flat on her face, straw and grass sticking to her cheek.

"Ow…"

* Mori-senpai Has an Apprentice Candidate! *

"Don't be ridiculous. He hasn't hinted to being interested in you, yet."

The brunette opened her mouth, but just then Tamaki announced, "I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of Mori-senpai's charm comes dirict… dirict? Dirict-i-de-do-da! Sorry."

*\/*

"No, it's alright. I'd probably just pull you down with me." Ritsu tried to wave her off, but she grabbed his right hand and yanked, pulling him straight to his feet. The boy was so surprised he took a frantic step forward… and tripped.

"Ah!"

"Eep!"

The redhead managed to catch himself just before he flattened the other girl, and he immediately paled, "Oh my… I'm so sorry!"

" _ Kasanoda… would you mind removing yourself from above my girlfriend? _ "

Kyoya's cold tone almost froze Kasanoda completely were it not for his demand to move. Hastily, he rolled to his side, managing to pale and blush at the same time as Jin was helped up, "I-I'm sorry! I… I'll just go reset."

As he hurried away, Jin frowned and lightly hit Kyoya's chest, "Yandere."

* Tamaki's Unwitting Depression! *

Tamaki scowled at the headline of his script, "Okay, which one of you named this episode?"

*\/*

"S-s-so… Haruhi is… a girl?"

The four hosts surrounding him flashed red glowing eyes, snarls kicking up another notch. "How much of her maidenly terra-incognito did you-  _ ah _ , incognito. Boo."

*\/*

"Why don't you have a hat on?"

"C-couldn't find it." Now that various parts of her were warming up, the cold parts were becoming much more prominent. Thankfully, Kyoya's whole person was radiating a comfortable level of heat. She sighed softly as the tip of her cold nose buried itself into the crook of Kyoya's neck and shoulder. And even though she knew it probably wasn't all that great for him -she felt him shiver when she did it- Jin didn't hear him complain.

She smirked against his collarbone before quickly moving her hands down and underneath Kyoya's shirt, pressing her freezing cold hands against his bare back. The boy shouted in alarm, back arching at the sudden shock.

"JIN!"

The brunette was laughing as she quickly removed her hands, "Couldn't resi- _ IIIIIIIST! KYOYA! _ "

While she'd been distracted, her boyfriend had placed his hands underneath her shirt, resting on the curve of her waist. His hands were just as cold! The brunette attempted to run, but Kyoya grabbed on tight, pressing his cold fingers against the bottom of her ribcage as she shrieked at the feeling.

"Reset! Stop messing around, you two! We're almost an hour behind schedule!"

*\/*

The four looked at the boy expectantly. Usually, calling him 'King' got him to snap out of every funk he managed to get himself into. It was like a fail-safe reset button. Unfortunately, he just gripped the black fabric tighter, a soft whimper escaping with every exhale. Jin was now efficiently pinned, her skirt drawn so tightly around her legs that she couldn't escape his hold on her. But she simply patted his head softly.

"There, there, Tama-kun."

The twins grabbed the blond by his shoulders and tried to haul him away. Jin squeaked, her hands grabbing at her skirt's waistline, "W-wait! Guys, stop! He's still got a grip on my skirt! S-stop! AH! NO!"

A sudden pull had managed to pull Jin's skirt all the way off the curve of her backside, dark blue panties exposed to the world. Quickly, Tamaki let go of the black fabric and the three boys turned around, red-faced and spewing apologies. Jin frantically pulled it up, blushing just as hard. She could hardly stand to look Kyoya in the face, which would've been difficult anyways with him staring off the in other direction, his ears a very prominent red that matched the back of his neck.

"RESET, YOU PERVERTS!"

* For the Heart of Jin Fujioka! *

Quite a few miles away, Kyoya Ootori sighed in content as his cool grey eyes looked out the window. Two lithe arms were crossed over his shoulders and upper chest, holding him a little closer to the warm body he was leaning up against.

Jin rested her left cheek against the top of her boyfriend's head as they lounged in the window alcove. This was truly a rare treat for either of them, having a spur of the moment lunch date such as this. Even though it was now far too cold to have a picnic outside, they were plenty comfortable in the little seating area beneath the window.

_ FOOMP! _

"Ahh!"

The couple jumped up from their spot, Jin spitting out rose petals. The whole window alcove was down buried in the things, the girl's bento box completely hidden from sight.

The two looked up and glared at the raised platform, "HIKARU! KAORU!"

"She's our unofficial older sister now, Kyoya-senpai!"

"This is your hazing week in order to be allowed to date her!"

"I'm already dating her, you * _ bleep _ *!"

"CUT!"

* And so Kyoya Met Him! *

"Alright… five more to go. We're almost done!" Renge's announcement was met with cheers and even a few tears of joy. "Let's power through, people! We'll need everyone on the main set to start… where's Jin-senpai?"

Haruhi cleared her throat, "Renge… you didn't perhaps have her go 'inspect' the kotatsu to make sure they were working, right?"

"Why do you sound so nervous?"

The short brunette sighed and walked around to the 'set' for the club room, "Because of that."

Jin was fast asleep, most of her body curled up beneath one of the many kotatsu dotting the set, her arms and head propped up on a pillow.

Kyoya went over to wake his girlfriend up as Haruhi turned to explain, "If Nēchan gets underneath one of those, she's usually out like a light. Just for future reference."

" _ Uhhh... no... I don' wanna get up... _ "

* The Power Couple's third-wheels !*

Kyoya responded with a smirk before sitting up slightly, using his hand to steer Jin down for a proper kiss on the lips.

The two broke apart when a pencil hit Kyoya's shoulder before rolling away across the floor.

"Oh my- get a room, you two! Geez!"

Haruhi frantically started packing up her stuff as Jin started laughing, "I thought you two were  _ over _ the lovey-dovey Honeymoon phase? It's disturbing enough to see  _ Kyoya-senpai _ doing those things, but the fact that he's doing it with my  _ sister _ is-" she was cut off with her own fake gagging. Kyoya had recaptured Jin's lips while her little sister had gone on a tirade.

"Please keep in mind that we  _ all _ use that couch, Nēchan! Also, fair warning, the walls are thin!"

And she quickly shut herself into her bedroom, unable to not smile along as her sister's laughter followed her. It grossed her out… but she was undeniably happy for her sister.

Even if she was the occasion-

" _ Jesus! _ "

_ Thud! _

"Oof!"

Haruhi's eyes narrowed when she heard her sister crack up again, opening up the door and peeking out. She started laughing as well, along with the rest of the crew. Kyoya was sitting on the floor by Jin's feet, rubbing at the back of his head.

He'd fallen off the couch.

"Are… are-pffft  _ ha! _ A-are you okay-ha-ha-haaaa!"

The ravenet glared at his girlfriend, "Your concern is underwhelming. And I'm fine, thank you very much."

* The Host Club Declares Dissolution! *

Tamaki leaned forward, " _ We've _ decided to go with the 18th century French cosplay tomorrow night. Our rose designs will be delivered and attached to the carriage before we go out, as well. And after the parade, everyone will gather for an outdoor dance that will end with a firework show!"

Jin and Kyoya glanced at each other before the girl's foot lightly kicked at the blond's leg, "And the fireworks are going to be done by  _ professionals _ , right? We don't want a repeat of our last dance, do we?"

Tamaki chuckled nervously, "No… it'll be professionally done. And they should be going off somewhere above the school instead of in the courtyard. Nothing to worry abo-"

_ Wheee~ _

The group looked up in alarm as a random firework went off above their heads, just a little too close for comfort. The hot ashes rained down on them.

"Jump ship!"

The host club clambered down and ran, Jin squeaking in panic when her skirt began to smolder, quickly stomping on the burning edge while her boyfriend grabbed a cup of water to help put it out. Hikaru and Kaoru tripped over their own feet, rolling over the grass. Honey was quickly scooped up by his cousin, Mori using himself as a shield for the smaller boy as he ran. Haruhi, of course, ran to the tree line and found shelter, quickly starting to shout at her boyfriend for running around the square like a moron.

"Professionally done, you said! Nothing to worry about, you said!"

*\/*

The brunette started furiously scrolling up and down the excel file as Kyoya turned in his seat, "Participating in the auction for the use of the main parlor withstanding, you had a 18th century period styled carriage shipped all the way from France instead of using the one provided by the school. Your impulsive behavior is going to get us all into trouble one day."

His girlfriend nibbled her bottom lip, "It's… not too bad. Fixable… but… oh. Kyo-kun, did you mean for me to see this?"

"See what?" The ravenet leaned over and his eyes went wide, "I swear I don't recognize those."

"It's your laptop, Kyo-kun. Who else could've…" they exchanged unimpressed looks before she raised her voice, "Okay, you two! How did you manage to hack Kyoya's computer?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Jin-nēchan!" The twins were hiding, as per usual, behind a nearby pillar, "You're so accusatory today!"

"Altered photos of me in the nude? Really?"

Tamaki choked on his own spit as the twins started laughing, "Wow! Your boyfriend is even more sexually frustrated than we thought!"

Jin rolled her eyes, "If he wanted nude photos of me, he would ask for them before trying to make them himself. Stop hazing him, you hear me? And besides," she squinted at the screen again, "You didn't even get the right measurements. My chest is bigger than  _ that. _ "

"HOW MANY TIMES!" Renge shouted, "PG! WE'RE RATING THIS DOCUMENTARY PG!"

* A Light in the Darkness! *

Kyoya's mouth actually fell open as all of the pieces suddenly clicked into place. Jin kept going, like she was trying to push the words out of her mouth as fast as possible, "Eclair told me about it. I- she was talking to your father before she called for me. She's already got him on a leash, which means he's at her beck and- phaaaa! Wrong! Damn it! Can I try again?"

Behind the scenes, Renge's head was in her hands. She simply lifted one hand and made a circular motion, without even looking up.  _ Reset. _

* This is Our Ouran Fair! *

Jin's head jerked to the left, surprised, "What?"

"Please. I've hurt them enough by dragging them into the club without thinking of how it would affect their lives. Now that I'm disbanding the club, I can't just let them handle the bangl- Bangladesh? Yeah, I can't just let them handle the Bangladesh on their own. That wouldn't be fair."

Jin grabbed the sides of the window, laughing so hard her breath was fogging up the glass.

*\/*

The Host Club and their manager watched as Jin did her best to recreate the scene on the carriage. Even though it was only a recreation and she was completely safe, their hearts hammered in unison as the girl hung on for 'dear life'.

"Man… Jin-chan's amazing."

"She's a Boss-ass * _ bleep _ *." The others nodded in agreement as she began to pull the bolts out of the front of the carriage.

"Kyoya-senpai, you're literally dating a robot."

"Explain?"

"There's no way an actual human would be capable of these things outside of a Hollywood movie."

"Hey!" The carriage stopped bucking and Jin's head peeked above the seats, "This isn't as easy as it looks so if you could stop distracting me I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Sorry, Jin-chan! You're just too cool!"

"Noted."

"Reset!"

*\/*

The couple parted, eyes half-lidded in the dim glow of the fireworks as the lights around the courtyard turned off for optimal viewing.

" _ I don't think I'm entirely convinced. Prove it to me again, Glasses? _ "

" _ As you wish, Darling. _ "

"Oh, why don't you two just  _ elope _ for goodness sakes?"

Everyone started laughing, Tamaki holding Haruhi tightly as the twins complained about her stealing their line. For once, Jin and Kyoya didn't seem to care, too busy kissing each other in the low light.

* Time Skip *

"We're done!"

The room exploded into cheers and high-fives, everyone quickly starting to pack up. Jin sighed and pressed her forehead against Kyoya's shoulder.

"So... how long is the blooper reel?"

Renge glared at the hosts before turning around and walking away.

"That long, huh?"

Kyoya sighed, slipping an arm around Jin's waist, "Well, blooper reels do tend to help boost prices. I doubt she'll be complaining in a week."

"Yeah, the rest of the school gets to see how you're all idiotic, possessive, and crazy. Oh, and we all swear. Yeah, that'll  _ definitely _ make the host club popular."

"More than half of those outtakes were of you and Kyoya-senpai unable to keep your hands off each other."

"The sales will be just fine."

Jin rolled her eyes, but smiled anyways as the group of eight walked out of the music room, talking about what to expect when they reopened the Host Club doors tomorrow afternoon.

 


	55. Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling you'll like this bonus…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, you probably guessed it: Host Club 2nd generation!  
> Ahhhh~ I couldn't help myself! Just imagining the dynamic between their children, having grown up together in a very family-like atmosphere... crushes, businesses, school, parents, their own craziness that they inherited... there's so much! I had to write out at least one chapter introducing them all!  
> I hope you like them!  
> Also, little note. Ignore the implied age difference between the twins and Kazuki from the epilogue chapter. In order for this to work like I wanted it to, I had to do a little tweaking.

 

* Many Years Later *

* March 22nd *

"Here you go, Glasses."

Kyoya looked over his right shoulder, reaching up to take the slightly steaming tea cup from his wife, "Thank you, Darling." He received a quick kiss to his temple before Jin walked back into the Suoh's kitchen, probably to clean up whatever mess she had made while preparing the tea.

Tamaki appeared soon after from the same doorway she disappeared behind with two cups in his hands. The blond carefully made his way to the second couch in the living room, where his own wife was waiting. Haruhi took both of the cups while he sat down beside her, passing one back and leaning into his side as he got comfortable. The shorter brunette had her hair pinned up in a small bun, held together by roughly a million and one bobby pins… the only 'up' style her still relatively short hair could be put into.

The woman sighed and took a small sip of her drink before shutting her eyes, "So, have your girls started making plans for next school year already?"

"Setsuko is the most likely out of the two, but I don't think they've really planned out anything too specific other than their clubs and extracurricular classes." Kyoya took a shallow drink out of his own cup, "Junko's still trying to decide between taking Greek or German."

Tamaki began shaking his head, "I just can't  _ believe _ they're heading to high school already! It feels like they were knee high only yesterday!"

"Don't get too sentimental now, Tamaki. What are you going to do when they start heading to college?"

The blond nodded at his best friend, "You're right… at least they're here now."

"MOOOOOOM! DAAAAAAD!"

Kyoya shot Tamaki a dry look, "You were saying?"

"Hey, those weren't  _ my _ kids."

Jin emerged from the kitchen, her hands rubbing a towel in between them as she looked up the staircase that lined the left wall of the living room, "Looks like they're at it again…"

As predicted, Junko and Setsuko Ootori appeared at the second floor railing, staring down into the living room with their black hair swinging wildly from their short run. They didn't look very happy.

"We need your opinion."

"Please."

Their father smirked and shook his head, turning back to the tea in his hands, "You both know we won't answer  _ that _ question."

Setsuko, the twin on their right, opened her mouth to respond, but just then a boy with dirty blond hair rushed out to join them, an amused smile on his face, "Will they do it?"

"What do  _ you _ think?"

Masa Suoh pouted, the expression making him look even more like his father than usual. Truthfully, the only thing that separated the two male Suoh's was the hair color, which wouldn't even be true if Masa hadn't dyed his hair. Kyoya knew that Tamaki had been somewhat saddened when his first born had decided, out of the blue, to dye his hair from a perfect blond to a browner shade, no longer matching his father's middle school photos.

But when the teenager, embarrassingly, admitted that it was because he hadn't inherited anything from his mother, Tamaki had dropped the subject  _ quick. _

"Awww," he leaned his upper body over the railing, which made Haruhi cringe a little, "Why not?"

"Because you're all idiots." A fourth voice sounded from the second floor right before a brunet appeared from behind them and started walking down the staircase. Masa began to applaud the younger boy with as much sarcasm as possible while the twins glared at their little brother.

"Shut up, Ka-ki!"

"Shut up, Zu-ki!"

The boy scoffed, shooting the twins a smirk over his shoulder before turning back to the phone in his right hand, his other lightly trailing the railing as he continued down the stairs. Kazuki walked over to the couch his father was seated on and sat down, smiling slightly when his mother pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head.

Kyoya met Jin's gaze for a split second.

_ He's your son, alright. _

The older man rolled his eyes at the silent teasing, but didn't rebuke. He'd honestly lost count of the number of times he'd been told that his only son looked exactly like he did when he was younger, save for the brown hair and eyes. Unlike his sisters, Kazuki had decided to keep his glasses instead of switching to contacts. They were a little bigger than his father's -and not thick with age- but the way the oval shape accented his sharp features remained the same. His hair was a similar story, having a nearly identical cut as his father but with the style inverted. Not to mention how his eyes were staring the the phone in his hands with a familiar intensity.

Yes, Kyoya knew  _ exactly _ who his son took after.

Back at the top of the stairs, Masa finally moved back to the right side of the railing and leaned against the wall to his left instead, "Come on, just admit it! There's no shame!"

Junko gritted her teeth, shoulder-length hair flaring out as she spun towards the boy, "Se-su and I were not  _ rushed! _ " Her younger-by-four-minutes sister grabbed at her upper arm, just in case she charged their cousin, " _ You _ were the rushed one! Uncle Tamaki made it a contest-"

"Ah, ah, ah~" Masa shook his finger at his restrained cousin, "You're forgetting that once Uncle  _ Kyoya _ heard that my mom was pregnant with me, he went and conceived you two in the following  _ week _ . The fact that you were twins and were born first by default was a fluke. If there had only been one of you, it would've been a race at the ninth trimester to see who would pop out first. You two... were  _ rushed _ ."

The four adults and one teenager in the living room shared concerned glances with each other before looking back at the second floor. As tired as they were with hearing the same argument at least once a month since the trio turned eight years old, it was also somewhat amusing… if not a bit embarrassing for the two fathers. And besides, this was often the moment when their parentage was most prominent.

Whenever Masa taunted his cousins, he was showing off his father's ability to quickly irritate his friends with his hardheadedness and his mother's bravery that almost translated into stupidity. After all, considering he was knowingly annoying the Presidents of the Karate and Kendo clubs at Ouran Academy's middle school, it was almost eyebrow raising… despite how the girls wouldn't destroy him beyond repair like they very well could. On the other hand, when angered, the Ootori twins became just as scary as their parents.

"Masa, you're the 'express delivery' deal that got caught in a bad storm. Setsu-onēchan and Jun-onēchan were the 'buy-one-get-one-free' deal."

The blond at the top of the stairs began howling with laughter as the twins shouted their personalized nicknames for their younger brother again. The brunet merely smiled at them before returning his attention to his phone. Jin hid a snicker behind her hand. It was no secret that the Ootori children had inherited their parent's sharp tongue and quick wit, and they didn't pull punches around family. Besides, Kazuki didn't have to worry about his sister's wrath. They were his defenders and wouldn't dare harm a single hair of his head, meaning he could get away with his high levels of sass and sarcasm.

Not that he really needed protecting.

All of Kyoya and Jin's children had begun training at the Haninozuka dojo when they turned seven, and while Kazuki had never held the same interest in continuing the martial arts like his sisters, the boy  _ did _ have a  _ perfect _ jumping roundhouse kick.

"Niichan! Don't be so mean!"

The adults turned their heads to the other side of the living room, seeing a small face poking out from the doorway that lead to the Suoh's basement. As she stood there, two brown and white Shiba Inus rushed out of the opening. The female walked over to Tamaki's feet and sat down, resting her head on his knee to be pet. Her brother rushed to Jin, also taking a seat at her side, ears moving back as she scratched behind them.

The long-haired brunette smiled softly at the eleven-year-old, "You having fun downstairs with your cousins, Hana-chan?"

The little girl beamed at her mother, nodding. She was the youngest of the Ootori seven -if you counted in dog years for Taiki as well- and was clearly the 'mix' of her parents. Dark brown hair that was black in low light. Kyoya's nose. Jin's cheekbones. Even a hint of her Grandpa Ootori in her eyebrows. Too adorable to be legal, really, and just as kind as her mother.

And she was the only one of Kyoya's four children to inherit his grey eyes.

The laughter from the upstairs railing suddenly cut off with a screech, sending the two dogs into a barking frenzy. Tamaki and Kyoya were on their feet just as a door slammed shut on the second floor, Masa no longer visible from the living room. The slamming must've been his bedroom door.

It only took Junko one short snicker and the girls to exchange a low five for their mother to realize what had happened.

Stroking her dog with one calming hand and holding her hip and the towel with the other, she frowned up at her eldest children, "Setsuko…"

The girls winced, knowing full well what that tone meant. And when  _ one _ of them was in trouble, usually the  _ other _ was as well. The younger of the twins tugged at her over-the-shoulder braid, turning to face the living room but not meeting her mother's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mom… but he was really annoying us."

Jin raised an eyebrow, "He's like his father, so I understand, but that also means you can't use your glare on him like that. That would be like if your father and I started glaring at your Uncle at the same time."

Tamaki shuddered from his spot on the floor, Miwa's furry face cupped in his hands, and glanced up at his sister-in-law, "Please don't give me that mental image."

Even so, it was true. Setsuko might be the calmer of the two girls, but she had crafted the perfect glare. A somewhat unholy combination of her father's ruthlessness and her mother's fury. She's actually caused Masa to faint the first time she'd tried in on him. Kyoya and Jin had been somewhat impressed, but they never said so out loud.

The sound of heavy footsteps on stairs alerted the others of the last children to join the conversation. Hana quickly left the doorway she had been standing in front of and went over to her father and brother, leaving room for her cousins to lean out of the basement staircase.

"What happened?"

"We heard screaming!"

Aiko, the youngest, ran all the way out into the living room while Kaede remained at the doorway, the two of them looking around in concern and interest. Headsets were dangling around their necks, having been interrupted from whatever online game they'd been playing downstairs before their older siblings decided to create an argument.

Of course, when he spotted his younger children, Tamaki smiled and sat back on the couch, tossing an arm over Haruhi's shoulders, "Well,  _ whichever _ one of us rushed,  _ I  _ still collected the whole set."

"Oh, not  _ this  _ again!"

Ignoring his best friend, Tamaki started his usual headcount by pointing up the staircase.

"Boy."

To his wife, "Nonbinary."

To Aiko, "Girl."

And finally to Kaede with a big smile, "Gender-fluid! Full house!"

Kaede, who was wearing a purple gem on her necklace, looked away like she was embarrassed, but she was still smiling as she asked, "Then what are you, Dad?"

"An embarrassment."

Hana giggled at the look on her uncle's face before leaning against her father, looping her arms around his right arm and nuzzling his shoulder, "You're gonna keep convincing Niichan to say mean things."

"Not necessarily." Kyoya smiled at his youngest, heart swelling a little as she cuddled up to him, "I've been best friend's with your uncle since before I even met your mother. I'm allowed a few quips here and there."

"I disagree." Haruhi laughed and kissed her husband's cheek, making him relax his pout.

"Hey, Ka-ki?"

"Who are you texting?"

While the adults had been distracted, the twins had made their way down the staircase and were now trying to peer at their brother's phone from over his shoulder. The brunet jerked the device away, clearly fighting a small blush.

"Gina. And she just asked if her family could come over."

Tamaki grinned, "Of course! Tell her the other half of their family is invited, too." His wife and sister-in-law nodded in agreement, but Kyoya's expression was a little wary. The Suoh's exchanged a glance of amusement as Jin wrapped her arms loosely around her husband's shoulders, their children and pets running up the stairs to alert Masa of their friends coming over, ready to drag him out of his bedroom if necessary.

" _ I don't understand why you're so worried. _ "

" _ Because I'm not. _ "

" _ Sure. _ " He couldn't see her face, but from being together for almost 26 years he knew that his wife was smiling softly, " _ I think it's sweet. _ "

" _ Sweet or no, I'm already related to Tamaki and semi-related to both Mitsukuni and Takashi. I am  _ not  _ particularly interested in collecting the whole set. _ "

Jin giggled in his ear, " _ What happened to wanting to create strong business ties with big names? _ " Her husband scoffed. " _ Besides, it's only a little crush. They're still young. _ "

" _ So were we. _ "

She kissed his cheek, " _ Should I invite the rest of the Host Club pack? _ "

" _ I do believe that's up to your sister. _ "

Smiling, but not releasing her husband, Jin looked up at Haruhi who held up a hand, "Already done."

* Time Skip *

_ Ding dong! _

"I'll get it!" Aiko hopped off her stool and ran out of the doorway leading from the kitchen to the front door, following the sound of barking dogs rushing to help greet the newcomers.

Her mother and aunt watched her from the sink, where they'd been washing the dishes as the younger brunette had complained about how Kaede had clearly cheated in the game they'd been playing. Behind them, from the second doorway to the kitchen that lead to the living room, the women heard the conversation cut off. They exchanged a glance.

_ Think it's too late to lock up your fine china? _

_ From whom? Chiasa? Mari? Or their fathers? _

_ All of them? _

They laughed as the front door opened. Instantly a surge of various greetings and other chatter entered the household, along with the sound of eight different footsteps stepping inside, where they echoed around the foyer. Unable to not smile, Jin and Haruhi drained the dirty water and dried their hands. There were still a few dishes left, but Tamaki and Kyoya could take care of them after dinner. It  _ was _ their turn. Perhaps Hikaru and Kaoru would help? After all, they'd probably stay for dinner...

"Aunt Jin!" A fourteen year old girl raced into the kitchen from the same doorway Aiko had exited only a few seconds ago, quickly wrapping her arms around her 'aunt'.

Smiling, the woman hugged back, stroking the red hair of Hikaru's only child, "Hello, Chiasa!"

A chorus of 'Aunt Jin' and 'Aunt Haruhi' sounded from the doorway again as Kaoru's children ran in next. Gina and Mitsuo hugged Haruhi while Mari latched herself around Jin's right leg. The sisters gave each other another glance.

_ Have you noticed the troublemakers always hug  _ me  _ first? _

_ Of course. _

_ You're laughing at me. _

_ Yes. _

Jin stuck her tongue out before looking back down at the four Hitachiins. Chiasa was smiling sweetly, like her mother could, her expression not matching her devious plans that usually ended with glue and chicken feathers stuck on at least one member of their group. Of course, Mari, the youngest of them all, was far worse.

"Gina?"

The blond perked up, releasing her aunt, "Hi, Kazuki!" She headed to the living room, quickly hugging Jin as she passed by before following Jin's only son out of the kitchen. Jin smiled as she left. She liked Gina. Of course, she liked the whole second generation of the Host Club, but Gina had a soft spot in Jin's heart, partially because of the blond's growing attachment to her son...

And besides, Gina had a good head on her shoulders. While she might be the same age as her troublemaker cousin, she was much calmer. She would often fine-tune Chiasa and Mari's pranks so no one could be hurt, but rarely participated in the execution. She was the cushion and caretaker of the Hitachiin quad, much like Junko, Setsuko, and Masa were for the Suoh and Ootori group.

The remaining girls let go of Jin, hugging their other aunt briefly before running after their cousin/older sister. Mitsuo was the last to leave, giving Jin an equally long and sincere hug after letting go of Haruhi. It was always the strangest sense of Deja Vu whenever Jin saw the only Hitachiin boy. He was almost an exact copy of his father and uncle, down to his preferred clothing style. Even now, with his fashionable long sleeve shirt and scarf that he never seemed to take off during the winter season, Jin almost expected to see another boy just like him walking into the kitchen, calling out for his twin.

That thought vanished, of course, when the boy's father and uncle walked into the room with their wives and two dogs still sniffing around their legs and ankles.

"You know, I'm starting to think our kids like you more than they like us!"

Mitsuo smiled teasingly at his uncle before releasing Jin and running after the sound of his siblings and friends. Jin watched him go, not even reacting to the following dual thumps falling onto her shoulders. Her dog whined at seeing his owner 'attacked', but other than that simply followed the Hitachiin children into the living room with Miwa at his side.

" _ Oh, Aunt Jin! Aunt Jin! How we've missed you so! _ "

" _ Aunt Jin! Our parents are so  _ boring!  _ We know  _ you'll  _ never grow old! _ "

" _ Oh, Aunt Jin~ _ "

Haruhi giggled along with Akane and Maaya as the tall brunette attempted to remove the redheads from her person. Jin was laughing as well, and her wriggling was halfhearted, seeing as how Hikaru and Kaoru did this basically every time they saw each other.

A sudden chorus from the living room captured their attention.

"Uncle Kyoya! Uncle Tamaki!"

Instantly, the older twins released their captive and ran out of the kitchen, joining in on the cheers. Their wives and 'sisters' shook their heads before following. The scene they walked in on belonged on the internet. Hikaru and Kaoru had reached the other 'Dads' in the house before their children could get close, squeezing the other men tightly even as they struggled. The eleven children were laughing and dancing around the four of them with glee, trying to avoid stepping on the dogs as they ran around in confusion. Even Kazuki was taking multiple photos with his phone, Gina draping herself over his shoulder to watch before she fell back because she was laughing so hard.

"Kaoru! Let go! Do you want me to drop this on your head?" Kyoya had his left arm up in the air, having just barely managed to keep it out of the death grip, a puzzle box in his hand. Tamaki was holding a board game in his arms, but he hadn't pulled it away fast enough, so it was now uncomfortably squished between his and Hikaru's bodies. Instantly, Jin and Haruhi knew where their husbands had been when the Hitachiin's arrived.

In the Suoh house, they kept all of their games in their basement, including video games, board games, puzzles, 'artistic' toys, and various others. Many of them had entertained the Suoh children, their cousins, and their friends since they could understand basic rules and objectives. As they grew older, though, the games for smaller children slowly began migrating to the top shelves to make room for the more age-appropriate entertainment.

However, even though the youngest Suoh was turning twelve in exactly a month, there were still four other children in their group of fourteen who were younger and were still entertained by 100 piece puzzles. It was clear that the Dads had decided to fetch a few games before the small children who couldn't reach them could even ask.

Jin smiled a little wider and walked over, easily taking the boxes from her husband and brother-in-law and elbowing the redheads, "Alright you two, you've had your fun. Let your kids have a turn."

They whined but did as they were told, letting their four kids hug Kyoya and Tamaki in their place, Mari using the couch to leap onto Tamaki's back like the crazy child she was. Of course, Hikaru and Kaoru themselves were bombarded with hugs from the Ootori and Suoh clan, so the complaints died off quickly.

Ruffling Kazuki's hair, despite his complaints, Hikaru smiled at his friend, "So, when are the others getting here?"

_ Ding dong! _

"Now, I guess." Jin passed off the games to Kaede before hurrying to the front door, Taiki at her heels while Miwa continued to try knocking Tamaki over with the rest of the Hitachiins.

The Suoh's front door, if you were walking up to it from outside, was on the left side of the house. The foyer's style was actually very similar to the one in the Ootori's home, as they were, technically, in the same neighborhood. Both families were always silently grateful for the open space every time their friends gathered, considering the large groups that tended to arrive within minutes of each other. And should all four families show up at the same time? Jin shook her head, trying to remove the unpleasant memories of being sandwiched between a mass of bodies and her closet doors last Christmas Eve.

She pulled open the door and was immediately hugged around the waist.

"Aunt Jin!"

The brunette smiled as her dog launched himself out the door to greet the people still in the driveway, "Sadao!"

Honey's youngest son beamed up at her, giving Jin's early memories a small tickle. That same exact smile had greeted her to the dojo every day when she was younger, except this one wasn't immediately quailed by thoughts of not being 'manly' or worry of being spotted by his father. Instead, it continued to be wide and sincere. Sadao Haninozuka definitely had his father's bubbly personality and giant smile, his second most prominent features being his mother's dark hair and eyes.

Jin's view of the ten-year-old was suddenly blocked by two more arms hugging her around her chest, the announcement of 'Aunt Jin' proclaiming the arrival of Sadao's older brother, Yuudai, and second cousin, Nobuo.

"Nobuo! Thank god you're here!"

At the sound of his best friend calling his name, Mori's only child squeezed and released his 'Aunt' before disappeared into the house after Kaede. His parents were making their way up the porch, followed by Honey and Reiko, when Yuudai let go of her and went inside. Sadao instantly released Jin and ran after his darkly-dressed older brother, his favorite stuffed giraffe clutched in his arms, Taiki following after him.

Jin's next hug was with Mori, "Your son is getting so  _ tall! _ I bet he'll pass you soon enough."

The ravenet shrugged, but was smiling all the same. They all knew it was a source of pride for the Morinozuka that only child took after him, despite the brown eyes of his mother and the fact he spoke aloud much more often. Hisayo smiled at her husband before hugging her friend, barely getting a moment before Honey was launching himself at the brunette and she had to step out of the way.

"Jin! Are we the last ones? Do you have snacks? Do you mind if we stay for dinner?"

Grinning, the brunette began leading her friends indoors, "Actually, there's a few tea sandwiches in the kitchen. I was going to bring them out once everyone got settled. Haru said you're all invited to dinner, though she had a feeling you'd invite yourselves even if she didn't. Want some tea?"

"I can make it," Reiko smiled at her friend, still not one for much hugging outside of her immediate family, "I know where your sister and husband keep their things. You've probably made tea for everyone else so far, let me handle it."

Jin's shoulders smoothed out, "Thank you, Reiko."

The ravenette nodded back and disappeared into the kitchen, her husband following. Mori and his wife went into the living room and Jin followed the two of them, quickly taking a headcount of everyone she could see.

The other adults were in the living room on various cushions and seats, Tamaki and Haruhi now seated next to Kyoya, though there was still a little room left for her beside her husband. In the open space between the couches, the back wall, and the entertainment center were Sadao, Mari, Hana, and Aiko. They were currently sitting at one of the coffee tables they'd moved from in front of the couches, arguing over what game they should play first, Miwa contently curled up by Aiko's feet. As Jin settled down beside her husband, she watched as Kaede, now sporting a bright green charm on his necklace, lead Nobuo, Chiasa, and Yuudai down from the second floor as they shouted quips about beating each other at Kaede's new video game.

The brunette watched as her nephew disappeared through the doorway leading downstairs, and couldn't help but wonder when he'd realized that he didn't need the necklace to help the younger kids gender him correctly. After spending their whole lives together, it was getting to the point where they could just  _ tell _ . Of course, they did have very inquisitive parents… so perhaps that helped.

The door to the basement shut behind Yuudai, and Jin was surprised when Sadao didn't immediately abandon his game to follow after his big brother. But considering a puzzle had just been opened in front of him, perhaps it wasn't that big of a shock.

"Alright, that's eight down. Where are the other six?"

Kyoya hummed, looping an arm around his wife's waist as the Haninozuka's came out of the kitchen, "Upstairs. Masa's bedroom, I'm sure of it, but that's only because he broke Tamaki down about having a television in his bedroom. Taiki followed them up there. Kazuki, Mitsuo, and Gina will probably head downstairs in a few minutes, and the other three will either follow or start another argument."

"Great."

For a moment, the twelve adults sat in silence with their fresh cups tea as their children played with each other. It wasn't often that they got peace of any kind, no matter how big or small the area they were in. Because as much as their children were each other's family and best friends, they were also young...

...and the Host Club second generation.

* Ten minutes later *

" _ Yuudai, are you attempting to curse my controls? What do you mean 'what are you talking about'? I can _ see _ your Occult curses book behind your back! Cheater!" _

" _ Quit taking selfies on my phone! You're using up all my storage space! _ "

"Hey! Stop that!"

Hana was running around the table, scooping up puzzle pieces from the floor as Mari and Sadao continued pelting each other with them. Aiko was holding onto Miwa's collar, holding her back from sniffing at the pieces on the floor, "You're gonna lose the pieces!"

"Uncle Kaoru! Uncle Honey! Make them stop!"

" _ Just pause it! I have to use the bathroom! _ "

" _ Empty bladders are for the weak! _ "

A shout echoed down from the vents leading upstairs, " _ For the last time, we can't be in two clubs at the same time! _ "

" _ Do you have any idea how  _ crazy  _ that would make our schedules? _ "

" _ But the Host Club is basically our  _ namesake!  _ How can you turn away from that? _ "

The adults glanced at each other and, as one, began to sip their drinks. From all around the house, the complaints began degrading from actual sentences into:

"Moooom!"

" _ Daaaad! _ "

"Uncle Hikaru!"

"Daddy!"

" _ Aunt Haruhi? _ "

" _ Dad! _ "

"Aunt Hisayo!"

"Faaatheeer!"

" _ Mommy! _ "

" _ Uncle Kyoyaaa! _ "

" _ Mom! Dad! _ "

"Moooooooooooom!"

Jin sighed as Masa began shouting into the vents that her eldest daughters were going to kill him, "Ah… chaos. Just like the good ol' days."

"Indeed."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, since there are fourteen children in the 2nd gen., I figured you'd all appreciate it if I made a small chart of names and ages.  
> Junko & Setsuko Ootori: 15  
> Kazuki Ootori: 13  
> Hana Ootori: 11
> 
> Masa Suoh: 15  
> Kaede Suoh: 14  
> Aiko Suoh: 12
> 
> Chiasa Hitachiin: 13 (Hikaru)
> 
> Gina Hitachiin: 13 (Kaoru)  
> Mitsuo Hitachiin: 11 (Kaoru)  
> Mari Hitachiin: 8 (Kaoru)
> 
> Nobuo Morinozuka: 14
> 
> Yuudai Haninozuka: 13  
> Sadao Haninozuka: 10


	56. Bonus: Drinking Tropes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just some content for the rest of you. My wonderful reader Momochan77 has requested a chapter of the Host Club getting drunk. I’m not gonna lie, I was cracking up as I wrote this out. This will be loosely based off of a video called ‘Irish People try Tequila’. Because it’s hilarious. And because I can. And because I’ve always wanted to have the host club reenact a ‘Try Guys’ video and this is a close second.

“Should we add a vegetarian option?”

“Mmm…” Haruhi nibbled at her bottom lip as she carefully looked among the large pile of wedding invites scattered across the table. Her fiancé watched in adoration as her eyes squinted a little in her concentration.

“Yes.”

“Hm?”

The brunette gave Tamaki an ‘are-you-serious’ look, “I think we should add a vegetarian option. Just in case. Is Renge still trying that out?”

She received a head shake in return, “No. Remember how she helped Jin and Kyoya move into their new house, and your sister repaid everyone with a cookout?”

“Yeah.”

“I found Renge on the other side of the house with a plate piled high with ribs.” Tamaki shivered, “It was… a sight to see.”

Haruhi winced, not really needing that mental image at the moment, before returning to the menu her husband-to-be was scribbling down, “So, not only do we have a vegetarian option, but we’ve got a sushi bar, some high end meat that you keep telling me about, a large wedding cake… Tamaki? What’s this?” She pointed at a small note scribbled at the very bottom of the paper.

“Oh… that.” The blond rubbed at the back of his head as he tried to find the best phrasing for his next suggestion. After being with Haruhi Fujioka for over five years, he had learned to be very cautious when bringing up new… perhaps somewhat risky ideas. “It was only a thought I had. When you agreed to have a more western-hemisphere-like wedding… I did some research in case anything had changed since I’d lived in France. And as it turns out, a lot of weddings these days have something called an ‘open bar’. Basically, free alcohol for anyone who wants some.” He shrugged, “Like I said, it was only an idea.”

Haruhi tilted her head a little, “Why would you want one? I’ve never seen you drink anything harder than a wine cooler.”

“Just because I’m not big into social drinking or bar nights doesn’t mean we can’t allow for our guests to cut loose. Look, let’s just give the idea a chance to set in. We don’t have to have one if we don’t want one.”

“But what of our guests?” Haruhi’s brown eyes took on a more teasing twinkle, “Weren’t you once a  _ host _ , Tamaki? We’re supposed to make every one of our guests happy.”

Tamaki laughed and booped her nose, “Well, why don’t we ask part of the bridal party? I know that Jin would be for it, but…” he trailed off, “Actually, I don’t know what the others would say. I’ve never… seen them drink much of anything. I’ve only seen Kyoya have sips of wine before. Or was that champange?”

Haruhi hummed and sat down, tired of leaning over the table, “Well, it’s not like we’re around them 24/7… though we are cutting it kinda close. I know Nēchan’s a fan of martini’s, but other than that I’ve never  _ seen _ her go out drinking. Perhaps she and Kyoya went out once on their Honeymoon?”

“You really think Kyoya would’ve risked not remembering a split second of his Honeymoon? In the  _ Canary Isles? _ Come on, Haruhi, they almost didn’t have one because he’s CEO! I’d be surprised if they left their hotel room at all.”

Haruhi clapped her hands over her ears, “ _ I don’t wanna hear it I don’t wanna hear it I don’t wanna hear about Kyoya having sex with my sister nope, nope, nope, nope! Lalalalalalaaa~ _ ”

Tamaki laughed at his wife’s faked childishness, “Well… it would be hard for them to make the decision if none of them have ever gone drinking.”

“Tamaki… what are you thinking?”

The blond grinned, “I say we test whether our friends can hold their liquor.”

* * *

“This is a bad idea.”

Jin smiled before leaning against her husband’s side, “Oh, lighten up, Kyoya. It could be fun.”

“Then why are we being videotaped?”

The married couple looked in front of them and watched as Renge continued to fiddle with the four cameras she had set up around herself. She and the eight members of Ouran’s original host club were sitting in Tamaki and Haruhi’s living room, which had been rearranged to its current set up.

There were four tables set in a wide square, with Renge standing in the middle with her cameras, each of them pointing at a table.  Jin and Kyoya were sitting with their backs to the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen. To their right was Tamaki and Haruhi. If they looked around Renge, they’d see Hikaru and Kaoru. And Mitsukuni and Takashi were on their left. Jin grinned when she noticed how her tallest friend was smiling to himself as he texted away on his phone. It was probably that baker girl she’d introduced to him at her wedding, the one whose company she’d bought her wedding cake from. It was so cute…

“To answer your question, Kyoya,” Renge flicked a few dials here and there as she focused the camera facing them, “You might not appreciate it now, but in the future you’re all going to want to look back on these moments when you were young and still enjoyed yourself before life as CEOs and parents wears you down.”

“And that’ll  _ never _ happen to you, right, Renge? You’re too free-spirited.” Jin winked at the girl who flipped her off for a moment before returning to her cameras.

Chuckling at the antics of his wife and old friend, Kyoya draped his arm across the back of Jin’s chair, “Alright. But can you at least promise me that you will not sell these tapes, or any _copies_ of these tapes, or any  _ scripts _ of these tapes? This had better not end up like that second movie you forced us to make in high school…”

The ravenet scowled a little at the memory. They’d probably sold that movie to almost every student at the school, and there was a scene or two that gave their guests a few… mixed feelings about their hosts. For example… a certain bedroom scene when they went to beach earlier on that year. Thank goodness for the blooper reel. It managed to cover up some of the seriousness and somehow convince the guests that parts of the movie had been written in for drama and effect. His reputation had been stabilized within a few hours, but those hours had been vaguely horrifying.

Renge lifted a hand to her heart, “I promise these will not been seen by anyone who is not present in this room.”

“Good. Now, can I know what I’m going to be drinking?”

“Tequila.” Tamaki’s response got a few looks of concern, so he explained, “If we can handle some hard liquor, then we can handle a few mixed drinks at a wedding and not end up on the internet.”

Jin winced, “Your reasoning might be a little off there, Tamaki.  _ Tequila? _ Really?”

“Stop complaining, and let’s get started!” Renge shouted and lifted a bottle filled with a gold colored liquid.

The twins leaned forward a little bit, “Oooo…”

“What’s that one called?”

“Sauza. Tequila Gold.” She poured herself a few sips before passing the bottle off to Haruhi and Tamaki. As the bottle makes its way around the tables, Jin eyes her glass of tequila.

“I think… we need to do shots with these… right? I mean, shouldn’t we?” At her husband’s judgemental glance, she lightly points his shoulder, “Oh, don’t be so posh, Kyo, it’s  _ tequila! _ It’s not a wine tasting tour! Come on…” She pouted at him while he watched Hikaru sneakily pour his brother nearly a third cup of tequila just across from them.

Of course… he couldn’t avoid her forever.

“Fine.” She grinned and picked up the glass, tapping it against Kyoya’s before they shot the drink back. All around the Ootori’s, the others drank their own glasses. Instantly there were some interesting faces.

Hikaru shook his head a bit, “Woah… I did not expect that.”

“That was  _ strong. _ ”

Jin groaned, “Ugg… I think I’ve got a headache already.” Beside her, her husband smirked and poked at her shoulder in a teasing form before gesturing for the bottle again.

“Should we do another?”

“Ah, no! I’ll try the four, but my head’s going to hate me…”

“I’ll do another!”

“I was only kidding, Tamaki.”

The blond didn’t listen. He actually took the bottle from Hikaru and Kaoru’s table and poured another small helping, to everyone’s surprise. They could’ve sworn that he would’ve had the lowest tolerance of them all…

Hikaru smacked his lips together, “It takes beautiful… like a beautiful paint stripper.”

“This is what love feels like. That’s the closest comparison I can think of, anyways.” Kaoru shook his head before quickly knocking back what was left in his glass.

“Haruhi! You haven’t even finished your first drink!” Tamaki was putting the cap back on the bottle a little shakily, but that might’ve been because he was looking at his future wife instead.

The brunette lifted an eyebrow before responding, “It’s not like I’d drink a lot at my own wedding. And we have three other tequilas to try.”

“Fair.” Tamaki quickly downed his second drink and nearly slammed the empty glass on the table, “ _ Oh… _ ”

“Was that one a mistake, Tamaki?”

“ _ N-no… _ ugh, why is it so hot in here?” The man shucked off his light jacket before resettling himself in his chair.

Across from the blond and brunette, Takashi was still lightly sipping at his drink. Mitsukuni was wrinkling his nose at what was left in his glass. Clearly, he was not a fan.

“An interesting tang… smooth, yes, but with a hint of fire as it moves down the throat. Well made, and appeasing to the eye. I’d have it again.” Takashi set his glass down and sat further back in his chair, unaware of the stares he was receiving from the others. While he rarely talked, only speaking when it was necessary or when he was tired, he’d never been so… philosophical before.

His cousin was the only one who didn’t look surprised, “The only way I’d drink this again is from peer pressure. I prefer vodka.” Mitsukuni shifted his drink towards Takashi, who picked it up and drank the last of it, neither of them acknowledging the way their friends were staring, “So, what’s next?”

Renge blinked herself out of her stupor and grabbed the next bottle by her feet. It was a clear bottle this time, and seemed to catch the lights above them. Or was that the tequila?

“El Jimador. Tequila Blanco.” This time she placed the bottle on Kyoya and Jin’s table after pouring her own shot.

Jin whistled as she picked it up, “It looks  _ elegant. _ Like a glass swan.” Her husband shook his head, but didn’t say anything as she poured the liquid into their glasses. From the other table, Mitsukuni made a small sound in the back of his throat.

“Oh… when it’s clear that means it’s hard, right?”

“I think so. Here.”

The bottle made it’s way around the tables a little slower than last time, but soon enough everyone had at least a small sip. Except for the twins. Kaoru had looked down just in time to realize how much Hikaru was giving him before snatching the bottle and repaying the favor.

“Huh. Hint of… smoky bacon. Everyone ready? Shots, shots, shots-shots-shots…” Jin swallowed her glass and almost spit it out. That was definitely a  _ lot _ stronger than last time.

Hikaru did a full body shudder, “Oh,  _ mama! _ ” His brother coughed, nearly bending over the table.

“Tamaki? Your hands are shaking, are you okay?” The whole room looked over at Tamaki and Haruhi’s table. Haruhi’s glass was, once again, only barely sipped at, while the blond was holding his in the air and just  _ staring _ at it, mouth open just a little.

When he noticed everyone’s eyes on him, he jerked a bit, “Fine, fine… just, um, how much of this would you need to drink to… urm, die?”

Kyoya snorted, the hand that was wrapped around his wife slowly trailing up and down her left side, “More than that, Idiot. I don’t think you’re in trouble.” Jin started giggled as her future brother-in-law nodded and quickly downed the rest of his drink. To her left, Takashi was mumbling another deep review about the drink, but no one was paying him any attention.

“Hoo~” Tamaki set his glass down hard, shaking his head like he was trying to get his bangs out of his eyes. He licked his lips. “Not bad…”

Jin started giggling harder, turning away from her sister’s table when the blond started plucking at his shirt buttons.

“Tamaki?  _ What _ are you doing? It’s not that hot in here, we hardly ever touch the thermostat.”

He smirked, “Well, perhaps I’m just too hot for clothes. Handsome and well-toned men shouldn’t hide under bulky clothes. Especially not when their wives are present.”

“Not your wife yet, buddy.” Haruhi’s eyes went a little wide as she turned away, trying to hide her embarrassment. Apparently, her fiancé was a lightweight.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the message. “Awww… what’s the matter  _ baby? _ Getting a little hot under th-WOAH!” Tamaki fell backwards off his chair, arms tangling in his half-unbuttoned shirt. Immediately, the twins started laughing like crazy.

“Wow! What an idiot! Were you seriously the club’s president?” Kaoru cackled.  _ Huh _ , Jin managed to think,  _ He’s the ‘I hate you’ guy. Gabriel Iglesias was right. _ But then Kyoya’s fingers danced their way underneath her shirt hem, and she started giggling again.

Back across the room, the twins continued to laugh, even as Renge shakily grabbed the bottle from their table. She hiccuped slightly, and Hikaru’s laughter cut off. He started staring ahead, very sober-like. It was a little concerning, but unfortunately all of those who would’ve been concerned were a little tipsy or otherwise preoccupied with getting Tamaki back in his chair with all of his clothes on.

“Next one is - _ hic _ \- Arette. Anejo - _ hic _ \- Tequila.” Renge poured herself a small sip, hesitated, then added a bit more before passing it off to Mitsukuni, who was probably the most sober one among the group of friends after Haruhi. Or at least he was acting like it.

“Oh! There’s a horse on this one! It’s like, pressed into the bottle.”

“Very classy,” his cousin agreed, pushing his glass a little closer to the blond, “Could I get a little larger portion from this one? It looks very promising, and I’d rather have a chance at more than risking the twins draining the bottle.”

Kaoru looked like he was ready to jump over the table and start throttling someone, but Hikaru quickly grabbed his brother before he could. Somehow, the bottle managed to make it all the way around and back to the Ootori’s.

Jin took a sniff and quickly recoiled, “Oh  _ noooo _ … It smells like that new house cleaner I bought last week!”

Frowning slightly at his friend’s comment, Takashi lifted the glass and drank half of his portion. Pulling it away, he appeared to ponder the taste before making a gagging sound, his free hand coming up to cover his mouth. Renge was fanning her face in the middle of them all, her empty glass resting precariously on top of the camera facing the twins.

Jin and Kyoya quickly shot back the drink. They managed to get the glasses back on the tabletop before the kick hit, Jin coughing twice, her husband quickly taking in a deep breath even as his eyelashes fluttered.

Tamaki was, not surprisingly, taking off his shirt again, “We need to go out dancing somewhere after this.” Haruhi didn’t respond, a little busy blowing her nose and looking like she was trying not to fall asleep, but Kaoru  _ did. _

The boy stood up and grabbed his chair, hoisting it over his head, “Put your shirt back on, Asshole! Stop embarrassing yourself!” Before he could throw the furniture, Hikaru grabbed his brother around the chest and pulled him backwards, knocking his balance off and almost causing Kaoru to drop the chair on top of both of them.

“Kaoru? You okay?” Mitsukuni was bouncing a bit in his seat, like he needed to use the restroom, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. His cousin was still swirling his drink, babbling incoherently, laughing softly on occasion, but seemed okay at the moment.

Hikaru was struggling to get Kaoru to sit back in his seat, but his voice was sort of flat as he responded, “It’s alright. I should’ve expected this. As he’s known as the ‘calmer’ twin by most of us here, I suppose Kaoru has a lot of anger and frustration that he usually keeps under wraps because he used to be too busy keeping me in line. This practice had continued into our adulthood, despite how our lives aren’t as hard wired to each other’s as before. Kaoru’s subconscious is taking this moment of lack of cognitive activity to unleash itself. He should be back to normal by tomorrow. Kaoru? How do you feel?”

“My mouth tastes like blood.” The boy glances up, looking a little lost now that he was sitting back down, “And could you  _ not _ have sex in front of us?”

Kyoya and Jin didn’t seem to hear him, the woman still giggling madly as her husband nibbled at her collarbone and earlobe, lips shaping whispered words into her ear that only caused her cheeks to get redder than they already were. Haruhi almost felt the need to vomit, and not from the alcohol, but thankfully she didn’t need to actually say anything. Just as Kyoya’s hand started to move further up Jin’s thighs, she pushed at his hands, squirming a bit but still giggling.

And Kyoya, freaking,  _ whined. _ A groan that was too high pitched to  _ be  _ a groan left his throat as he tugged at his wife slightly, seemingly trying to coax her into his lap. Jin waved a finger at him, but continued to smile as he went back to kissing at her neck.

In an attempt to get that mental video out of her head, Haruhi quickly turned back to Renge, “What’s next, then?”

“Uh…” the French girl lifts the next bottle, which was in the fanciest bottle Haruhi had ever seen, “I dunno. I can’t… the words are blurry.” She pulled the cork out of the top, which made a  _ really _ nice popping sound, and poured herself a decent glass before placing it between the twins.

Kaoru seemed to have gotten over his latest wave of anger and was observing the bottle with interest. “Don Julio. Well, this looks  _ real _ fancy.”

“It’s like a genie is going to come out and start granting us wishes…” Hikaru barked out a crazy loud laugh at his own joke before going silent again. He watched passively as his brother poured them both, basically, half a glass of tequila before passing it on.

Other than the bottle almost being dropped between Jin and Mitsukuni, there were no incidents as the drink was passed around. Then, as one, they all took a drink.

“Bleck… gross!”

“No… no!”

“Eww, forget fancy, that was gross!”

Takashi chuckled a bit and set down his glass, “Oh, that is  _ smooth… _ ” He managed a smile before abruptly face planting the table. The snoring followed afterwards.

Ignoring that for the moment, Tamaki lifted his empty glass and announced, “So! Which was  _ your _ favorite?”

Jin managed a giggly, “I dunno…” She lightly pushed at Kyoya’s chest, even as the man wrapped her up in his arms, “I forgot wha’ the ozzers tasted like.”

“Well! Only one way to fix that!”

* A few minutes later *

He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Tamaki somehow found himself on the floor once again. Laughing at how ridiculous it was, even though he wasn’t quite sure why it was so funny, he tried to stand up to get back into his chair, but something wasn’t working properly.

“Haru-ru...hi? Lil’ help?”

Despite the request, his wife didn’t move. She was too busy staring at the her drink, head resting on the table as she poked at it, “ _ Shiny… fairy… how’d you get stuck in the tequila? Huh? How’d tha’ happen? _ ”

She didn’t even move when her sister and brother-in-law began stumbling from their own table, Jin’s hands around her husband’s wrist and pulling him towards the stairs, still giggling like a schoolgirl. Kyoya followed, only pausing long enough to grab Mitsukuni’s glass and drain it before continuing after her.

The smaller boy didn’t notice, too busy jumping over the tables in a circle, being as careful as a drunk person could be to not step on his cousin or on Haruhi. He was shouting something about being a majestic fucking bunny, but no one was really paying him any attention. Kaoru was passed out on the floor, halfway between his chair and the couches, on which his brother was already sound asleep.

Renge was sitting in the middle of her cameras, crying softly into her tequila,  “You’re all so amazing… I miss you all the time when I’m in France… we should do this more often… God, I love you all!”

And then she fell over.

* The Next Day *

“Oh…  _ god. _ ”

Jin stumbled out of one of the many bedrooms in her sister’s house. Her hair was wet from the shower and her clothes from the day before were rumpled, but it was the shocking amount of hickies and bite marks that covered her neck that really would’ve captured some attention… if there were any attention to be had.

Her husband followed her out into the hallway, looking just as disheveled and marked up as she was. They passed the master bedroom, and both of them silently thanked their drunk selves for not choosing that room.  _ That _ might’ve been awkward.

Below them, they could see Takashi still fast asleep at the table where they’d left him. Kaoru was groaning in pain from his couch, but before the couple could wonder where his brother had gone, the sound of retching was heard from the ground-floor’s bathroom.

They went downstairs, pausing in the middle as Jin attempted to will away her pounding headache, her husband standing with her for moral support. When they reached the living room, Kyoya slipped into the kitchen, probably to make something to help soothe their stomachs, and Jin shakily made her way to the empty couch. Unfortunately, she sat down too quickly and her headache slashed through her right lobe.

“ _ Nooo… _ ”

“ _ Tell me about it. _ ”

From the second floor came the sound of another door opening. Tamaki and Haruhi shakily made their way downstairs. Renge groggily lifted herself into a sitting position from her place on the floor. Jin hadn’t seen her there, because she’d been surrounded by her cameras.

As her sister sat beside her, Jin pressed against the sides of her head, like she was trying to suppress the ache, “ _ Ugh… I feel like I’m 20 again… trying alcohol for the first time. _ ”

“ _ You had alcohol before you were 20. _ ”

“ _ Yeah, but not… excessively. _ ”

“ _ I think I’m still legally drunk. _ ” Tamaki threw in before slowly curling into a little ball on the floor, hugging his stomach. They faintly heard the noise of Hikaru getting sick once again.

“ _ Well, I feel great. _ ” Kyoya stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a small tray of tea over to the others and setting it down on one of the coffee tables, “ _ I took a jog around the neighborhood this morning. _ ”

“ _ Really? _ ”

“ _ No, _ ” Jin mumbled, grabbing one of the cups, “ _ He threw up while I was taking a shower, then joined me, then had to crawl back  _ out _ of the shower to throw up again. _ ”

From the second floor’s balcony, they heard another pair of footsteps making their way down the stairs. Mitsukuni was holding onto the railing like his life depended on it. He blearily looked over his other friends, and then his sleeping cousin.

“ _ Huh… I thought Kyoya and Jin would've been the last ones up. How late did you stay up? _ ”

The couple blushed, which didn’t help the headaches. Jin shifted a bit in her seat, “ _ I don’t remember. Probably one, at the latest. _ ”

“ _ Might’ve been one-thirty. _ ”

They turned around at the sound of the bathroom door opening, Hikaru clutching at the doorframe and staring out at them all, “ _ Well… at least  _ some _ of us had a good time. Who wants painkillers? Except you, Tamaki. If you’re still drunk, I don’t feel like being charged for homicide. _ ”

* Time Skip *

By the time Takashi woke up around two in the afternoon, Renge had managed to splice the videos together on her laptop. And thus, the miracle of painkillers, hot tea, and time for the alcohol to work out of your system.

The tall boy yawned and sat up, looking almost surprised to see the others standing around him. Most of the right side of his face was a deep red shade from the press of wood against it all night, but otherwise he looked completely fine.

He looked down at the hot tea and painkillers laid out next to him, nodded towards Kyoya, and picked up the tea… but not the pills.

Jin blinked, “Do you… not have a headache?”

Takashi shook his head.

“You don’t… feel sick at all? No hangover?” When Hikaru only got another shake of the head, he pounded a fist against the wall, “You  _ fucker! _ I was in that bathroom,  _ gagging _ , for  _ hours! _ And you don’t even have a heada- _ fuck  _ that! That’s some major-”

“Hikaru, let’s just watch the video now that Takashi’s awake? You can be mad at him later for his metabolism that is, apparently, to kill for.” Jin shook her head, “I’m kinda nervous.”

And, as it turned out, she had every right to be. 

Halfway through, Kaoru started apologizing to everyone, quickly followed by Kyoya and Jin, respectively. Tamaki went completely red when he saw his shirt come off and actually turned around in his chair. A few of them managed to laugh, but eventually they all sort of… tapered off. Takashi put his face in his hands when he face planted the table.

As the video ended, everyone was silent.

Hikaru spoke first, slowly getting up from his chair, “Yup. Definitely need to throw up again. Buuuuut, I think I’ll just do that when I get back to my own house.” He walked to the front door, leading to the others slowly gathering their things and leaving the Suoh household, waving their goodbyes before shutting the door.

Tamaki and Haruhi were quiet for a moment.

“Do you think Jin and Kyoya will get weird looks on the train?”

“They drove here, I’m pretty sure.”

“Oh. Good.”  Tamaki twiddled his thumbs a bit, “So… no open bar, then?”

“No open bar. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take another shower after watching that.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I have a good excuse for writing this? No.  
> Did Tamaki have a good excuse for making them drink tequila? Yes. It's because he's Extra™. Like Viktor Nikiforov. (I'm sorry… I'm trash)  
> Also, I know most of you are gonna comment on the fact that I, again, made Kyoya and Jin a little perverted, but that's simply my take on their characters. Especially when they're in that older-yet-still-young part of their lives. And also, they're both extremely passionate people who happen to like sex with each other. A lot. That's not a bad thing, and I felt like that's the sort of couple they are. If you notice, it's not often that they breach that part of themselves when others are around, so they do have some restraint. Sorry for the long explanation, I just feel like I have to justify it for some reason.  
> Um… one last thing. I figured that once they all left college, they started calling Honey and Mori by their actual first names instead of their nicknames, at least for a period of time. Some of the others went back to calling them Honey and Mori, but at this point I decided to exclude that.


	57. Bonus Chapter: The Parent Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parent Trap (1998) AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanted to try this out. Ever since I made my character, I've gotten a lot of AU ideas with her in them… but it also seems like a dick move to write AU's about your own character. So, I'm just going to add this as a bonus chapter. I know Kyoya and Jin are kinda a side-couple in this, but I couldn't think of it working any other way.  
> Also, this turned into a huge chapter. Over 26,000 words! It's insane! I hope you like it, because it look a flipping long time to write!

"Alright happy campers! We've arrived at your  _ destination! _ "

Kaoru lifted his head off his bus pillow and excitedly looked out the window, his bus seat partner almost squishing him as they looked over his head, but the redhead didn't mind very much. Unfortunately, from his view point he couldn't even see the mountain range that surrounded the Daisetsuzan National Park, but that did little to dampen Kaoru's mood.

The bus slowed to a stop and the kids around him started gathering their pillows and backpacks, their voices increasing in volume as the reality of the situation started to set in. Kaoru was grinning broadly as he started following the others off the bus. He'd never  _ been _ to summer camp before! And it was an  _ international _ camp on top of that! This was going to be so exciting!

He just had to find his duffel bag first…

Spotting a large pile of bags piling up on the grass, the redhead shouldered his backpack and hurried over, dodging other campers as they ran towards bathrooms and counselors and translators holding up different country flags. Kaoru was still grinning as he started naming them all in his head.

_ Italy… Germany… America… Austria… India… Man, Aunt Jin would  _ love  _ this place. If only she could've taken the time off to volunteer here. But then again, _ Kaoru hummed to himself as he finally spotted his green duffel bag laying on top of a nearby pile,  _ if she wasn't so busy this summer I wouldn't be here at all. _

The redhead reached out to grab his bag… just as ten more were tossed onto it.

He groaned and pulled his hand back, pushing his sunglasses onto the top of his head. His bag, which had been  _ right on top _ , was now unable to be seen from the outside. Rolling up his sleeves, Kaoru reached back into the pile and grabbed onto a strap that he assumed belong to his bag. Pulling as hard as he could, he managed to get the green fabric to stick out. But other than that? Nope.

"Hey! Need a hand?"

Turning around, the boy noticed what appeared to be a brother and sister walking over to him. They both had pale faces and light brown hair, and were clearly not Japanese.

He smiled kindly at them and nodded, "Yeah… my bag kinda got trapped in the middle before I could grab it."

The girl smiled back, "Don't worry, I get it. Happened to me the first time I came to this camp."

"Yeah, and then she let it happen to me when I came with her the next year." The brother pretended to kick his, apparently older, sister before turning back to Kaoru, "I bet the three of us can get it out."

Kaoru nodded and moved over, grabbing the strap yet again while the siblings squeezed next to him. Once they all had a grip on it, the girl counted out, "Three! Two! One! Pull!" They did just that… and fell backwards into the dirt when it came loose. It collapsed on top of the brunet boy and all three of them started laughing.

"Thanks!" The redhead stood up and took his bag, letting the boy stand up, "What are your names?"

"Oh! Klara and Leon Danialsson! We're from Sweden."

"Really? That's so cool! My aunt's best friend lives in Finland with his husband, and we went to visit him last summer. We popped over into… Kolari, I think… just across the border. It was nice."

Leon dusted off his hands, "Ha! Well, I'm glad we made a good first impression…" he squinted at the name embroidered in black along the side of the duffle, "...Kaoru. So, where are you from?"

"Tokyo."

The siblings gasped in obvious delight, "That's so cool!"

"We've always wanted to travel there!"

The redhead chuckled, "Well, I don't  _ actually _ live in the city. My mom owns her own law firm, so we managed to buy a pretty nice house off in the suburbs. Oh, and we also live with my grandfather who helps his friend run a nice motel over the summer, so he chips in with the rent."

"Wow… I wish we lived with our grandparents. We don't get to see them as much as we'd like to."

"Fujioka Kaoru!"

The redhead turned around at the sound of his name coming through a bullhorn and raised a hand, "Here!"

"Light blue!"

Klara clapped her hands together, "That's the cabin color  _ we _ were assigned!" Her brother pumped his fist by his side, prompting an even bigger smile on the redhead's face. He could tell this was going to be a great summer.

* * *

Across the way, a sleek black car rolled up next to the parked buses. The campers who noticed raised their eyebrows and gossiped among themselves. There were usually a few "rich" kids who showed up at camp like they were  _ all that _ because their family didn't have to save up to send them there. More often than not, they left camp before the eight weeks out. A few were alright… but not all of them.

The backdoor popped open and a tall man with immaculate black hair and silver glasses stepped out, his clothes oddly casual given the mode of transportation. He walked over to the back of the car and opened the trunk as a younger boy climbed out after him.

Hikaru stood on the dirt path and took in a deep breath, already enjoying the fresh air. It reminded him of the fishing trips his father had obsessed over when the redhead was still a young kid, and had since then become sort of a father-son tradition. And that was the thought that kept him from jumping straight back into the car and not moving until he was driven back to the airport.

"Hikaru? Would you mind grabbing your  _ own _ bags? I'm not your butler."

The teenager smirked at his 'uncle', but did as he was asked. Once the trunk was shut again, the two gave the camp another look. Most of the people who had watched them arrive were now focusing on their own things once again, which eased Hikaru's nerves. He hated being stared at… having a Japanese ethnicity in Paris tended to make that  _ real _ old  _ real _ quick.

"Well, I know it's not what you're used to, but please attempt to enjoy yourself while you're here, Hikaru."

The redhead scoffed, but managed to smile a bit, "And if I don't…"

"Your father will send out the private jet without further question."

"Thanks, Kyoya…"

The man offered Hikaru a small smile of his own, and held open his right arm casually, his smile growing a little as the redhead immediately went for a hug. As much as Hikaru didn't want to admit it, Kyoya could tell the boy was nervous. Poor kid didn't have many friends back home, since he was often made fun of for his ethnicity and tended to shut everyone out. That was why Kyoya had insisted on his best friend's son being sent here. Hikaru needed to learn to let people in.

The teenager pulled away quickly, pretending like he wasn't about to cry. Noticing immediately, Kyoya shook his head and quickly ruffled up the boy's hair.

"H-hey!" Hikaru batted at the offending hand, but his signature 'troublemaking' grin was back. He reached up and started combing his hair back down to its original neat and tidy appearance.

Kyoya watched the action in amusement before taking a breath, "Well, I should be off. I need to check on the corporate office while I'm here, and there's a meeting I have tomorrow night back home."

Hikaru's shoulders tensed up, but he nodded, "Right… so… bye. I guess."

The two hugged briefly one last time before Kyoya gently nudged the redhead towards the counselors. Hikaru grabbed his suitcases and made it halfway before looking back. The ravenet nodded encouragingly, but didn't make a move to leave until the boy was being pointed towards a cabin.

The bespectacled man took in a deep breath before climbing into the car, "Airport, please."

* * *

The very next day Kaoru was already having the time of his life. The food was great and he had multiple choices from different nations to try out, even if he internally thought that his Aunt Jin could've made something better, and the day's activities were more than he could've hoped for. He'd always been a sort of outdoorsy child, preferring to do things outside if given the chance, such as hanging out with his 'sort of' cousins while they practiced their karate and kendo or reading on the porch with his mother and aunt.

So when he heard there was an open field to be used whenever they wanted to for field athletics, Kaoru had been so excited he could barely sit still.

He and the Danialsson siblings were just walking onto the field when they noticed a gathering near the edge of the track. Walking over, they heard the end of the announcement for a race.

"Now, we're not expecting any Olympic-like talent, but what better way to break the ice between all of your cultures? The first race will be once around the track, and we'll need one participant per country."

Some of the kids started whispering among themselves, debating whether they should go or if their friend want to try. Kaoru, on the other hand, was bouncing on his toes. Even though he wasn't particularly interested in the martial arts that his 'sort of' cousins and actual aunt took part in, he had been encouraged even as a young child to at least exercise with them. His mother wasn't particularly athletic, but thankfully that was one of the few personality traits he  _ hadn't  _ inherited.

And they ran… a  _ lot. _

First off, let's get a volunteer from Japan-" Kaoru's hand was in the air before the counselor was even finished, "Fujioka Kaoru! Step onto the track please! Next, a volunteer from the United States…"

The redhead took his place on the far left side of the track just as a large brunette boy stepped up to his side, "Hello!"

"Hey! So, how's your first day looking so far?"

The boy shrugged, "It's interesting. Little disorienting hearing so many different languages, but I like the new phrases I've started picking up. You?"

"Pretty decent. You're from the United States, right?"

"Yup! Arizona!"

"I… don't know where that is. Do you run track?"

"Yeah, but only short distance. I'm probably not going to be able to run this whole thing. You?"

"Nah. My aunt goes on runs before she starts practicing at the dojo and I just… started joining her one day. I guess I might have a chance at it."

"-and Suoh Hikaru for France!"

Kaoru blinked and leaned out a little, looking over towards the other side of the track. Suoh Hikaru was a Japanese name… not a French name. He watched as another kid said just that from the sidelines, and a boy with combed down red hair that sort of matched Kaoru's own hair color stepped out a little from the line up.

"Just because my parents are Japanese doesn't mean I'm not a French citizen! Do you want me to show you my passport?"

The counselor quickly moved in to calm the other boy down while Kaoru moved back into place.

_ Geez, touchy much? _

"Alright campers! Ready?" Most of them shifted a foot back. "Set?" Kaoru crouched down and peeked down the line out of the corner of his eye, spotting Klara somewhere in the middle. "GO!"

They took off.

Almost immediately Kaoru started weeding out the competition in his head. A number of kids were falling behind, and not because they were saving their energy. They were like Kaoru's mother, who just so happened to be… a slow runner. And then there were the kids who took off like freaking bullets. Klara being one of them. If he wasn't focusing so much on his own speed and breathing, Kaoru might've been tempted to call out to her that she was using up all of her energy too soon.

But hey, a little less competition, right?

The sound of cheers from the sidelines grew fainter as they headed towards the other half of the track. Kaoru's heart started beating in his ears, but he wasn't growing tired. Not just yet.

As they rounded the corner, he noticed more and more people falling behind. Klara eventually stumbled to a stop, breathing heavily, but still managing to shout out, "Go, Kaoru!" He smiled and put on a little more speed.

The track runner beside him started falling behind as well as they got perhaps 3/4ths of the way around. He laughed and slowed down quicker, giving up.

By that point, Kaoru realized it was just him… and the other redhead. Hikaru.

Finally tapping into his last reserves of energy, he full on sprinted towards the line he'd started at. Closer… closer…

"Augh!"

At the shout, Kaoru slowed to a stop, looking over his shoulder and seeing Hikaru laying on the track, his hands and knees covered in little scrapes. One of his shoelaces had come undone. Kaoru winced and was about to run over when a familiar voice shouted from the sidelines.

"Kaoru won! Good job!"

The redhead blinked and looked down at his feet. Sure enough, he was standing on the other side of the finish line. He smiled and waved at Leon, but quickly remembered Hikaru when he heard a hiss of pain behind him.

Quickly jogging towards the fallen boy and the counselor helping him off the ground, he called out, "Hey, you alright?"

Hikaru turned around with a scowl on his face, but it died almost immediately when the two boys saw each other. Kaoru stopped dead, his eyes widening. They… looked so similar. And it wasn't even the hair color! Their faces were the same shape, eyes the same golden honey color… heck, even their eyebrows were the same!

"Oh my…"

The counselor's words restarted the boy's brains, Hikaru quickly going back to a scowl and carefully brushing the dirt off his hands.

Kaoru stepped forward, pulling a tissue packet out of his pocket, "Here, let me help-"

He and Hikaru both gasped lightly when their hands came into contact, but Hikaru quickly pulled away, "I don't need your help!" The two redheads stepped awkwardly away from each other, glancing around to see that the other campers were staring at them oddly. Hikaru's shoulder's tensed. They were whispering about him… like he was some sort of freak.

"Hey, are you two related?"

Hikaru jumped and glared towards the voice, but couldn't make out who actually said it, so instead he turned to Kaoru and raised an eyebrow, "Us? Related? No way."

"Seriously?" Now it was Kaoru's turn to glare, "I get that you're a jerk, but you have to admit that we look alike."

The French boy raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really?" He looked the other up and down. In the back of his mind, he had to admit that they looked  _ incredibly _ alike… but there were also a few differences that kept them separated. For starter's, Hikaru's hair was combed down and parted on the right side of his head while Kaoru's hair was a little wild, thrown up in spikes and seemed to be parted on the left. And then their skin tone. Hikaru tended to spend most of his days indoors, but it was clear that Kaoru did not. The other boy was decently tanned, a few lines on the sides of his face that told of sunglasses.

"Hm… you know, we do look somewhat similar, I'll give you that, but… your eyes are a bit closer together than mine. Your ears… oh, don't worry, you'll grow into them. It looks like braces are in your future. Clearly, you do not own a comb nor know what one is, probably. Or sunblock for that matter." He tilted his head to the side, "Are you perhaps from a family of farmers?"

Kaoru's jaw was clenched and Hikaru had to internally admit that it was a little nerve wracking to see his own eyes sending such powerful glares at him, but he didn't let on.

One of the girls who had been racing stepped forward, coming up to Kaoru's side, "Want me to deck him?"

"How violent. And in front of a counselor?"

"Cool it, Klara. I have a feeling his cabin mates will take care of him for us if he's this charming with everyone else at camp."

Hikaru took a step forward right before the counselor stepped in between then, "Ooookay, gentlemen. Let's break it up. Kaoru, Hikaru… I-I mean..." The two turned away, not admitting to themselves the little thrill of nerves that had come from being mistaken for each other. "Um… come on, boys. Apologize to each other. Or do I have to call your parents?"

Kaoru's eyes went wide. His family might understand him being rude to a jerk he met at camp… but all three of them were super busy at the moment with their jobs and he didn't want them worrying about some squabble he'd had. Behind him, Hikaru's eyes were also a little big. This was the exact reason Kyoya had convinced his father to send him to this camp, because he always pushed others away. He could only imagine the look of disappointment on his father's face if he got that phone call…

Sighing, Hikaru turned around, "Je suis désolé. Vos vêtements sont hideux."

The counselor raised an eyebrow, "What was that last part?"

"I apologized for my rude words, and said that they weren't true." He turned back to Kaoru with a fake smile, but was caught off guard by the glare of death he was being given.

"Je peux parler français aussi, perdant." Hikaru's mouth fell open while the other kids began praising Kaoru, who shrugged but gave the other a smug smile, "My Aunt taught me French, German, and Spanish. I'm so glad for those lessons now."

Hikaru's jaw clenched, "Laissez les jeux commencer, puis."

* * *

 

Leon climbed on top of Kaoru's back as they walked back from the lake, "So, I haven't seen your evil clone since the race. He wasn't even at lunch. What did you say to each other?"

"Oh, he said he was sorry, then called my clothes hideous. Then I responded that I knew french and called him a loser. So he said 'let the games commence'. God, I don't know what his problem is."

"He said games? Aren't you a little worried?"

"Nah. It was all talk, I bet. He's never done an actual thing in his life-"

"I… wouldn't say that." The boy's glanced at Klara, then followed her expression of awe towards their cabin. Leon slipped off of Kaoru's back.

Kaoru took a few steps forward, not believing his eyes, "Is… that… my  _ bed? _ "

"Um, and your suitcase. And your underwear."

The three stared in a mixture of shock and disbelief at the sight of Kaoru's bed on the roof of their cabin. Just Kaoru's. His duffle bag was there, too. And hanging on a stick, with the French Flag waving proudly above it, were his tidy whities.

"Oh… that jerk is going  _ down. _ "

"Need some help?"

"Please."

"What do we need?"

"I'll start the list."

* * *

The next morning, Kaoru held his breath as he peeked into the orange group's boy cabin. It was almost 7, so the bell for wake up would be going off any-

_ Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong! _

-second.

Leon giggled briefly, only to be elbowed by his sister. Watching carefully, they saw Hikaru shift in his bed, turning his head to the side, which made Leon giggle again. The boy in the cabin scrunched his face up a little before opening his eyes wide. Jerking upright, he reached up to feel the whipped cream that was all over his head.

"MERDE!"

His cabin mates jumped out of their beds and half of them collapsed immediately due to the thick layer of butter that had been tediously smeared across the cabin floor last night. A chorus of 'ewww' came from the boys who had caught themselves with their hands or ended up with butter clumps in their hair.

Hikaru glanced down at his shirt and made a retching noise, his pajama shirt covered with honey and more whipped cream. Slowly, he stood up and started sliding his way through the butter, not looking his cabin mates in the eyes.

"I'm sorry you got caught in this. I'm going to the camp counselor."

"Yeah!"

"You do that, Hikaru!"

"Get 'em!"

"WAIT!"

Before he could stop, Hikaru's foot hit a string he hadn't noticed. Instantly, a wooden panel that had been disguised against the roof tilted down and water balloons began raining down on the French boy's head. He gasped, a hand coming up to wipe the fluid and excess whipped cream off his face. The boy whose bed he was holding onto at the moment grabbed his tissue box and went to give it to Hikaru, only to forget about the buttery floor and crash onto his face.

"Ugh! Gross!"

Hikaru was shaking, "That… boy… is the most  _ horrible, disgusting person on this planet! _ "

Outside, Kaoru began bowing to his friends, who quietly applauded him. He grinned at them, and was very glad that there was no evidence that they were the ones who had trashed the cabin. They hadn't gone to the counselors about the bed issue, so if Hikaru tried to say that they were getting revenge for that, either the counselors wouldn't believe him or he'd get himself in trouble for starting the whole thing.

To be honest, Kaoru had never really pranked anyone this hard. His aunt teased him sometimes and played a few tricks, but he hadn't ever buttered a floor or used water balloons so early in the morning. It was pretty… fun!

"Surprise cabin inspection campers!"

Those four words sent Kaoru's stomach plummeting to his toes.  _ Oh no… the chocolate milk! _ Before the Swedish siblings could even react, the redhead ran to the cabin door and jumped in front of the camp director, Amano-san.

"Kaoru-san? Is something the matter?"

"I… I… you don't want to go in there! One of the boys got sick last night, and it was a  _ big _ mess. We're still cleaning it up and he just fell back asleep!"

"Oh my, well, if someone's sick then I  _ must _ go in! Thank you, but please stand aside, Kaoru-"

"Actually, we're all fine in here."  _ Damn it. _ "Unless Kaoru here knows something we don't, then you can come right on in. I insist."

The director raised an eyebrow, but reached for the door handle, "Stand aside, Kaoru-san."

"But-!" He quickly dove out of the way as Amano-san opened the door, a full bucket of chocolate milk dumping itself on his head. The man screamed in surprise and ran forward before Kaoru could protest. Immediately he slipped and fell on his back, the last of the milk pouring directly on his face.

Groaning, the director attempted to stand up, but continued to slip on the butter.

"I… told you it was a mess in here."

"He would know. He did it!"

"Only because you put my bed on the roof!"

"BOTH OF YOU! PACK! YOUR! BAGS!"

The redheads stared at the director, hearts suddenly encased in ice.

* * *

" _ This is all your fault. _ "

"My fault?!"

"Quiet you two!"

Hikaru and Kaoru relapsed back into silence, following the director with their heads down and bags in their hands. They had been hiking for almost eight minutes, and still had no idea where they were going. But from the looks of it, they weren't getting kicked out of camp at least.

The man in front of them suddenly came to a stop, turning around and glaring at them, "Now… I don't know what started your little feud, but from here on out you're either going to learn how to get along or at least be far enough away to not harm anyone else but yourselves!" The red headed boys tucked their chins downwards as the director continued, "You will both be staying in the Isolation cabin for the rest of camp! And all of your after dinner activities have been suspended."

Once the teenagers nodded in understanding, they were sent up to unpack.

The Isolation cabin didn't look half bad from the inside. Of course, the outside left something to be desired, but inside was actually cozy. No bugs or mice at least.

"What a hovel."

Kaoru turned to glare at the other just as thunder boomed overhead. He sighed and walked into the room, "Guess we got here just in time."

"Yeah… suppose."

By the time both boys had unpacked their things, it was a full blown storm outside. Hikaru lazily leaned back in his bed, bored out of his mind. For a split second, he almost wished that he was back in the orange cabin. No one in there had really talked to him until this morning when they were united against Kaoru's prank, but at least it hadn't been this quiet.

On the other side of the room, the other boy was still pinning stuff to his cork-board. Lots of pictures and postcards. He saw a lot of Kaoru and three other boys. The others looked to be younger than the teenager, but they were in a lot of the pictures, so they were clearly close.

Hikaru's eyes drifted over to his suitcase, where the faint lines of a box were just barely visible in the front pocket.

_ No. Not right now. _

"Ah!"

He looked up again and saw Kaoru quickly backing away from his board. He was staring up at the ceiling with a look of defeat as water started dripping down. Frantically, the boy started scooping up his small box of pictures and placing them on his bed before they could get wet. Hikaru sat up and looked around the room, spotting a metal bucket sitting by the corner.

Glancing at the other, he slowly slid off his bed and went to grab it. Walking towards Kaoru's side of the room, he offered him the bucket.

For a moment, they just stared at each other.

"...Thank you, Hikaru." Kaoru gave him a small smile before taking the bucket and placing it under the drip before going to inspect his box of photos.

Hikaru shuffled his feet, "Did any of them get wet?"

"Um…" the other boy shifted them around before letting out a low groan, "Just one." He pulled it out and started shaking it, attempting to dry the picture off. "It just got the corner... so hopefully it'll be fine."

Hesitantly, Hikaru looked at the photograph over the other's shoulder, blinking in surprise when he realized what was in the background, "That's… an Ootori hospital!"

Kaoru spun around, eyes widening, "You recognize it?"

"Of course I recognize it! My uncle Kyoya is the CEO of the Ootori Group."

"Wow…" Kaoru laughed lightly, "That's crazy! My Aunt Jin is the head bookkeeping accountant for the Ootori Group. She's the brunette with me in the picture." He held it out for Hikaru to see a little better, "Maybe they know each other?"

"Maybe."

Kaoru smiled at the other boy before placing the picture back down into the box, "So, how come your last name is Suoh but your uncle is an Ootori?"

"Well, I say he's my uncle because I've known him my whole life, but we're not really related. He moved to France with me and my father to get away from all the stereotypes of being the youngest son and taking over the company."

The other boy smiled a little wider, "Again, that's interesting you say that, because I also have two uncles who aren't really related to me! They're cousins who run a very respected dojo and kendo in Japan. They knew my aunt since they were kids, so I've known them my whole life, too! It's so weird that we have so much in common!"

Hikaru clenched his jaw and took a step back, "Yeah, weird." He sat back on his bed just as Kaoru straightened up.

"There you go again."

"What?"

"Shutting people out. For  _ once _ we were having a decent conversation and you just… ended it. Why?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes and turned to the wall, "We don't have much in common until you say you get made fun of in school all the time!" Instantly he shut his mouth, embarrassed by his own outburst. Who says that? Really?

"Then I guess we're more alike than you think."

Hikaru turned over in disbelief, staring at Kaoru, who shrugged, "I mean, I'm the only kid at school who doesn't have a dad, and my red hair comes from my grandfather who is a transvestite. Once the kids at school learned about that… and instead of trying to understand it they just started making fun of me. I'd get a bunch of cheap make-up and stuff in my school bag… which was almost worse, because I couldn't even give it to my grandfather or my aunt to use." Kaoru laughed a little, but it wasn't a happy laugh.

For a moment, Hikaru didn't know what to say. Then he sat back up in his bed, "I don't have a mom. She and Dad split up when I was still a baby. And I'm also the only one of Japanese ethnicity at my school. The other kids make fun of me by pulling at the corners of their eyes to make them squint and stuff. I've… never really had any friends. I guess that's why my uncle wanted me to come here so badly… to meet people who wouldn't make fun of what I looked like."

Kaoru smiled softly at the other boy, "Well, guess it worked." Hikaru smiled softly, and his doppelganger suddenly reached into his bag and pulled out a box of cards, "Want to play?"

Hikaru smiled a bit, "Sure."

The other hurried over to sit on Hikaru's bed and started opening the card deck, "Any particular game you want to play?"

"No… you go ahead and pick one."

"Okay! There's this game my aunt taught me called 'Garbage'. She learned it when she was studying abroad in America, along with a few other games, but we can't play Euchre because you need four people. I used to  _ hate _ playing that game, because my aunt and mom  _ always _ paired up and they can literally tell what the other is thinking just by looking at each other!"

"What's your mom like?"

"Hm?" Kaoru looked up and saw that Hikaru was staring at his feet.

"I just… my dad never even talks about my mom, and I can't talk to anyone at school, and my uncle isn't married, so I don't really know what a mom should even  _ be  _ like."

"Oh…" Kaoru tilted his head in thought, "Well, every mom is different, but my mom is the best. In my opinion, at least. She's really kind and understanding, but she's also super hard working. She owns her own law firm in Tokyo, and on top of that she organizes a bunch of events with the help of my aunt and grandfather to help raise money… for the illness that took  _ her _ mom when she was five."

Hikaru blinked, "I'm sorry… my grandmother passed away, too. My dad was the illegitimate son between my grandparents, but then my  _ great _ grandmother forced them to separate. My dad never even met his father until he was 15, and only saw his mother again when he moved back to France with me after being named the heir to Suoh Enterprises. It was a big mess, and she passed away from lung cancer about eleven years ago."

"Geez… our lives are just really big sob stories, huh?"

"Ha! Yeah." Hikaru shook his head and looked back at the cards in front of him, "These look new."

"They are! Freshly opened three minutes ago! I got them for my birthday last week and figured this was the best place to use them for the first time!"

"Your birthday was last week, too?"

"Yup! June 9th!"

If Hikaru had been drinking some water, he would've choked on it, "That's my birthday! How old are you?"

"Fourteen!"

"Me too!"

"We have the same exact birthday?"

"Yeah!" The boys started laughing in pure amazement. "What even  _ is _ this? You steal my face and then you steal my birthday?" Hikaru continued to laugh until he realized Kaoru had stopped.

"Hikaru… what was your mom's name?"

"I don't know. My dad doesn't talk about her much. When he does… he gets this weird look in his eye like he's about to start crying. I don't ask him about it anymore. Why do you ask?"

"It's just…" Kaoru leaned back on his hands, staring at the ceiling in thought, "We have the same exact birthday… and we look alike… you've never met your mother, and I've never met my dad. It just feels like the only logical solution is that we're-"

"Long-lost twins?"

Hikaru meant to say it as a joke, but the moment the words left his mouth it was as if all the pieces fell into place. The two redheads did nothing but watch each other for a long period of time before the French boy abruptly stood up and went to his suitcase. Unzipping the front pocket, he pulled out a small silver box and opened it, grabbing a ripped photograph from inside before clutching it to his chest.

"I have only one picture of my mother. So… whether she looks like yours or not will end this whole thing, right? It was from their wedding, but it got ripped at some point so it's not even a whole picture so I… what are you doing?"

Halfway through his description, Kaoru had launched himself across the room to his box of pictures, frantically clawing through them until he reached the bottom. Grabbing one old picture and holding it to his chest, he turned around.

"I… found a picture of my dad. We were cleaning the house and it was inside a little box in my mom's closet. After that I kept sneaking in there to look at him until she finally just gave it to me. And…" He took a step closer to Hikaru, "It's ripped, too. Right down the middle."

Hikaru gulped, staring at the back of the picture in Kaoru's hand, " _ Down the…  _ this… this is crazy."

"I've already said that. So… on three?"

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!" They turned the picture halves over and showed it to the other. With a gasp, they pushed them together to create the whole picture. Haruhi Fujioka and Tamaki Suoh stared back at them from the picture, arms around each other and smiling at the camera.

Kaoru laughed lightly, a wobbling smile making its way across his face, "That's… that's my mom."

"And that's  _ my _ dad."

Hikaru rubbed at his cheek, brushing away the tears, "I'm… I don't…"

"Oh my gosh… Hikaru… we're  _ brothers. _ "

"Brothers? Kaoru, we're  _ twins! _ "

The redheads took one look at each other before throwing themselves into a tight hug. Hikaru buried his face into his twin's shoulder, not even bothering to hold back the tears.

* * *

"Hikaru? What's Dad like?"

The redhead hummed and leaned his head to the side, letting it fall onto his twin's shoulder as they stared through the dark cabin, "Well, he's an idiot most of the time. He used to really obsess over those father-son bonding things like playing catch and going fishing. We now have a fishing trip thing we do every year. He's a good CEO and a decent businessman, but he's got nothing on uncle Kyoya. And Dad's the nicest person in the world. I've seen him give away his umbrella to random people on the street if they're suddenly caught in a downpour and can have a conversation with basically anyone."

Kaoru chuckled, "Wow… he sounds amazing."

"He calls me 'Mon Caneton'."

"Little duckling?" Kaoru laughed happily and looked over at his brother in glee, "Why?"

"I saw a bunch of ducklings following their mother when I was four years old and started following Dad around the house with a little waddle and quacking. He hasn't let that go in ten years." Hikaru smiled as his twin laughed again. Usually being laughed at was very unpleasant for him, but somehow he knew that Kaoru wasn't making fun of him. No, he was just making his brother laugh. It felt good.

When he calmed down, Kaoru tucked his feet further onto the bed, "And he never remarried?"

"Nah. Uncle Kyoya said he's still pining over losing our Mom. She… hasn't remarried either?"

"Nope. She likes to say that I'm the only boy in her life, usually to tease my grandfather and Uncle Honey and Uncle Mori, but she's never been into dating. I bet she's still not over Dad either."

"Hm… that's funny. Wonder why they split up in the first place. Maybe one of us should ask when we go home."

For a few seconds they sat in silence, until they both perked up at the same time and turned to each other, "I have a brilliant idea!"

* * *

"Okay, ready for your test?"

"I'm ready!" Kaoru smiled at his brother's enthusiasm and started holding up the photos.

"Grandpa Ranka. Uncle Honey. Yuudai-chan. Aunt Jin. Misuzu-chi."

The test went on for another minute before Kaoru ran out of pictures, "That was it! You're officially ready to impersonate me!"

"Well… not completely." Hikaru smirked and pointed at his head, "I can't exactly pretend to be a wild child with my hair combed down like this, now can I?"

Kaoru rolled his eyes and started pushing his brother towards the only mirror in the cabin, "I'll show you how I gel it up. First, I start with the bangs, making them point away from my part… oh." They still parted their hair on different sides of their heads.

"Um…" Kaoru turned Hikaru to face him and started trying to move his part to the other side. Except… with the way his brother's hair was cut…

"This isn't working."

"No." Moving Hikaru's hair back to the way it usually was, Kaoru hummed, "But… with the way your hair is cut… it  _ is _ possible to have it look like mine. Just… inverted."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow, "And you really think Mom and Dad won't notice?"

"Who says they don't need to notice? We can just say we wanted a change!"

His brother took in a deep breath, then nodded and scooped up a small amount of gel onto his fingers, still facing Kaoru, "Then show me. I'll mirror your moves."

Kaoru grinned, "Perfect. Like I was saying, you take your bangs…"

Ten minutes later and Hikaru turned to look in the mirror. He gasped aloud, "Oh… my…"

"Lookin' good, bro."

The two glanced at each other in the mirror, and promptly started laughing. They'd never looked more alike...

* * *

"Okay, campers! The buses are loading, time to say your last goodbyes!"

Once again, everyone was gathered at the front entrance to the camp, but this time they were all hugging and exchanging phone numbers. Hikaru and Kaoru were no different, their hairstyles inverted and each other's bags resting by their feet.

Pulling away, Hikaru quickly started straightening out his brother's hair, "Right, so you're going to find out why Mom and Dad split up-"

"-and you're going to ask how they met. I know, Hikaru, we've gone over this a million times."

"I know." He smiled at his twin, "I'm just going to miss you."

Kaoru's eyes twinkled with mischievousness, "Just until they try to switch us back. And after that-"

"-we'll be together all the time."

They hugged one last time just as 'Suoh Hikaru' was called out by one of the counselors. Another black fancy car was parked by the buses, ready to drive Kaoru to the airport with Hikaru's passport in his pocket.

Taking a deep breath, Kaoru grabbed 'his' bags and hugged Hikaru one last time before running towards the car. The counselor smiled as he hugged her briefly before climbing into the vehicle. Hikaru watched his brother drive off with a smile, " _ You're going to love Dad, Kaoru… and he'll love you, too. _ "

* * *

Stepping into the terminal was a really fascinating experience for Kaoru. He'd never been out of the country before, and now he saw tons of different people of different nationalities speaking in different languages… it was a tad bit overwhelming.

Pulling his suitcase down past the other flight decks, he did his best to look through the crowd for his ride. His 'uncle' Kyoya. It wasn't until he passed the metal detectors that he heard his brother's name floating above the crowd.

"Hikaru!"

Kaoru did his best to smile as the older man came into view, "Kyoya!"

The ravenet walked over to the redhead, and Kaoru couldn't help but feel nervous. Kyoya looked exactly like his pictures, and while Hikaru had told him over and over again that the man was harmless and kind, he still looked frightening. Also, this would be the first test to see if Kaoru could play off being his brother around someone who'd known the other his whole life! Would he be able to tell?

Kyoya stopped in front of the boy, and Kaoru's stomach dropped to his toes when the man raised an eyebrow, "Your hair is mussed."

Panicked, Kaoru turned to the long wall mirror on his right, looking for his mistake, "Where?"

"There." Kyoya's right hand shot forward and started ruffling up the younger boy's perfectly combed hair, his thin fingers raking the red hair up into a spiky mess. Kaoru started laughing and batted the offending hand away, trying in vain to fix his new look. Kyoya was sporting a small smile as he watched, "I wasn't sure if you'd forgotten that trick. I'm pleasantly surprised."

"Jerk."

"Troublemaker." The ravenet smirked again and pulled the younger into a brief hug, "Mmm, we missed you out here. Just so you're aware, I don't think your father's ever letting you leave his side for that long again, so I hope you enjoyed that camp like it was your last."

Kaoru laughed again, and Kyoya's eyebrows narrowed a bit, as he realized something, "Your hair is parted on the other side."

"Oh, yeah, I just... wanted a change. Do you hate it?"

"What's to hate?" Kyoya shook his head and grabbed Hikaru's suitcase, "Well, we'd best be off." He began leading the teenager through the crowd, unaware of how the feeling of lead in Kaoru's stomach had lightened up considerably.

The car ride was almost magical. Kaoru had to resist the urge to stick his head out the window in his effort to remain cool, but his eyes and heart wanted to revolt. There was just so much to see! And it was beautiful…

But not nearly as beautiful as when they pulled up to the house.

Kaoru's heart was in his throat as he climbed out of the cab, suitcases in hand. For a moment, he just stared up at the huge three-story house. Completely white, with light green shutters and a grey roof… Kaoru thought it was amazing.

Kyoya opened the gate that lead them through a garden overflowing with different colored roses, and Kaoru couldn't stop himself from admiring the light blue and orange ones that were side by side. It had him thinking about the colored cabins he and Hikaru had been in right before they were moved to the isolation cabin. Maybe he could ask for two of them to be put in his room? That'd be nice.

Pushing open the front door, Kyoya toed off his shoes and called out through the house, "Tamaki!"

Kaoru takes off his own shoes and stares around the parlor in awe. It was  _ huge! _ White and black tiled floors, a crystal chandelier, and a winding staircase… Kaoru thought those were just myths!

"Mon Ami? Mon Caneton? You're here?" And there he was. Kaoru's father rushed down from the second floor with a huge smile, his blond hair a well tousled mess that made him look even more handsome than it did in his wedding picture.

"Dad…"

"You're back!"

Without another word Kaoru ran up the stairs to meet Tamaki halfway, hugging him tightly and trying not to cry.

"Ooo… I missed you so much…" the blond pulled back, and Kaoru felt a little better seeing that he wasn't the only one close to tears, "You are  _ never _ going back to summer camp, I missed you too much!"

"I-" Kaoru pressed a hand to his mouth, blinking rapidly.

His father's unique purple eyes softened even more, if possible, and he began stroking Kaoru's hair, "Oh, Mon Caneton, are you alright?"

"Yes… I just missed you so much…"

Tamaki smiled and hugged his son again, only pulling away to the sound of nails clacking on tile, "Oh, Antoinette!" He and Kaoru walked down the stairs just as the golden retriever ran into the foyer, "Look, girl! Hikaru's home!"

"Hi, Antoinette!" Kaoru beamed at the sight of the dog. He'd always wanted one… but they never had the time or the funds. He would sometimes volunteer at the animal shelter his Aunt had worked at for years, but that was as close as he ever got. The retriever ran excited up to Kaoru, but hesitated a few feet away. He saw the dog's nose wriggle before she let out a small growl. Instantly the redhead gulped. Oops… he didn't smell like Hikaru…

Tamaki raised an eyebrow at the dog, "Antoinette? What's the matter girl? It's Hikaru."

"Don't worry too much. He probably still smells like camp and the airport. She hasn't seen him for two months." Kyoya shook his head and walked further into the house, scratching the dog behind her ears before grabbing Kaoru's suitcase, "Come on. Let's get you unpacked."

"Wait, Hikaru, you have to tell me all about your trip!"

"Tamaki," Kyoya's voice suddenly turned serious, "I think you've forgotten about something you still need to do."

Kaoru's father got a funny look on his face, "Oh… that's right. Well, Hikaru, you go unpack with Kyoya, then come back downstairs. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Okay, Dad," Kaoru smiled.

Tamaki chuckled and slipped on his shoes, quickly kissing Kaoru on the top of his head before walking outside. The moment he disappeared, Kaoru's smile disappeared, "Meet… who?"

* * *

Stepping off the train, it took Hikaru less than three seconds to spot his mother.

Haruhi was standing against one of the many pillars lining the station, grinning at the doors that Hikaru was stepping out of. She had on a t-shirt and knee-length khaki shorts, and her short brown hair was stylishly pinned to give her a professional appearance despite the casual sense of her clothes, but her smile was the thing that caught his attention.

"Kaoru! Welcome back!"

"Mom!"

The boy ran through the station and wrapped her up in a hug. They were practically the same height, perfect for Hikaru to bury his face in her shoulder. And if a few tears leaked out? Well… it was an emotional moment.

"Woah… you okay, sweetie?"

"I just missed you… a lot."

Haruhi laughed and kissed her son's forehead, cupping his cheeks, "Let me get a good look at you." Her big brown eyes took in Hikaru's face and he tried to turn away so she wouldn't see him cry, but she just smiled and brushed them away with her thumbs. "There's something different about you…"

Hikaru's breath caught.

"Oh! You changed your hair!" Haruhi released her son, "It's parted on the right, now! When'd you do that?"

"A-at camp."

His mother pressed another kiss to his forehead before gesturing with her head, "Should we head home?"

"Y-yeah. Let's go."

Mother and son walked out of the station and down the street. They were in Bunkyo, one of the suburbs of Tokyo, and the buildings were unlike anything Hikaru had ever seen. That is… if he could've been bothered to look at them.

All the way home, Hikaru couldn't take his eyes off his mother. He would just ask her question after question about how her firm was doing, how Aunt Jin was, how Grandpa was, but he barely heard most of it. He was too busy committing everything to memory. The way her hair color shifted when they moved from shade to sunlight, how her laugh sounded, the teasing tone when she tried (and failed) to make a joke... She was just so beautiful, and too often Hikaru would find himself on the brink of tears, unable to believe he was  _ finally _ seeing her.

"Home sweet home."

"Hmm? Oh!" They walked up to a two story house that Hikaru would've passed right on by if his mother hadn't said anything. It wasn't nearly as big as he was used to, and it looked very plain. There was a balcony from the second floor and a small yard, but other than that there was nothing special.

The Hikaru from before camp would've scoffed and dismissed it, but now…

"I'm home."

"Yes, you are."

"Is that him?" The front door opened, revealing a very beautiful brown haired woman who looked similar to Hikaru's mother, "Is that the little boy we sent off? That tall gangly thing?"

Hikaru laughed and ran forward, hugging his Aunt Jin just as tightly as he'd held his mother. Considering she was the reason he and Kaoru had figured it out at all, and the many wonderful things his twin had shared about her, Hikaru found himself on the brink of tears yet  _ again. _

Pulling away, Jin cupped Hikaru's face just like Haruhi had done in the train station, "Hey, you're never going to an eight week camp again, you hear me? We missed you too much."

"Come on now, Nēchan. He's a growing boy and needs adventure." Haruhi smiled and nudged her sister with her elbow, "Is everyone else here?"

"Of course."

"Everyone else?"

"Kaoru!"

"Kaoru!"

As one, three short boys ran out of the house and hugged Hikaru around his waist. He laughed, "Hey, guys! Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed me!"

"We did!" Sadao insisted, hugging his 'sort of' cousin tighter. Yuudai, Sadao's older brother, and Nobuo nodded with his statement. They didn't pull away until a shriek alerted them to an older man with long red hair running into the front yard.

Hikaru's grandfather might've been getting up in years, but his hug nearly cracked the boy's back, "Oh… I missed you so much, buddy! Never leave us again!"

"That's what I said!"

"You two… I swear. So extra."

Ranka released the teenager and smiled, not noticing how Hikaru's eyes were glued to the redness of his hair. So many times he had wondered… wondered if his mother had red hair and his father was lying when he said brown… it was from his grandpa. This whole time.

"Kaoru? You alright?"

"I'm fine… this is my impersonation of a water fountain. You like?"

His grandfather laughed and hugged him again before pulling back, "Let's get back inside! Your uncles and aunts want to see you!"

Quickly grabbing his bags, Hikaru ran into the house, trailed by the other six. Instantly, a short-ish blond man launched himself at the redhead's middle.

"Uncle Honey!" He looked around the rest of the family room, "Uncle Mori! Aunt Reiko! Aunt Hisayo! You're all here!" Glancing up, he saw a 'Welcome Home, Kaoru' sign hanging above the line that separated the living room from the kitchen.

Swallowing, Hikaru smiled at all the people surrounding him, all of them trying to ask him different questions and looking at him like he was the most interesting person in the world.

_ I'm home... _

* * *

"Hikaru, it is none of my business how your father makes a fool of himself."

"But you didn't feel the need to tell me  _ before _ now that Dad has a girlfriend?"

Kyoya sighed, lifting the boy's suitcase onto his bed while Kaoru paced back and forth, "No. Because he's a big boy who can do what he wants, and I figured it would be best if he told you himself rather than having you hear it from me."

Kaoru crossed his arms and huffed, sitting down abruptly on his window seat. Looking down, he spotted his father helping a woman in a red dress out of a limo that had just pulled up in front of the house. The woman had a large black hat on her head, so Kaoru couldn't see her face, but he already hated her.

Something nudged the redhead's right leg, and he glanced up to see Kyoya standing beside him. Kaoru put his feet back on the floor and his uncle sat beside him, eyeing the woman as well, "Her name is Eclair Tonnerre. She's the only heir to Grand Tonnerre, and her family descends from royalty. Unfortunately, Grand Tonnerre is in risk of going belly-up…"

"And you think she's after Dad's fortune and family name?"

Kyoya sighed, "I'd say it's a definite possibility."

"So, she doesn't even love my Dad?"

"Eh, what do I know?" Kyoya stood back up and walked back to Kaoru's suitcase, tossing a good portion of the clothes into the hamper basket by his feet, "I've never seen the appeal of being a bigger moron than usual just because of another human being."

"You mean you're chronically single."

A dirty shirt was thrown into Kaoru's face in retaliation, "Watch it." Kyoya shook his head, but his small smile disappeared quickly, "But in all honesty, to answer your question I must say no, she does not."

He turned back to his task of emptying Kaoru's suitcase, "The reason her fortune and family name is declining has quite a bit to do with me. They were in the process of buying out my family's company when your father and I were still in high school, and would've done so too if I hadn't bought it out from underneath my own father, ensuring my role as the next CEO. But this move started a domino effect of other companies standing against Grand Tonnerre, which began losing its business. It's no surprise that she has developed an interest in your father, who happens to be my best friend and with an even stronger family name than my own."

"Then why don't you tell him? He listens to you."

Kaoru deflated a bit when his uncle only gave him a small smile, "I wish that were the case, but not when it comes to matters of the heart, Hikaru. The last time I told your father he was being idiotic regarding him and a woman, he punched me."

"He punched-what did you say?"

"I told him to run after your mother when she left." Kyoya sighed and stepped away from the now empty suitcase, "Well, that's all the unpacking I'm going for you. Now you might want to hurry up with the rest. Your father's expecting you outside to meet  _ Miss Eclair _ before too long. I need to head home anyways."

Kaoru watched as his father and the woman in his arms wandered towards the backyard, his chest feeling like it was filling up with cement. Just before Kyoya left his room, he stood up.

"Kyoya?"

"Yes?"

"Think it's warm enough for a swim?"

The ravenet smirked, "I'd say so. See you tomorrow, troublemaker."

Kaoru smiled as the older man shut the door behind him. Kyoya reminded him a lot of his Aunt Jin… he just wasn't as obvious about his affections and teasing. Unfortunately, thinking about his favorite aunt made the redhead horribly homesick. He hadn't seen her or his mother in eight weeks, and now he had  _ this _ mess to deal with.

_ Well, might was well make a lasting first impression. _

Three minutes later, Kaoru walked into the backyard with a pair of swim trunks, a blue tank top, and a pair of sunglasses. His father spotted him from one of the chairs by the pool and stood up with his usual grin. It sent a flush of happiness through the redhead's body, but the feeling was immediately cut short when he noticed the woman sitting nearby.

"Hikaru," Tamaki placed an arm over Kaoru's shoulder, "I'd like you to meet, Eclair Tonnerre."

Slowly, the woman looked up, finally revealing her face. Eclair had a sharp face that was practically designed for looking down on someone, and her smile was so cold it almost gave Kaoru frostbite.

"Hi!"

"Hi… Eclair Tonnerre."

"I can't believe I'm finally meeting the famous Hikaru. Aww, Tama he's so adorable! You know, the way your father talked about you I expected a little boy but you… you're a grown man!"

"I just turned 14."

Eclair smiled brightly again and Kaoru almost felt the need to take a step back. His father clapped him on his shoulders once, "Well,  _ I'm _ going to go back inside for a moment and get us a bottle of champagne to celebrate your homecoming, Hikaru. Why don't you and Eclair talk while I'm gone?"

"Okay, Dad."

Tamaki's eyes sparkled one more time before he walked back towards the house. Kaoru didn't want him to go, but decided to take the opportunity to remove his shirt so he was just in his swim trunks.

"Oh my, jumping into the pool so soon after you've arrived home? Your father told me the camp you went to had a… lake, or something, to go swimming in." Eclair eyed her manicured nails as she spoke, "Not a good match with your upbringing?"

"The lake was fine, but I spent a lot of time with my friends doing other stuff. Playing cards and sports, stuff like that. I like swimming, and this pool's just another part of my home." He glanced over his shoulder at the woman, "Do you swim?"

"Ah… no."

Kaoru shrugged and took a flying leap into the pool, curling up into a cannonball at the last second. Even through the layer of water that closed up over his head, he heard Eclair shriek. Smirking for a brief moment, Kaoru resurfaces and adopted an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry! Did I get you wet? My splashes aren't usually that big!"

Eclair was clearly struggling to maintain her composure, "You got me… just a little bit, Hikaru." She removed her hat while continuing to dab at her red dress with a towel. Kaoru wasn't sure whether to be pleased or worried with the way she looked angry for a second. If he could only prove to his father that she was terrible…

"Hey, guess what?" Eclair walked a little closer and leaned close to the edge, "Your father is the kindest, most romantic man I've ever met. He's taking me out to dinner in tonight… oh, I hope that's okay with you. I know you just arrived back home and all."

Kaoru swam up to the edge of the pool and put his arms over the edge, pleased with the way Eclair shifted away from the spread of water on the cement, "It's fine, Eclair! I'm used to my Dad going out on dates. Though, I must say, you're the first one who's even noticed I was there when my Dad was around."

"The first? There were others?"

"Yeah. I didn't count 'em, but there is a reason we have a 'special reserve' of champagne…"

"Here we are! From my special champagne reserve."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at Eclair before plugging his nose and pushing into a backwards somersault underwater. He had to call Hikaru.

* * *

"Okay, Kiddo! Breakfast!"

Hikaru came running down the stairs at the sound of his Aunt's voice. He remembered all those amazing breakfasts Kaoru told him about and was very excited to try it himself.

_ Ring ring! _

The redhead made his way into the kitchen just as Jin grabbed the phone and pressed it between her shoulder and ear, still focusing on the griddle and pancakes in front of her, "Hello? Kaoru?"

"Yes, Aunt Jin?"

The brunette jumped, grabbing the device on her shoulder so she wouldn't drop it, and turned around, "Oh, I'm sorry, Kaoru. It sounds just like you over the phone. I-I'm sorry, who were you trying to reach? Kaoru?" She looked over at the redhead, "It's for you, sweetie. Says they're a friend from camp."

Hikaru took the phone and held it up to his ear, "Hello?"

" _ Just say I'm Leon Danialsson from Sweden! _ "

"Oh, Leon! Hi!" Hikaru smiled at his aunt, "Yeah, it's the boy from Sweden I was telling you about." Jin nodded, but watched with squinted eyes as the boy walked out of the living room.

Hikaru walked up to his bedroom and shut the door, crawling into his closet, "Kaoru! What's going on? Did you find out-"

" _ That's not important right now! Dad's in love! _ "

"I…  _ what? _ Dad doesn't fall in love, he's still moony over Mom."

" _ Then call it a rebound or a business situation, this woman is  _ awful  _ but they're all over each other! Kyoya doesn't even think she really loves him but they're going out on dates and kissing and it's just so gross! We have to get mom and dad together immediately! _ "

Hikaru gaped, "What?! Immediately? No way! I've just gotten to know everyone! Oh my gosh, Mom's  _ incredible _ and I love Aunt Jin and everyone's just amazing I can't end this now- I won't!"

" _ Hikaru… this is serious! _ "

"Then find a way to break them up!"

" _ I'm trying! I splashed water on her and told her Dad's a player but they still went out to dinner! I mean, I'm kinda at a disadvantage! _ "

"Just… do your best! If nothing works… then call me again and I'll help you, but I want more time with Mom!"

" _ Okay… _ "

Hikaru hung up and walked back down to the kitchen. His mother and grandfather were down there now, too, eating at the table, and his aunt was still in the kitchen. He placed the phone on the receiver and grabbed a plate, "Thanks, Aunt Jin!"

"Hold up, kiddo." Jin had a hand on her hip and was studying him with that 'thousand year old' stare Kaoru had  _ also  _ warned him about, "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your friend who called you, from Sweden? It's 8 am right now." Hikaru glanced at the clock on the stove. "That means it's 1 am for this Leon boy."

"He's a night owl. The counselors used to come into our cabin all the time to tell us to go to sleep, because he'd keep us all up with stories and games."

Jin tilted her head, "And not to brag or anything, but usually when I make breakfast, not even a call from the Prime Minister could pry you away from my food. Are you sick, kiddo?"

"No. I just knew how late it would be for him so I tried to get him off the phone as quickly as possible."

"Hmm…" Jin raised an eyebrow, "Okay, smarty-pants. Go eat. We're heading over to the dojo after breakfast."

Hikaru smiled, "Can't wait!"

* * *

"Bye, Kyoya! Thanks for the ride!"

The ravenet smirked as the redhead jumped out of the passenger seat, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay until you're done talking with your father?"

"Kyoya, I'll be fine taking the subway home! I've done it a million times! I see you for dinner!" And with that, Kaoru shut the door and ran up to the Suoh Enterprises Paris Headquarters. Kyoya watched him for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly.

" _ A million times, hm? _ " He kept his eyes on the redhead until he disappeared into the building. Turning back towards the steering wheel, a brief thought crossed his mind. Then he shook his head, and drove off.

Inside the building, it didn't take long for Kaoru to find his dad's office. Hikaru had given him step by step instructions on how to get there, since he went  _ all the time _ . Tamaki smiled at his son when he appeared at his door.

"Hey, Hikaru! Would you mind going on a little walk with me for my lunch hour?"

"Sounds amazing, Dad."

The two walked outside and down the city block. Kaoru faintly recalled how his brother had talked about a little cafe they usually frequented, and was so happy he could experience it himself.

"Hikaru, I'm glad you agreed to come, because there's something important I want to talk with you about."

"Important? Well, what a coincidence. I have something important to talk to you about, too!"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well, you go first."

"Okay… I want to talk about my mom."

Whatever Tamaki had been expecting, it hadn't been that. He actually stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at his son. Kaoru scuffled his toe against the cement before he walked over to a nearby bench. After hesitating for a moment, his father joined him.

Tamaki sighed, "So… you mother, hm?"

"Dad, I'm fourteen. How long did you expect me to believe that a stork left me on your doorstep?"

Thankfully the joke got his father to laugh a little and meet his eyes once again, "Well… what did you want to know? I thought we've had this conversation before."

"No… we've avoided that conversation. For forever. And I don't even need to know what she was like, or how you met… but I want to know why you split up."

"Why we…" Tamaki let out a long breath of air, "Well, that seems to be the question, isn't it?"

"You mean, you don't know?"

Kaoru watched his father, even though he didn't want to. It was like he was watching the man's heart break in front of his eyes, but he refused to back down. He needed to know. Shifting into his father's side, Kaoru hugged the man, feeling a heavy breath rattle his dad's chest.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru… I must embarrass you."

"No. You don't. I'm sorry for asking. If you don't want to answer right now…"

Tamaki sighed and started petting his son's hair, "No, I can answer. Your mother… was a very independent woman. It took me almost a full year to get her to agree to go out with me in the first place. And after that, things progressed slowly up until… they didn't. Suddenly I was officially named the heir to Suoh Enterprises and your mom was accepted into law school and, well… we loved each other. It was the single biggest irrational choice she ever made, marrying me so soon. And we were happy. We had you… and it was perfect. But then reality set in. I guess it finally got to be too much for your mother, and so… she packed."

Kaoru shut his eyes. He almost wished he could go back to five minutes ago and stop himself from ever asking for the story. It was worse than he thought. No  _ wonder _ his mother never talked about his father! It wasn't because he was a horrible guy who got her knocked up, it was because she was so in love with him she acted irrationally and her stupid, stubborn,  _ rational core _ caught up to her! It was his  _ mother's _ fault! And his father's fault even more for not running after her like Kyoya had told him too!

Tamaki squeezed his son into an even tighter hug, "Hey… let's go get some warm muffins and hot chocolate, okay? You still have to tell me about camp."

"Didn't you have something to tell me?"

Kaoru's father pulled them both off the bench and lead his son down the sidewalk once again, keeping his arm around the young redhead, "We'll talk about it later."

* * *

Hikaru leaned back onto his hands, letting his head fall back so his face could be dappled with the sunlight that made it's way through the tree leaves. It was one of the few trees that was planted within the Haninozuka dojo, where Hikaru was currently watching as his 'cousins' went through their warm-up exercises. He was still a little winded from the run earlier. No wonder Kaoru had beat him at that race earlier this summer. His family had stamina.

Either way, he couldn't help but think about what his twin had said earlier. Dad? In  _ love? _ No way… right? But Kaoru wasn't one to make something like that up…

"Kaoru!"

His Uncle Honey was walking over to the redhead, his big smile and blond hair so much like Hikaru's father briefly gave the boy a hot flash of homesickness. But he shook it off as quick as he could, "Yeah?"

"You alright? You've been really quiet all day." Hikaru smiled a bit, but couldn't help but remember something he needed to ask. Perhaps it was a better idea to not ask his mom… but her old friends?

He shifted a bit, "I'm fine… just thinking about… you know."

"What?"

His Uncle Mori and Aunt Jin were there now. Hikaru's 'cousins' were still practicing on the other side of the clearing, their mothers probably inside working on the paperwork for the four companies the two families ran.

Taking in a short breath, Hikaru pushed out the words as fast as he could, "I was thinking about my father."

The three adults went silent.

"Kaoru… maybe it would be better for you to talk about this with your mom-"

"My mom never answers my questions. Also, I don't like making her upset. Why doesn't anyone talk about him? I mean, you all must've been at their wedding? Can't you at least tell me what you thought of him?"

His uncles looked at their toes, but his aunt sat down beside Hikaru, "Kaoru, I only knew your father from the letters and phone calls your mother sent me while I was overseas. They married right out of high school, and I just barely made it to their wedding, where I met him for three hours. They divorced after having you… and I was still attending college in Germany at the time. But the reason your uncles don't talk about him is because… they were  _ all _ friends in high school."

"Wait, really?"

Honey nodded, "Yeah, there used to be five of us. Your mother, your father, your father's best friend, and Takashi and I. We were all in a club together in high school. So when he cut us out of his life after the split, it hurt. Kyo-chan went with him and sends us updates about… your father every once in awhile, but it's not the same. I think he was so upset that it didn't work out with your mother that seeing us hurt just as bad."

"Oh…" Hikaru sat back, his eyes staring ahead, unseeing. He had been reading between the lines of their pauses, but it was the last one that really got him.  _ So… Kyoya's been sending these guys updates about me this whole time? I know that's what Uncle Honey was going to say. Oh my gosh… _ He made a decision then and there to hug Kyoya as hard and as long as he possibly could the very next time he saw him.

* * *

"Hikaru? I'm back!" The redhead jumped off his brother's bed and ran to the staircase, looking down over the railing at his father, "Think now is a good time to talk?"

"Sure, Dad!" Kaoru ran down the staircase, but inside he was nervous. Did his dad want to talk more about his mom? Because he wasn't sure if he could handle that at the moment. He'd only just come to terms that his mother was the reason he hadn't have two parents or know he was a twin for his whole life… it was still a little hard to swallow.

But his dad was smiling as they walked onto the back patio and sat down, "So, you getting excited for our family fishing trip?"

"Can't wait!"  _ Though hopefully by then we can take two more people with us and make it a  _ real  _ family trip. _

Tamaki cleared his throat, "And… on the subject of family, I wanted to talk to you about something. Now, don't interrupt, because I really want you opinion on this."

"Okay…"

"Hikaru, what do you think of Eclair?"

Kaoru blinked, a million movie scenarios flashing in front of his eyes.  _ Oh no… _ "Think of her as… what, Dad?"

"Just in general, I suppose. What do you think of her as a person?"

"Um… I guess she's nice looking. Good hair, at least. Eyebrows are done professionally… but in all honesty, Dad, she kinda scares me. She's a total stranger and seemed about as interested in my thoughts as a fish in politics."

Tamaki hummed, "Well, you haven't known her for as long as I have."

"Less than eight weeks?"

"...True…"

"Why do you want my opinion of her?"

Tamaki sighed, "Well, I've been thinking… about making Eclair a part of the family."

All of the fluids in Kaoru's body turned to ice, "Oh. Adoption. How sweet of you! I've always wanted a sibling!"

"I…  _ what? _ " Kaoru had never really understood the need for the word 'flabbergasted', but it definitely seemed to fit his father's expression, "N-no… Hikaru, I'm not going to  _ adopt… _ " Tamaki looked like he might laugh, "I was talking about…  _ marrying _ Eclair."

Kaoru stood up, knocking his patio chair backwards, "Marry her?! Are you insane?"

"Hikaru-"

" _ That's a moronic idea! It's going to ruin everything! She's evil! She doesn't even love you and you're still pining after mom who is the most amazing person on the planet but you didn't fight for her- _ "

"Hikaru!" Tamaki was standing up now, too, and he grabbed the redhead's shoulder, "Are you speaking German?"

"I-I learned it at camp."

Tamaki gently cupped the boy's face, "Mon Caneton, what's gotten into you?"

"Nothing… oh, you  _ can't _ marry her Dad, it'll spoil  _ everything! _ "

And he turned and ran.

Kyoya was taking off his shoes near the front door as the boy ran towards the staircase, "Hey, troublemaker. I saw Eclair's limo on the way here, so is it just you and me for…" he paused, watching as Kaoru bolted up the stairs, sniffling, "... dinner?"

Outside, Eclair sauntered her way around the house, "I  _ thought _ I heard voices back here."

"Hi." Tamaki rubbed his face in his hands.  _ He thought I was going to  _ adopt  _ her? _

"Oh, what's the matter, Darling? You look stressed." Eclair pressed a long kiss to the blond's lips before sitting down in the chair previously occupied by the man's son, "Do you need a drink?"

"Strong one."

"Coming right up." Eclair smirked and pulled a tiny silver bell out of her bag and rang it, "Kyoya!" Tamaki stared at the woman in shock, and she gave him a small smile, "Don't you  _ love _ it? It's the perfect thing for such a big house. Kyoya!" She rang it again.

"He's not a butler…"

"Darling, he would bend himself over backwards for you, and  _ trust _ me, it's not for friendship. Hasn't it always been that way? You underestimate the power behind your family name. So why not call him out on it?"

She rang one last time, and Kyoya appeared at the doorway from inside the house, looking 200% done.

"... You rang?"

"Yes, would you mind getting us something to drink, preferably something strong for Tamaki, here?"

The ravenet gave the woman an incredulous look, "I am not your butler. Nor am I your server, or a nanny, or anything else that would justify waiting on you at your beck and call. I came over under the impression that Tamaki had invited me for dinner. Unless you wish to start paying me for servicing you around my full time job as a CEO, and I promise you I would not be cheap, then I shall take my leave. Have a good day."

"Wait, Kyoya!"

Tamaki stood up and ran after his friend, Eclair watching with cruel amusement as he did so. So close… so close to making Kyoya miserable… how wonderful.

"Kyoya-"

"If that's what you think of me-"

"It's not! I don't know where Eclair got that idea but I promise it wasn't from me!" Tamaki sighed and pushed his bangs back from his forehead, "Kyoya, you're my best friend. I never would've been able to get this far without you. And you've raised Hikaru just as much as I have. You're his uncle in almost every right, so please don't leave. I'll talk to Eclair and make sure she gets rid of that stupid bell, I promise."

Kyoya sighed, contemplating the idea of telling his friend just how awful his 'fiancee' really was. Then his left cheekbone ached with an echo of a fist slamming into it and he reconsidered. "Fine. However, I don't think I'll be capable of holding a civilized conversation with Eclair for the rest of the day. Perhaps I can take Hikaru out to eat somewhere and you can enjoy a night in?"

"Actually, that was something else I also wanted to talk to you about." Tamaki rubbed the back of his head and glanced up the stairs, "I… told Hikaru about how I proposed to Eclair and he went ballistic."

_ Huh, kid has good taste. _

"At first he started talking about me  _ adopting her _ -" Kyoya snorted and Tamaki raised an eyebrow, "I  _ have _ punched you before."

"Which means it's my turn. Continue."

Tamaki rolled his eyes, "Whatever, but then he started ranting at me in  _ German! _ I didn't know he could even  _ speak _ German! Just, could you talk to him? I think he's a little sensitive to me right about now, and I know that Eclair would want to join us and I don't think that's the best right about now… you okay, Kyoya?"

The ravenet was staring up at the second floor with narrowed eyes. It was a look that Tamaki recognized from knowing him for over seventeen years. Kyoya was thinking hard about something, and it was forming an idea that he didn't like.

"I'm fine. And I'll talk to him," Kyoya smirked at the blond as he passed him, "You go back to your new child."

"I'll still hit you!"

* * *

" _ Hello? Fujioka residence, this is Kaoru- _ "

"Hikaru!"

There was the faint sound of scuffling on the other end of the line before a responding, " _ Kaoru? How's everything going- _ "

"Dad's getting married!"

" _ What? _ "

"He's already  _ engaged _ to Eclair! He just told me… oh, god, what do we do?"

" _ Wha… when's this happening? _ "

"Two  _ weeks! _ She's got her claws in him and I don't know what to do!" Kaoru curled his legs up, squishing his body even further into the corner of the closet. The dark silence and smell of freshly laundered clothes helped calm him down. He was in way over his head. "If we want Mom and Dad back together we have to do it fast and I mean  _ really _ fast…"

" _ Okay… I'll tell Mom as soon as I can. I promise. Are you going to tell Dad? _ "

"I don't know. Dad told me we're going to Tokyo in two days on a whim, but I have a feeling it was Eclair's idea to make Dad and Kyoya as miserable as possible by bringing up bad memories of how Mom and Dad got married there. God she's  _ horrific! _ "

" _ Just don't panic! Call me when you know  _ exactly  _ where you're going, okay? _ "

"Okay… thanks."

The call disconnected and Kaoru sighed, standing up and opening the closet door.

"So… is there something you want to tell me Hikaru?"

He gasped, almost falling back into the closet at the sight of Kyoya leaning against his bedroom door, "K-kyoya? How long were you standing there?"

"I didn't hear anything." The man shut the door and began walking closer to the boy, crossing his arms, "But I've noticed that you've been acting very strange ever since you came back from camp, Hikaru."

"Strange? Like… how? If your talking about the closet thing, it's a camp tradition-"

"Not what I meant. I'm referring to your sudden knowledge of the subway system of Paris even though we  _ always _ use cars and taxis. And how your father has just informed me that you somehow mastered a whole new language over the past eight weeks you spent abroad. And to top it all off, Antoinette is still jittery around you, preferring to sleep on her dog bed in the living room rather than with you. So, why don't you tell me what's wrong, Hikaru? Did something happen?"

Kaoru swallowed, "I…"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost like you've..." Kyoya shook his head, "Never mind."

"Almost like I've been replaced?"

Instantly, Kyoya's expression went from accusatory to concerned, "Replaced? Is that what this is about? Eclair?"

"No… I mean  _ actually _ replaced."

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

Kaoru reached up and pressed his hands onto the back of his head. This was harder than he thought it was going to be, "Almost… as if I'm not  _ me? _ "

"Hikaru? Is something going on?"

"I mean… it's almost like I'm acting like… Kaoru?"

Kyoya's breath hitches, his eyes widening. For a moment, the two boys just stare at each other, Kaoru's heart pounding against his ribs.

" _ How do you know about Kaoru? _ "

"I…  _ am _ Kaoru."

Kyoya abruptly covered his mouth with a hand, taking a small step back as his eyes widened just a little more. Despite how they were clearly muffled, Kaoru still faintly heard the restrained sobs coming from his uncle. Despite only knowing the other man for a few days, the sound sent a sick feeling into the pit of Kaoru's stomach.

"Are you… mad?"

"Am I  _ mad? _ " Kyoya pulled his hand away, showing a huge smile and held out his arms, "Come here."

Without a second thought, Kaoru ran forward and hugged his uncle. Kyoya squeezed him tightly, and the redhead couldn't help but shake a little. This whole time, he'd been worried that Kyoya wouldn't care for him if he knew that it was Kaoru instead of Hikaru standing in front of him. Guess his uncle had loved him just as much… only a little further away.

" _ You don't know how much I've missed you. _ "

Kaoru laughed, "S-so sentimental, Kyoya. What happened to the tough guy act?" To his surprise, Kyoya actually laughed a bit at that. He pulled back a little and wiped a tear away, "Are you going to tell Dad?"

Kyoya tilted his head before maneuvering the both of them to sit on the bed, "I would assume that we'd have to, don't we? He deserves to know that you and Hikaru… switched places? Am I correct?"

"Yeah. It's funny. We met at camp. Guess you and my aunt think a bit alike. Anyway, when the whole story spilled out we decided to… swap lives. I wanted to meet Dad… and you! And Hikaru was dying to know about Mom and Aunt Jin and Grandpa and Uncle Honey and Uncle Mori and… everyone else. It helped that I can speak French, I guess…"

Kyoya smirked, "Hmm… I recall your Aunt Jin. We met at your parent's wedding. I assume she taught you French and German? She did spend quite a few years of her life studying abroad if I remember correctly."

"You do. But please don't tell Dad about it! Not yet!"

"And when did you plan to tell him?"

Kaoru swung his feet a little, "I guess Hikaru and I were hoping he'd find out when he saw Mom when we go to Tokyo in two days."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "Your mother, hmm? Was this perhaps also a plan to get your parents together again?"

"... Wishful thinking, huh?"

"Not… necessarily." Kaoru looked up at his uncle, hardly daring to believe, "Well, we both know he'd be incredibly miserable living with Eclair. And I can only imagine the horrors she'd inflict on your brother once you're switched back." Kyoya shrugged, pretending to not notice the huge smile on the redhead's face as he continued, "It's simply a case of looking out for your best interest."

Kaoru hugged the man again, "I love you, Uncle Kyoya."

"Love you, too, Troublemaker. Now, grab your jacket and get your shoes on. We're going out to dinner, and you're going to tell me your  _ whole _ life story."

* * *

"Hey, Mom? I have to ask you something."

"Okay, Kaoru. But can you give me five minutes to finish up this case file-" The phone went off in his mother's home office and Hikaru felt the urge to rip it from the wall. He'd been  _ trying _ to come clean to his mother for  _ hours _ and he was constantly being interrupted!

As Haruhi picked up the phone to hear about yet  _ another _ case, Hikaru stormed out of the room. He was having a bit of trouble keeping his annoyance in check. Just last night, Kaoru had called again to tell him where the rest of his family was going to be tomorrow morning. Park Hyatt Tokyo. Even Hikaru had whistled at that. That place was expensive.

But now he had to find a way to get his family over there! And so far it wasn't happening! He was trying to tell them he was really Hikaru, but no one was listening!

Wait… there was one person he hadn't tried yet.

Rushing out the front door, Hikaru ran across his family's front yard into the one belonging to their neighbor's. He stood on the front step and pounded his fist on the door, "Aunt Jin!"

Fifteen seconds later, the door opened, "Kaoru? You okay?"

The redhead stormed inside, "No! I'm not okay! Everything is going horribly wrong and no one will  _ listen _ to me even though it's really time sensitive and I'm just so  _ frustrated _ but… but…" he angrily rubbed at his eyes, not quite remembering when he'd started crying from the stress. Instantly his aunt was in front of him, wiping away his tears and calmly shushing him. Hikaru let himself be lead to the couch and sat down, where he curled into his aunt and took in a few deep breaths, trying to relax the tightness in his chest.

Jin gently ran her fingers through his hair, resting her cheek against the top of his head, "There we go… now, why don't you tell me what's so time sensitive. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is."

"Well… we need to go to Park Hyatt Tokyo."

"Okay. Why?"

He hesitated, which was stupid, he told himself. He'd been trying to tell his family who he really was for so long already, so why was it so hard to do now that he had the opportunity? Frustrated with himself, the redhead grabbed one of the pillows on the couch and pressed it against his face, falling to his side.

Jin smiled and started poking at her nephew's exposed belly, "Kaoru? Kaoru… are you dead? Kaoru, I'm not stopping until you laugh or-"

" _ That's why we have to go! To get Kaoru! _ "

Now the woman let out a small laugh at the muffled voice, "Oh, I see. And why would Kaoru be there?"

" _ Because that's where our father Suoh Tamaki is taking him while they're away from my home in Paris! _ " The poking stopped. He slowly pulled the pillow away from his eyes. Jin's face radiated pure shock. Gently, she maneuvered her knees onto the floor as Hikaru sat up.

She cups his face, " _ You're not Kaoru, are you? _ "

The redhead sniffled softly, " _ That would be correct. _ "

" _ You're  _ Hikaru?"

" _ Yeah… _ "

" _ Oh my god- _ " Jin surged forward and hugs him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder, "I-I thought I'd never see you again!  _ Oh!  _ And look how big you are! Oh,  _ sweetheart… _ "

"Nēchan? Have you seen- Nēchan? Kaoru? What's wrong? What happened?" Haruhi and Ranka ran in through the front door, staring at the crying duo in worry.

Jin pulled away from her nephew and stood up, wiping at her face before pointing at him, "I'm going to make you something special to eat. You want anything? You know what, don't answer, I'm just going to whip up everything I've got, okay?" She walked into the kitchen, still crying quietly.

"Nēcha- Kaoru, what's gotten into your aunt? Did something happen?"

The redhead hiccuped and stood up from the couch, smiling weakly at his mother, "H-hi, Mom… it's been a long time, right? Thirteen years."

His grandfather gasped, clapping his hands over his mouth as the beginnings of tears flooded his eyes, " _ Oh… _ "

"Dad? Wha… what is going on?"

"Haru." Jin was back, still wiping at the corners of her eyes, "That's not Kaoru."

The shorter brunette looked at the redhead, and Hikaru saw the exact moment when all the pieces fell into place. Her already big brown eyes widened and she opened her mouth, only for a small choking noise to escape.

" _ H… Hikaru? _ "

" _ Mom! _ "

The woman rushed forward to wrap her son up in her arms, crying just as hard as her sister had been earlier. Ranka eased himself into a chair and cried into his hands, " _ I've never been so happy in my entire life… _ "

Hikaru squeezed his mother as tight as he could, gasping at the feeling of safety the emotionally charged hug was giving him. He'd been hugged by his mother before… but never as Hikaru. She had hugged Kaoru. And while those were nice… this felt nicer.

Haruhi pulled back a little, just enough to stare at the boy's face, "Oh, look at you! You're all grown up… my little boy. But… how did you get here?"

"It's a long story…"

* * *

"Um, I'm sorry, but  _ no. _ I can't handle this!"

Jin raised an eyebrow as she watched her sister throw multiple clothing articles out of her closet, "Well, it's not as though we can't afford one or two nights there. Think of it as tapping into that summer vacation money we always save up but never spend."

"That's not what I'm  _ talking _ about, Nēchan." Haruhi held up one of her work shirts before tossing it over her shoulder, "I mean, I haven't seen or heard from Suoh Tamaki in thirteen years and suddenly he's flying back to Japan and I'm supposed to  _ meet _ him? I'm not mature enough for this!"

"Says the woman with twin teenage sons."

"Oh, that's different! I had you and Dad and Honey and Mori to help with that!"

"You were always mature beyond your years, Haru. Why all the insecurity now?"

"Because that  _ French man _ is the only person on Earth who can make me act irrational and I'm not okay with that!"

Jin shrugged and started slipping a pair of pants into the small suitcase opened up on the bed, "Seems like you were okay with it a long time ago."

"Oh, shut up!" Haruhi fell face first onto the bed before rolling onto her back, "I mean, we came up with this arrangement with the boys so we'd never have to see each other again! Now look at me. I'm acting like Dad! Have you ever seen me like this?!"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that." She jumped up and started going through her drawers, "I… what if he doesn't recognize me?"

"I  _ seriously _ doubt that if he's kept your picture all these years."

"Nēchan…"

Hikaru bounced into the room, "Alright, Mom! I'm all packed for tomorrow!"

Haruhi quickly sat up, "Brilliant, sweetheart. Me too."

"Does… Aunt Jin usually pack for you?"

"Ah… no. No, not usually." Jin winked at her nephew. "So, did you speak to your father?"

"Uh, yeah! Just hung up with him. Kaoru and I explained everything and just between you and me, he's really anxious to see you."

Haruhi blinked, looking like she might faint, "Anxious… Suoh Tamaki, anxious… well, I never really could tell what that man would do next. Always drove me mad, that."

"He'll meet us at noon at the hotel tomorrow."

" _ Ooooh _ my, that's incredibly soon. Er, why don't you go see if your grandfather's decided to join us, eh?"

"Okay, Mom."

Haruhi let out another breath before going back into her closet. Hikaru turned around to leave when a voice whispered in his ear, " _ Liar, liar, pants on fire! _ "

He turned around and held a finger to his lips, "SH!" and shut the door.

"Nēchan? You're coming with us, right?"

"Yeah! Of course, Haru!"

"Good!"

"You thought I wouldn't?" Jin rolled her eyes and threw a pair of black socks into the suitcase next to Haruhi's favorite low heels.

Haruhi finally smiled and glanced over her shoulder, "Well, I couldn't be sure, considering  _ you're _ old flame will be there, too."

"Old flame?"

"Ootori Kyoya."

Jin dropped one of the rejected skirts back to the floor and gave her sister the 'Look', "Really, Haru? This joke again?"

"You two  _ totally _ hit it off, Nēchan. I'm surprised you didn't go home with him."

"I spoke with the man for a total of six hours, Haru! He was Tamaki's best man and  _ I _ was your Maid-of-Honor! Of course we talked a bit during the reception, we walked down the aisle together!"

"So you  _ weren't _ giving him flirty heart eyes for those six hours like I totally saw you doing?"

"He was a hunk! I can appreciate someone's physical attraction, but that doesn't mean I'm going to jump into his bed at the first opportunity!"

"And the second?"

"Get your head out of the gutter! And besides, there's no guarantee that he'll be there."

Haruhi laughed, still raking her closet to shreds, "Doubtful. Apparently he's as much Hikaru's uncle as Honey and Mori are for Kaoru! Perhaps there'll be some rekindled love?"

"Haru-"

"I  _ still _ stand by the fact that if you had gone to Ouran instead of staying in America all through high school, you two would've gotten together before Tamaki and I did.  _ Or _ if you had gone to college in Japan instead of Germany, you two would've stayed in contact. Perhaps the third opportunity will be the charm? After all… of all the businesses you received job offers from, you went with the Ootori Group."

Jin sighed, "Let's just get you packed, unless you want to meet your ex-husband in your nightgown."

"Ugh! I just don't know! What are you wearing?"

"A couple nice shirts and pants, maybe a dress. Oh, and a swimsuit to use in the pool. But if  _ I _ were in  _ your  _ shoes…" Jin walked to her sister's side and reached deep into the closet, grabbing the hanger in the far back and pulling the dress out, "I'd wear this."

Haruhi eyed the red dress and whimpered softly… but eventually nodded and grabbed the hanger.

* * *

"Oh… Nēchan, do you think we're too early? Too late? Maybe we can do this some other-" Before Haruhi could turn around, Jin threw an arm out and caught her little sister by her shoulders. Hikaru wasn't sure how to feel seeing his mother so uncomfortable, but it wasn't like they could turn back now. Jin had given her a glass of wine before they left to help with nerves, but it didn't seem to be taking effect just yet.

Jin twirled their room key around her finger before tossing it to her nephew, "We're on the eighth floor. Room three. And our bags should already be up there so, Hikaru, how about you head up there and start getting settled in. I'll talk to your mother."

"Okay. See you up there."

Hikaru started walking towards the elevator and had to jump backwards in order to avoid being run over by a bellhop. He bumped into someone and spun around, "I'm so sorry- Kyoya!"

The ravenet blinked in surprise before he smirked, "Hikaru?"

"Yup!" The two hugged briefly, pulling apart when he heard another familiar voice talking to 'Hikaru' across the lobby.

Kyoya started pushing the teenager towards the stairs, " _ Go! Go! _ "

" _ Room 803! _ "

The redhead disappeared from view just as Tamaki spotted his best friend, "Kyoya! I know you prefer to take the stairs over the elevator, but c'mon, the sixteenth floor?"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow, "My room is on the tenth floor, Tamaki, but you're quite right. It is a little much, even for me." He met the other twin's eyes, and instantly Kaoru understood that they'd just avoided a bullet.

Eclair sighed and looped her arm through Tamaki's, "Well, why don't we all head up to our rooms and freshen up. Kyoya, Hikaru is staying in your room, correct?"

"When was that decided?"

"When we made the reservations. I figured that if we're having the wedding here, Tamaki and I might as well see if we'll enjoy our Honeymoon as well." The woman batted her eyelashes at her fiance, skillfully keeping his eyes on her while his son pretended to throw up behind them.

Kyoya clenched his jaw, but managed a small smile, "I wouldn't mind. So long as there are two beds in the room."

"Of course."

Kaoru let out a sigh and walked up to his uncle's side, "Let's go, Kyoya."

"Right behind you." They climbed into the elevator, and just as the doors started to shut Kyoya spotted two familiar brunette's across the lobby, one significantly shorter than the other. He tensed up, and when the doors shut and he looked down at the boy by his side, he saw that Kaoru was staring back at him with wide eyes.

"Do you know their room number?"

"803."

Kaoru jabbed the '8' button and crossed his arms, "Go make sure Eclair isn't forcing you to sleep on the couch, then meet us down there."

* * *

"Feel better?"

"Much."

"Good. Now, we're all going to be calm, and you two are going to talk, and everything's going to be…"

The Fujioka's stopped and stared as Suoh Tamaki climbed into one of the elevators with a twig of a girl in a faded plum colored dress. The woman had her arms around his neck as he hit the button, and Jin watched with a raised eyebrow as the blond looked up and saw them. His mouth fell open, and as the elevator doors started to shut he moved along with it until the man disappeared completely from view.

The sisters stood there for a moment in complete silence.

" _ Oh… he's so in trouble. _ "

The elevator ride up to the 8th floor was completely silent save for the tapping of Haruhi's shoes on the floor. The moment they arrived, Haruhi was stalking her way down the hallway, "Suoh Hikaru!"

The door on their left opened and two identical faces poked out, answering 'yes' in unison. Haruhi jumped a bit, then sighed, "Oh, don't  _ do _ that to me. Get back in there. Now, which is which?"

As the four walked into the room, the twin with combed down hair smiled at the women, "I'm Kaoru."

"Kaoru!" Haruhi hugged the boy tightly, "Oh, look at you! Your hair's all combed down, too! My boys…" Hikaru walked over and hugged his mom and brother, "You're both here, together!"

Jin smirked and grabbed her suitcase, "Welp, I'm going to change. Might as well enjoy this place while we're here." She disappeared into the bathroom just as there was a knock on the door.

Haruhi's eyes went wide as she turned to the door. Spotting how uncomfortable she was, Hikaru walked over and peeked out the peep hole.

"It's Kyoya!"

"Oh…"

The brunette relaxed as her son opened the door, Kyoya walking in, "Thank you… Hikaru." He ruffled the boy's spiked up hair and looked up, spotting the other people in the room. "Ah, Haruhi. How lovely to see you ag-"

"Kyoya!" The brunette hurried forward and hugged the man, which was clearly a surprise going by the look on his face, "I haven't seen you in forever! How've you been?"

The man smirked and shook his head, "Just fine… now I recall why I was so upset when you two split up."

"Oh, right. Speaking of." She turned around and stared her sons in the eye, her lips pressed tightly together and chin tight. The redheads exchanged a glance. "Could one of you please explain-"

"Haru, I'm heading down to the pool in case… oh, hi."

"Hello."

Once again, Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged a glance, not quite sure what to make of the way their 'uncle' and aunt had greeted each other. Sure, Jin was in a two piece bathing suit that wasn't  _ quite _ a bikini but still showed off a bit of stomach, but it wasn't embarrassment that was keeping their eyes trained on each other.

Kyoya snapped out of it first, smirking at the woman, who jumped a bit and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "Sorry. Um, you probably don't remember me, but my name's-"

"Fujioka Jin," Kyoya lightly took the brunette's hand and kissed the back of it, causing her to go completely red in the face, "Not a name I would soon forget."

"Oh…" she looked away, "Um… thank you, Ootori Kyoya."

The ravenet straightened his back appreciatively, "I made an impression, too, it would seem."

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Excuse me, you two? Do you mind?" Hikaru and Kaoru snickered when their aunt and uncle continued to stare at each other until their mother clapped her hands together. Kyoya dropped Jin's hand and they turned away from each other, sneaking glances out of the corners of their eyes.

Sighing, Haruhi turned back to her sons, "Hikaru… you told me that your father  _ knew _ I was going to be here today, but I'm about to let you know that when I saw him down in the lobby it was clear that he had no idea we were on the same  _ planet _ , let alone in the same hotel."

"You saw him already?"

Jin nodded, "And he saw us. But I don't think the woman draped all over him did, at least. That might've lead to some… questions."

Kyoya scoffed, "If he reacted to seeing you the way I'm sure he did, I wouldn't be surprised if she was interrogating him as we speak." He glanced towards the door, "A polygraph test is probably being dropped off at the front desk by now."

Jin giggles, but quiets herself quickly at the glare her sister shot across the room.

"Now, you two had better tell me why you lied! Why did you bring me here and not tell your father?"

"Okay! Looks like this is going to get a little personal so... I'm going to head down to the pool now."

"I'll join you."

"Wait!" Jin and Kyoya froze and slowly turned back around. Haruhi looked at everyone in turn, "Is there something going on that you aren't telling me?"

Kaoru shut his eyes, "Mom? Dad's getting married."

Haruhi blinked, reaching backwards until she fell onto the couch behind her, "I see…"

"She's Cruella De Vil, Mom, completely awful! She doesn't even love Dad, she just wants his money and to cut Kyoya off from our family! She treats him like a butler and uses a bell to call him!"

Jin glanced at the man beside her, "Seriously?"

"Afraid so."

"And she  _ totally _ doesn't like me,  _ or _ Hikaru. She just  _ terrible _ and the only way Dad won't marry her…"

"...is if he sees you again."

Jin glanced over at the feeling of an elbow touching her arm, and she and Kyoya simultaneously started sneaking back towards the door.

"Hold on a minute, you two." Once again, they turned around to meet Haruhi's disbelieving gaze, "Did you two know about this? Nēchan?"

"I… knew they wanted to get you and Tamaki back together… didn't know about the whole marriage thing."

Haruhi sucked in a deep breath and stood up, clapping her hands together, "Okay… let me say this one time, loud and clear, for all of you. Suoh Tamaki and I have absolutely nothing in common! Anymore, at least. Plus, in case you haven't noticed, he seems extremely content with his leggy, tight-skirted fiancee. Now I want the two of  _ you _ ," she turned to the twins, "to explain to your father that I am here for one purpose, and one purpose only. To switch the two of you back. Understood?"

"Yes, Mom."

Jin sighed and held her right arm out towards the boys, "Come on, you two. I'll walk one of you down to the pool to see if he's down there or in the lobby."

"And I'll take the other up to his room."

They sighed and slid off the beds, trudging after the two adults.

* * *

"Hi, Dad!"

"Hikaru! There you are! Listen, I need to run down to the lobby for a moment, so will you keep Eclair company for a while?"

Hikaru nodded, "Sure." Then he stepped forward and hugged his Dad, considering he hadn't seen him in over 8 weeks.

Tamaki chuckled, hugging back, "What's this?"

"I just wanted to… thank you for bringing me with you."

"Oh, please, like I was going to leave you and Kyoya back in Paris?" The blond eyed the boy in confusion, "Do you have gel in your hair?"

"Uh… Kyoya brought some and I was just playing around with it. I came up with this really cool spiky look that I liked. Would you mind if I try it out?"

"Why not?" Tamaki patted his son's shoulder and ran towards the elevator, "You've always had a wilder spirit than your hair let on, anyways!"

Hikaru laughed a bit and waved as his father disappeared behind the elevator doors. Shaking his head, he started walking towards the stairs, hands coming up to perform the technique he had perfected over the course of a week.

A door suddenly opened behind him, "Have you seen your father?"

Hikaru turned around, hair half up in spikes, "Me?"

Eclair all but sneered at the boy, " _ What _ are you doing to your  _ hair? _ Is this supposed to be the next wave of your rotten streak? Fix it before someone of importance see you, and I'll ask you again,  _ where is your father? _ "

"... I think he went down to talk to my Uncle Kyoya."

"Uh, of all the times for charity. Fine. If you see him before I do, tell him he's  _ late _ and I'm  _ waiting. _ "

The woman stalked down to the elevators and Hikaru shook his head, "Cruella indeed…"

Down in the lobby, Tamaki all but ran to the middle of the room, looking around for a familiar head of brown hair.

"Dad!"

Spinning around, it the blond took a moment to recognize his son. Mostly because of his spiky hair, "Hikaru? What are you doing down here, I thought I asked you to keep Eclair company?"

"I… am! Yeah, I am. I was just looking for her."

"Right, right." He glanced at his son, "I like that hairstyle. Suits you."

"Oh, thanks!"

Tamaki almost walked away but caught himself before he got to far, "Oh, wait, Hikaru… forgot to ask you earlier. How do I look?"

"Good."

"Not too old?"

"Never."

He smiled, "Good… good," and walked outside. Kaoru grinned. He was looking for her. And he wanted to look nice. That was a good sign.

"What did I tell you?" Kaoru spun around, wide eyed, as Eclair stalked over to him, cold eyes flashing, " _ Fix your hair before someone important sees it! _ "

"...Dad likes it."

" _ Your father is an idiot when it comes to you.  _ * _ Ahem _ * Now, I went to your room and he wasn't there, so have you seen him  _ since _ you told me where he was?"

Kaoru resisted the urge to kick her in the shins, "No. I was looking for him."

" _ Useless. _ Fine. I'll find him myself."

The redhead kept his eyes on the woman until he was sure she was walking in the other direction, then followed his Dad back to the pool. Coming to a stop next to the arm floats for the little kids, he looked around until he saw his father roaming the edge of the water, trying to get a good look at anyone with short brown hair. Kaoru smiled, which grew wider when his Aunt Jin and Uncle Kyoya stood up from their table and walked over to his father.

"Tamaki?"

"Kyoya! I was wondering…" The blond did a double-take at the woman standing beside his best friend, "Fujioka Jin?"

The brunette gave him a short wave, "Hello, Tamaki-san. I wasn't sure if you'd remember me."

"No, no, of course I remember you! You're all Haruhi ever talked about. Speaking of which… is… is your sister around?"

Jin smirked and glanced around the blond, "Turn around."

Tamaki did more than that. He whipped around so fast he almost knocked someone into the pool. But he clearly didn't notice, purple eyes gluing themselves onto one Fujioka Haruhi. Kyoya and Jin gave each other a small smile before watching the blond start walking towards his ex-wife, almost trance like.

Unfortunately…

"Dad, watch out!"

Too late. Suoh Tamaki bumped into a pool boy who had an armful of towels and fell into the pool with a gigantic splash, fancy suit and everything.

Kyoya held up his camera and took a picture, making Jin laugh.

Spluttering and with water streaming down his face, the blond resurfaced, swimming to the edge of the pool and hoisting himself out of it, ending up right in front of Haruhi. Kaoru walked over to his aunt and uncle on the other side and they watched as the adults smiled at each other.

"Hello, Haruhi."

"Hello, Tamaki." The brunette rubbed at the back of her neck, "Well, gosh, there you are. How about that?"

The man pushed his hair back, attempting to squeeze out as much water as possible from it, "Um… is there something going on that I forgot about because… I'm stunned to see you here, but you don't seem… surprised by me at all."

"Dad?" Kaoru slipped out from behind Haruhi, "I can explain why she's here."

"Hikaru, you know who this is?"

"Yes, and… I'm not Hikaru."

"Actually," Hikaru stepped to the other side of his mother, " _ I'm _ Hikaru."

If didn't seem possible for the man to look more baffled than he already was, but he was certainly trying, "Both of them…" he looked at the twin who had spoken first, " _ Kaoru? _ "

"Well… we both ended up going to the same camp this summer-"

"-and after we figured it out we kidda came up with an idea-"

"-for me to meet you-"

"-and for me to meet Mom."

Haruhi smiled at her boys and looked at her ex-husband, "They switched places on us, Tamaki."

The blond looked at her, then back down, "You mean I've been with Kaoru this whole time?" He grinned broadly and held out his arms, Kaoru jumping into them without hesitation and squeezing him tight, "Oh… my little boy! My… you need a nickname! Um… okay. Hikaru is mon Caneton, so you're mon Oisillon."

"Little birdie?"

Tamaki kissed the boy's forehead, " _ Because you flew so far on your own to come see me. _ Oh, whoops, you're all wet now-"

"It's okay, Dad."

The blond looked his son up and down one last time before a strange expression came over him, "Wait… Hikaru you've been in Tokyo all this time?"

"Yeah…"

"Get over here." The twins hugged their father in unison, happily squished together between their father's arms.

Hikaru pressed his forehead to his father's shoulder, " _ Mom's amazing, Dad. I don't know how I've ever lived without knowing her. _ " The blond smiled fondly at the boy and kissed his forehead as well before looking at them both.

"You know… I like that hairstyle on you both. So, Hikaru's part is on his right side, and Kaoru's part is on his left?"

"Yup!"

"Good. At least I'll have  _ some _ way to tell you apart."

Haruhi blushed a bit and cleared her throat, "Um, boys? Could you go and get your father some towels?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Sure thing, Mom!"

The two bounded off and Tamaki shook his head, a hand coming up to his temple, "It's like I'm seeing double. They're so alike and they've only known each other for a little while. How… what are the odds…"

"Tamaki, sit down before you faint." Haruhi's tone was final, but her smile gave the command a bit of jest. And the blond immediately sat.

"So… how've you been, Haru?" He rested his elbow on his knee, seemingly unaware of the dopey smile on his face, "Or does everyone call you Haruhi now? Or Fujioka-san?"

"Oh. Uh, n-no, Haru's fine. Nēchan still calls me Haru."

"You know, you haven't changed a bit-"

" _ There _ you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Haruhi quickly stepped away from the chair Tamaki was lounging in as a petite woman marched her way over. The brunette saw the way the woman's grey eyes pierced both her and then Tamaki before narrowing, and immediately knew who it was.  _ Cruella almost isn't strong enough. _

Eclair cleared her throat, her ruby red lips pursing every so slightly, "Ah… who might you be? And Tamaki  _ why _ are you all wet?"

Tamaki chuckled nervously, "You know… this is one small world."

"Oh really? How small?"

"Hi, Eclair."

The redhead raised an eyebrow at the boy on her left, "Hello."

"How you doing?"

She whipped her head to the right and shrieked. Tamaki let out a long, slow breath, "Eclair… did I ever mention to you that Hikaru was a twin?"

"I do not believe that ever came up. Ever."

Eclair's eyes were still wide when Hikaru shrugged, "Eh, don't feel bad, he never told  _ me _ either. And, by the way,  _ I'm _ the real Hikaru. We haven't actually met because for the past week,  _ Kaoru _ over there has been pretending to be me in France to meet our father. And  _ I _ was pretending to be  _ him _ here in Tokyo to meet our mother, Fujioka Haruhi."

At the name, Eclair's eyes went back to the brunette, "Your mother?  _ This _ is your mother?"

"Guilty."

"Oh… small world indeed. And… by any chance did we arrive at this hotel on the same day by  _ coincidence _ or…"

* * *

"Hikaru, I've had enough surprises today to last me a  _ lifetime. _ Now, would you please just tell me where we're going?"

The boy just laughed, "You'll love it, Dad. Just trust your son."

"Hello."

Hikaru had never seen his father whip around so fast as when he heard their mother speak. Tamaki's eyes went wide when he saw Haruhi standing there in a red dress.  _ The _ red dress. The same red dress she had worn the day he proposed to her.

"Hey."

Kaoru lead his mother over to his father and went to go wave down a taxi with his twin. Haruhi nervously shuffled her feet before leaning in and whispering, " _ Do you have any idea where we're going? _ "

" _ Not a clue. _ "

" _ Oh, good. At least I'm not the only one. _ "

Tamaki chuckled again, a sound Haruhi suddenly realized… she had missed over the past thirteen or so years. And if the man decided to hold her door open for her both when they entered and exited the taxi? Well, she wasn't going to complain.

"Hang on a minute… I recognize this strip." Tamaki was turning around and around, his purple eyes wide as he took in the sights of the city. He may not have grown up in Japan, but in the few years he had lived there, the place had become ingrained into his definition of home. He never admitted to anyone but himself that he missed it.

Kaoru smiled at his father's clear happiness at being back in Japan, but was quick to direct his gaze to a particular building, "Does that clear it up for you?"

Haruhi gasped softly. It was  _ the _ restaurant. The one Tamaki had taken her to for their first date. The adults remained silent as their sons lead them closer. Just before they got to the front doors, Tamaki raised an eyebrow at the boys.

"So… exactly how are we paying for dinner here?"

"We pooled our allowances."

The blond laughed once, "Yeah, right, Kaoru."

"Well, Aunt Jin and Uncle Kyoya chipped in a little."

"Hikaru."

"Okay… they chipped in a lot." Haruhi finally managed a smile as the family of four walked in. Kaoru went right up to the hostess and said, "Table under Suoh?"

The woman smiled at the twins before looking at the adults, "Of course. Right this way."

Walking through the room and up the stairs, Haruhi couldn't help but reminisce in the memories she had of this place. She hadn't come here since… since she and Tamaki parted ways. But wait… how had the twins known about this place?

When she asked, the boys smirked at each other, "Uncle Kyoya."

Haruhi rolled her eyes. Of course.

The hostess lead them out to the balcony, and the two adults stopped. The whole balcony had been cleared of tables until there was just one remaining under the stars… with two chairs.

"The table's only set for two."

"Oh, did we forget to mention?"

"We're not joining you."

Haruhi and Tamaki exchanged a glance before turning back to the boys, "You're not?"

"Well, Hikaru, Kaoru… as much as we appreciate this, maybe driving back to the hotel by yourselves in the city isn't the best idea."

"Then why don't we take them off you hands?" Jin and Kyoya suddenly appeared from inside the restaurant, the two of them in their own fancy dress and smiling as they place their hands on the twins shoulders.

Kyoya smirked at the woman by his side before turning back to his friends, "Think of it as an apology and a plea to not shun this lovely lady and myself after tonight for going along with these audacious fourteen year olds." Before the two could say anything else, he and Jin began steering the twins off the balcony.

Jin hesitated at the glass doors and turned back to her sister, "You do get all this don't you?"

"Yes, I believe I do."

The taller brunette winked at her little sister before moving into the restaurant, a waiter coming out immediately afterwards, "Would you like to view the wine list to begin your evening, Suoh-san and Fujioka-san?"

"Yes, please. I think we'll need it." Haruhi laughed at Tamaki's defeated voice before they both settled themselves at the table, quickly ordering a bottle of wine. "So, am I correct in assuming they're recreating our first date?"

"I believe so. It's sweet of them to do it."

"Sweet?" Tamaki smiled and shook his head, "I'm only thinking of all the favors Kyoya is going to ask of me to 'repay' for this night out."

Haruhi glanced through the windows that separated them from the inside of the restaurant, "Oh… I wouldn't be so sure about that."

They turned to look inside, where the other four had been seated at a table themselves. The twins quickly returned to their menus when their parents noticed them watching, but Kyoya and Jin seemed too busy talking to each other to notice.

Tamaki smirked, "What do you know? My best friend and your sister. Hey, didn't they click at our wedding?"

"I've been telling Nēchan that for years. She's just so stubborn."

"Hm. Seems like a family trait."

Haruhi let out a mock gasp, but it quickly transformed into a smile when their wine was brought out. She gazed at the intricately designed wine glass, remembering just how transfixed she had been by the aesthetics the first time Tamaki brought her here.

"So…" she looked over to see the blond raising his own glass, "...here's to…"

"Our sons."

Tamaki smiled, "Our sons."

Haruhi glanced at said sons as she took a sip, and sure enough they were back to watching their parents. Sighing, she set the glass down, "I have a feeling there's an invisible spotlight on us for the night."

"I agree. But, since they can't hear us right now… then maybe we can talk about… what happened between us?"

Haruhi sighed, "Maybe. But let's wait until there's a little more alcohol in my system, if that's alright with you." Her joke managed to pull another laugh from the blond, and it made something flip around in her stomach region. She quickly took another sip of wine.  _ Yeah. Definitely more alcohol. _

After their food had been served, the two had managed to relax quite a bit, and were now exchanging stories of raising their sons.

"So, you two have a fishing trip that you go on every summer?"

"Yes, we do. I guess I was a bit of a nut for those father-son bonding moments, and that just happened to be the one that stuck. Hikaru gave me a bloody nose playing catch, so you can see why we gave up on that one."

Haruhi laughed, "Ah… sounds to me like you made a good father after all."

"Oh, I wouldn't have lasted two months without Kyoya helping out. And what about you? Kaoru is almost more refined and proper than Hikaru!"

"Again, that was more Nēchan and Dad than me at first. I was balancing law school and raising a child at the same time, and then came my own firm and the non-profit… if I hadn't had those two I would've had to hire a Nanny like you rich folk."

Tamaki smiled sadly, "I'm… sorry that I put you in such a position. I was selfish."

"Oh, Tamaki, no! That's not what I was trying to say. I'm so  _ happy _ to have Kaoru in my life. Not having him would've been so much worse!" She stared at her ex-husband until he nodded in understanding before sitting back in her seat, "But that brings up the million-yen question, doesn't it? What are we going to do about the boys?"

The blond sighed, "Well, it's not as though we can keep them apart, can we? They've only known each other for a few weeks and already they're attached at the hip. Have you noticed that they're finishing each other's sentences?"

"Yes, I have. So… I could keep them for half of the year and you could have them for the other half-"

"Two schools every year? I don't think that's a good idea. And they're already struggling enough with making friends. No need to make it harder."

"Then… a full year each?"

"Same problem." Tamaki rubbed at his cheek, "See, this is the whole reason we came up with our old system where we each keep one."

Haruhi blinked before poking at the sushi on her plate, " _ Really? I thought it was because we decided we never wanted to have to see each other again. _ "

"...Not… 'we', Haru."

"Well… that's the reason I asked for the alcohol." Haruhi knew she was blushing, "Did… did I hurt you when I threw that… uhm, what was it?"

"It was a hairbrush."

"Oh… right."

Tamaki smirked, "You know, I may never be alone with you again, so before the night is over… why'd you pack?"

"Tamaki… we were both so young and, frankly, stupid. Being married and having a family so soon had never been in my plans for the future. My mom and dad married early too… and being the pessimist that I am, I just couldn't risk a heartbreak like my father's. So… before you could leave… I left first." She looked up over the tabletop, "And you never came after me."

"I didn't think you'd want me to."

Haruhi sighed, "Well, it doesn't really matter now. So, let's just put on a good face for the boys and get this show on the road, huh?"

"...Sure."

* * *

"Your passport, Suoh-san. Have a safe trip home."

"Thank you." Tamaki stuck the small booklet into his pants pocket next to his phone while Kyoya walked over to him, "Oh, there you are. Where's Hikaru?"

"He wanted to spend some more time with Kaoru before we left, but I just called up so he should be heading down now."

"Good." The blond cleared his throat and glanced over to his other side, "So, I'll send Hikaru down to you over winter break and the first half of summer-"

"And Kaoru will spend the second half and spring break with you." Haruhi nodded, turning away from the hotel employee she had just finished signing out with. The two exchanged a brief smile before the sound of the elevator dinging had them both turning around. Jin walked out with her bag, making a bee-line for Kyoya who was patiently waiting for her near the couches, and the twins walked over to their parents… their hair combed backwards over their hair parts and covered with identical green caps. They were even wearing matching khaki shorts, tank-tops, and black shoes.

Haruhi tilted her head a little, "Kaoru, what's going on? Wait… is the one on my left…"

"Here's the deal, Mom and Dad. We thought it over and decided that we're getting the short end of the stick."

"Dad promised to the both of us that we'd go on our family fishing trip at the end of the summer, and we've decided that we're going. Together."

The brunette rolled her eyes, "Kaoru, really, this is ridiculous. Come on." She reached a hand out to the boy on her left, whose voice matched her son. "Honestly, your voices are too-"

"Are you sure I'm Kaoru?" The parents froze. The one who they had been sure was Kaoru… his voice had changed. It was deeper, like Hikaru's. "Because you wouldn't want to take the wrong one…"

They turned to the other redhead as Kaoru's higher voice came out, "...would you?"

"Boys," Tamaki shook his head, "You're going to make us miss our flight."

"Here's our proposition."

"We go back to Mom's house, pack our stuff, and the four of us go on that fishing trip. Once we're there, we tell you who is Hikaru-"

"-and who is Kaoru."

"Or," Tamaki looked down on the twins, his usually carefree attitude replaced with annoyance, "you tell us which is which  _ now _ and Hikaru comes back to France with me, whether you like it or not."

Thirty minutes later and a car pulled up in front of Haruhi's house, two redheaded boys jumping out of the backseat and running inside, calling out for their grandfather.

"Those two are going to be the death of me."

* * *

"And what am I supposed to do while you're in Japan? Go home and knit a sweater?"

"Eclair, I don't really have a choice. I'm in a sticky situation here." Tamaki piled another backpack into the trunk of a jeep they were renting.

"Sticky situation? You're the head of Suoh Enterprises! You don't  _ get _ into sticky situations!"

The blond raised an eyebrow, "Clearly you've never been to a board meeting."

Eclair huffed and looked around like she was trying to ignore the man, "Where even  _ are _ we? My limo driver almost couldn't find…" She trailed off when she noticed Haruhi walking out of the house, "Oh… no, no, no, what are you doing here with  _ her? _ "

Tamaki sighed, "It's the sticky situation I mentioned. Hikaru and Kaoru won't tell us which is which unless I take both of them and their mother on our yearly fishing trip."

"Why didn't you say no? Just leave them both here for now! They'll give up the ruse eventually and Hikaru will be back home before you know it!"

"I'm not leaving without my son, Eclair."

"Then take one at random!"

"Hello, Eclair. Is there an issue?"

The red haired woman clenched her hands, "Um, you know I'd have to say there is. When I heard that Tama here would be staying in Japan for a little while longer I didn't know that…  _ you _ would be here as well. And I must confess that I am  _ not _ okay with that."

"I agree," Haruhi nodded, "Spending a full two days with the ex-wife and the kids is a bit weird... I insist that you come with us."

Tamaki and Eclair looked at her in shock, "Haru…"

"No really, I've messed up your whole weekend together, it's the least I can do to invite your fiancee, Tamaki." She smiled and batted her eyelashes, something she  _ never _ did, but before Tamaki could say something about it-

"Sounds perfect. Help me pack."

Haruhi smiled a little and followed Eclair into her house, tunelessly humming the melody of 'Cruella De Vil'. Perhaps she should loan Kaoru her camera...

"Dad, what's Eclair doing here?" Hikaru asked fifteen minutes later, halfway between climbing into the trunk with his brother.

"Your mother invited her along."

" _ What? _ "

" _ Be nice. _ "

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other in surprise, then turned around to stare at their mother as Eclair climbed into the passenger seat, "Well, looks like you're all set. Have a fun time."

"Mom... what are you talking about? Where's your backpack?"

"Haru?"

Haruhi shrugged her shoulder, "Well, I figured that you and Eclair needed some time alone with the boys without me there to muck everything up. Spend some time as a family."

"W-well, if you're not coming then I certainly don't-"

"Oh, no, you need to be a part of this. After all, in less than two weeks… they'll be your sons, too."

The twins groaned softly and plopped down into their seats as the jeep started up, completely missing out on the playful smirk their mother was attempting to hide as they drove off.

Jin walked out of the house as they drove away, "Oh, I would pay big money to see that woman put a worm on a hook."

* * *

After an hour and a half of driving in complete silence, they arrived at the campground near Lake Oku-tama.

"O-kay! Everyone out! Lake's a short hike from here, and then we can start fishing."

Eclair looked over at her fiance, "Hike? Did you say we're  _ hiking? _ "

Tamaki smirked, "Well, we can't exactly drive through the woods." Groaning, the woman climbed out of the jeep and watched as the boys started piling their things onto their backs. Hikaru glanced at her halfway through the process.

"Hey, think you can lend a hand?"

"You expect me to carry  _ more _ on my back? Please. I am a  _ lady _ , and don't expect that to change while we're out in the…  _ wilderness. _ "

"Eclair-"

"No. That's my final decision on the matter."

Kaoru rolled his eyes and stuck another two water bottles into his pack. Without Eclair helping, it took the boys an additional seven minutes to pack everything else in such a way it wouldn't throw out their backs. Thankfully, while they hiked, it was relatively easy to ignore the woman. She struggled to keep up with the twins who were happily jumping over rocks and balancing on logs. The only time they remembered her at all was when she made them stop every five minutes and when she complained about Tamaki acting like a child when he chased after the redheads.

"Oh, hold on, we're stopping."

Kaoru groaned and walked back, spotting Eclair sitting down on yet another rock, "Seriously, Dad? At this rate, we'll get to the lake just in time to turn back and head home!"

"Relax, mon Oisillon. Eclair isn't used to this kind of activity, so just chill. I'm going to scout ahead a little, alright?"

The boy was about to complain, but then he noticed where his twin was, "Oh, sure Dad!" Tamaki ruffled the boy's hair and walked around a tree and down the path. Kaoru turned to face the other two members of their group and snickered as Hikaru quietly packed multiple rocks into Eclair's backpack.

"Mmm… hand me some water. I can't move."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, "Sure." Turning around, he unshouldered his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water, but paused halfway in between handing it off to her. There was a small grass lizard warming itself up on the rocks.  _ Oh… perfect! _

Quickly, he snatched the creature up by it's body and placed it on the bottle before handing it over to the complaining woman, "Here's your water, you Majesty."

Eclair tsked and uncapped the water before taking a drink.

And spotting the lizard.

Her responding shriek echoed throughout the woods and had Tamaki racing back to the group, probably thinking his fiancee was being mauled by a bear, "Eclair, are you okay? What happened?"

Hikaru pointed at the water bottle she had thrown across the rocks, and the lizard that was next to it, "I think that lizard climbed on her water!"

"Oh… well, he won't hurt you, Eclair." Tamaki clearly was struggling not to smile, "Boys, let's start heading forward again. You two help Eclair."

The woman nearly snarled, "Sure you'll help me. Right off a cliff." She struggled to stand up with her newly 'repacked' backpack and started after their father. It was too easy.

"Need a hand there, Eclair?"

She froze, slowly turning around, "Not. From.  _ You. _ If you  _ think _ for  _ one minute _ that I will not make your lives  _ miserable _ from the moment I say 'I do', then you've got another thing coming you  _ brats. _ Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

"Try to keep up, Cruella."

Kaoru quickly snapped a photo of the woman's face before the twins hurried off after their father, laughing with glee.

* * *

"Alright! I'd say that was a pretty successful day!"

Hikaru and Kaoru nodded along with their father's statement, mouths too full of rainbow trout to really say anything at all. Until, of course, they noticed how upset Eclair looked. They exchanged a smirk before Hikaru winked at his twin and swallowed his mouthful.

"Are you  _ sure _ you don't want some trout, Mom? I mean… is it okay if we start calling you Mom?"

Eclair visibly recoiled, "I think your  _ actual _ mother would prefer it if you called me Eclair. And no, I do not eat…  _ trout. _ I'll just wait until breakfast. What will we have?"

"Trout."

Tamaki sent the boys some warning glares before turning back to his fiancee, "You should try it, Darling, it's part of the experience."

"Oh! The  _ experience? _ And what is the  _ other _ part of this commoner experience that you so foolishly indulge yourself in, hiding from all photo opportunities and meetings with other CEO's until your multitude of mosquito bites disappear? Ugh!" She swatted at her neck with vigor, pulling away with a black smudge on her hand that she quickly wiped away with disgust, "This repellent isn't  _ working! _ "

"Repellent?" Tamaki's voice was curious, and the twins quickly went to scarfing down their dinner, "... Let me see that bottle."

The woman all but threw it at him, and he took a cautious sniff at the top, "This isn't repellent. From what I can tell… it's sugar and water. You're going to attract every mosquito in Japan with this stuff."

"What? But it was in my bag…" the woman stopped, recalling just  _ who _ had packed her bag, and stood up, "That is  _ it _ for the day. I am taking some Restoril and going to bed." She went to take a few steps towards her tent, reconsidered, and walked back to Tamaki before planting a long kiss to his lips. Kaoru unhappily kicked at one of the rocks surrounding their fire pit. "Good night."

The blond waited until she was in her tent with the zipper down before refocusing on his sons, "Boys, I'm going to tell you this one last time:  _ Cool it. _ This is not her thing and she's trying, so lay off her for the rest of the trip."

"If that's her  _ trying _ , I don't want to see what it's like when she  _ actually _ refuses to do something."

"Yeah, I don't care how many times you tell us, we refuse to carry her back to the car if she doesn't want to walk tomorrow."

Tamaki sighed, but didn't continue the conversation. Instead he started poking at his own dinner, completely missing out on the way his sons were silently creating a plan between them. One final nudge that might finally push Eclair over the edge…

It was perhaps 3 am when Hikaru's phone alarm went off beneath his pillow. He yawned and sat up, simultaneously shaking his brother awake. Blinking the sleep out of their eyes, the two slowly unzipped their tent and climbed out, padding over to Eclair's tent.

" _ I hope that sleeping pill paid off. _ "

Hikaru snickered before slowly unzipping the woman's tent. And there she was, sprawled out on an air mattress that she had  _ insisted _ on bringing and then having Tamaki carry. How vain.

Nodding his brother to the other side of the mattress, Hikaru grabbed at the corner of it and the two began dragging Eclair out of the tent, moving as slowly and carefully as they could. Just before their feet hit the water, they scurried to the other end by her head and shoved her into the lake. And lo and behold, she started floating away.

Running further up the bank until they were standing by their tent, the twins turned back to watch the makeshift boat sail further away.

"Bon voyage, Cruella."

"Think she'll end up on the other side of the lake?"

"If there is a God."

* * *

" _ Mmm… _ " The next morning, Eclair groaned and turned her head this way and that, unable to escape the bright light flooding through her eyelids, " _ Tamaki… shut the blinds. _ " She was about to fall back asleep when she realized something was wrong with her bed.

Namely, it was moving.

Sitting up, she looked around.

Water.

Water,  _ everywhere. _

" _ TAMAKI! _ "

Over on shore, Tamaki jolted awake, scrambling towards the zipper of his tent and almost flying face first into the pole holding the fabric up. Unzipping the front, he poked his head out and looked towards Eclair's tent. It looked… empty.

Hikaru and Kaoru were also awake, and staring at towards the water. Following their line of sight… Tamaki spotted Eclair's air mattress floating on the water just as she fell into the lake.

_ Oh boy. _

It took the woman about three minutes to swim to shore, stalking up the beach until she was standing right in front of the blond, "Okay! That is it!"

"Eclair, what happened?"

"What  _ happened  _ is that your brats just crossed the line! So I'm telling you now that the  _ minute _ they come under my care is the minute they become enrolled in a year-long American Boarding School! Get the picture,  _ sweetie? _ It's either  _ me _ , or  _ them _ ." She crossed her arms and leaned to the side, tossing her wet hair out of her face, "Take. Your. Pick."

Tamaki raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the twins before turning back to the woman, "Them."

"Excuse me?!"

"T-h-e-m. Them." He leaned in close to her face with a smirk, "Get the picture?"

Eclair's responding shriek of disgust and anger could probably have been heard all the way across the lake.

* * *

Tamaki honked the horn of the jeep as he and the twins pulled up in front of their mother's house. Almost immediately, Haruhi appeared at the doorway, smiling out at them, "Hello! You're back so soon! Did you all have… fun?" She trailed off as she walked down to the street, noticing the unhappy faces.

"Well, I wouldn't go right to  _ fun. _ "

She raised her eyebrows at Kaoru's bland tone, "You wouldn't? What happened?"

"We've been grounded until the end of the century."

"Starting  _ now. _ Grab your bags and unpack in your room. You can come back out for meals, but that's it." The twins sighed, but didn't argue, and started trudging up to the house, kissing their mother on the cheek as they passed.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, "Where's Eclair?"

"We just played a few tiny pranks on her and she flipped out a little."

"A little?" Tamaki scoffed and fished around in his pocket before pulling out a glamorous engagement ring, "She threw  _ this _ at my head if that's any indication to you. At least it's smaller than a hairbrush."

Haruhi placed a hand over her mouth, "Oh, Tamaki, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking-"

"Uh huh, sure you weren't. Like mother like sons. To your room." He patted the twins on the back and they hurried through the front door. Sighing, the blond watched as they disappeared from view before muttering, "I'll have to remember to thank them one day."

The brunette smiled and lead the man inside.

"So, where's your sister? I would've thought she'd be over here, it's around time for lunch. Don't you two usually eat together?"

"We do. But I'm afraid I haven't heard from Nēchan since yesterday… when Kyoya decided to stay at her house for the remainder of this trip."

Tamaki laughed out loud, "Oh, finally! Fifteen years is a long time to make a girl wait."

"Or a boy." They exchanged smiles before turning away, "Um, anyways… Dad mentioned something about wanting miso soup and rice for lunch. Did you want some? I was going to make extra for the boys anyways, and maybe invite Mori and Honey and their families over. I'm sure they'd want to see you… we've missed you out here."

Tamaki smiled, "That sounds wonderful."

* * *

" _ Flight 437 Tokyo to Chicago, Illinois is now boarding at Gate A23. Flight 437 Tokyo to Chicago, Illinois is now boarding at Gate A23. _ "

Kaoru's eyes were shut at his hugged his father tightly, wishing he could shut his ears off too. He didn't want this moment to end, or to share it with anyone, but instead he was standing in the middle of a crowded airport, holding onto his father like he wouldn't see him in months… which he wouldn't.

Peeking out a little, he could see his brother experiencing a similar moment with his mom, the two embracing tightly near the wall. And, a little ways beyond them, his Aunt Jin and Uncle Kyoya were standing forehead to forehead, fingers laced together as they whispered to each other. His grandfather and other 'uncles' had stayed at home, and Ranka had been crying from the moment he hugged Hikaru to the last second they could see him in the car windows. Shutting his eyes again, Kaoru clutched his father tighter, a small, broken whimper escaping when he realized it was time to let go.

Slowly withdrawing from his father's hold, he turned around and watched as Hikaru slowly pried himself away from his mother. Gingerly, like they were stepping on broken glass, the two walked closer together before throwing their arms around each other. Kaoru pressed his face into his brother's shoulder. He knew Hikaru wouldn't care if he got a few tears on his shirt.

Tamaki slowly edged himself around his sons to walk to his ex-wife, "So… this is it, I guess."

"Yeah." Haruhi cleared her throat, realizing just now that with the advertisement board they were standing behind… the two of them were basically alone. "Well… take care of yourself."

The blond blinked slowly at her before holding out a hand and, just as slowly, she took it, letting him squeeze her fingers in a reassuring way. Just then, Haruhi realized that for this whole weekend the two had been together… they hadn't touched before now.

" _ You too. _ "

" _ I will. _ " Haruhi risked a glance up at those deep purple eyes she used to get so lost in, " _ Still so kind, I see. _ "

Tamaki smiled softly, so different from his grandiose smiles back in high school, but no less sincere and heartwarming, " _ Still so guarded, I see. _ " Haruhi didn't know how it had happened, but in the whispers, they had somehow gotten closer, until all she could see was Tamaki. Nothing else existed at this moment.

" _ You know, you don't have to be so brave all the time. _ "

" _ Oh… but I do. _ "

She could feel his breath against her lips, their hands clasped together warmly and so familiar…

" _ Flight 445 Tokyo to Paris, France is now boarding at gate A39. Flight 445 Tokyo to Paris, France is now boarding at gate A39. _ "

Haruhi leaned away, " _ That's your flight. _ "

" _ It can wait for a moment. _ "

Shaking her head, the brunette took a full step back, withdrawing her hand as she shut her eyes. She didn't open them again until she heard his footsteps walking away. And when she did… she watched as her sons were separated, one following his father and uncle towards the gates while the other stood beside his aunt, watching them go with tears in their eyes.

Haruhi wandered over to them, and helped watch as the three boys disappeared from view. The second they did Jin had her phone out and she started flicking through the internet. Glancing over her arm, Haruhi sighed.

_ Flight times for Tokyo to Paris, France. _

"Nēchan, you have a job here."

"You were the one always harping about the two of us." But she did lock her phone back up, only to stare at the picture on her lock screen, which consisted of her and Kyoya from the night at the restaurant.

Resting a gentle hand on her sister's arm, Haruhi lightly touched Kaoru's shoulder, "Let's head home."

* * *

In accordance with their moods, the weather was stormy as the three drove home. Jin parked her company car in her driveway before jumping out with an umbrella, followed by the other two. They slowly made their way over to Haruhi's house in silence, just letting the sound of rain overwhelm them.

Slipping inside and closing their umbrellas, Jin placed an arm over the redhead's shoulder, "Hey, let's go make some hot chocolate, hm? Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah."

Haruhi smiled a little, but it still worried her how that was the first word Kaoru had spoken since the airport, "I'm going to go find Dad. He's probably in the study with his book." Jin nodded with a sad smile before she and her nephew began walking through the house.

The shorter brunette walked to the other side of the house and poked her head into the study. Sure enough, the chair is turned around to face the window, an open book in a hand the only thing visible.

"Well… they're gone."

"Bummer," Haruhi gasps as the chair spun around and Hikaru sat the book he'd been holding on the desk, "Hey, Mom? Did you know that there's an private airport nearby that lets private planes land unexpectedly for only an extra 5,000 yen?"

"Private…"

"Mom! I heard-" Kaoru runs in and gasps, grinning, " _ Hikaru! _ What are you doing here?"

Hikaru waved a hand flippantly in the air, like it was no big deal he was sitting in their study, "Oh, well, it only took us about 20 seconds into the flight to realize that we couldn't stand to lose you again."

"...We?"

"We." Tamaki steps out from behind the door, causing another gasp from the woman. In the brief silence that followed, they could faintly hear Jin squeaking Kyoya's name before she's cut off, probably with a kiss.

Tamaki moved a little closer, "I made the mistake of not coming after you once, Haruhi. I'm not about to make it again."

The woman nodded, licking her lower lip, clearly on the brink of tears, "And I suppose you just expect me to go weak at the knees and… fall into your arms crying hysterically and say that we'll just figure this  _ whole _ thing out- A bi-continental relationship with our sons being raised here and there and… and you and I just picking up where we left off and… and growing old together and-"

"Yes." Tamaki gently cupped her face, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears, "Yes to all of it. Except… you don't have to cry hysterically."

"Oh yes I do-" she pressed forward, sealing their lips together as her arms came up around Tamaki's neck, the tears flowing freely now. The blond smiled into the kiss, holding Haruhi closer until he was lifting her off her feet.

Kaoru leaned to the side until he was practically holding himself up against the doorframe, smiling like mad at his twin. Hikaru sat back in his chair staring at the ceiling, "We actually  _ did _ it…"

And then he slid out of his seat and onto the floor.

* * *

" _ This will be an everlasting love! _

_ This will be the one I've waited for! _

_ This will be the first time anyone has loved me… _ "

Hikaru laughed out loud as he and his mother danced around the dance floor. He hadn't stopped smiling since he'd woken up that day, and the same could probably be said about his twin.

"Photo!"

Without missing a beat, the two paused in their dancing and held each other, Hikaru being careful of the white wedding dress his mother was currently draped in, and they smiled at one of the photographers as the photo was taken. Once the man passed, they continued on to the song.

" _ I'm so glad you found me in time! _

_ And I'm so glad that you rectified my mind! _

_ This will be an everlasting love for me… _ "

Beside them, another dancing pair paused and they switched partners, Hikaru grabbing onto his brother's hands while his father swept Haruhi off her feet, spinning her around the dance floor. Kaoru tossed an arm over his shoulder, "I'm so happy we went to that summer camp."

Hikaru's back straightened, "Oh my gosh! We never thanked Kyoya and Aunt Jin for sending us there!"

"You're right!"

Quickly, the two hurried off the dance floor and started running towards their uncle and aunt, trying to not crash into any servers lest they ruin their tuxes. Spotting the two still sitting at the wedding table, the twins got to the end just in time to see Kyoya bend down onto one knee.

Jin clasped her hands in front of her face, eyes widening as he opened a ring box he'd just pulled out of his pocket.

"...Will you marry me, Fujioka Jin?"

"Yes!"

The twins smirked at each other and approached the couple as Kyoya slipped the ring onto Jin's finger, the moment being captured by another photographer. They sat down in Kyoya's seat, each of them taking up half of it as their aunt finally noticed they were there.

"Hey, you two."

The ravenet looked over his shoulder, "I believe that's my seat you're occupying."

"You aren't using it," Kaoru tilted his head to the side, "So, does that mean you're going to be our  _ real _ uncle now?"

The man smiled, looping an arm around the brunette's waist to pull her closer, "Your parents were fairly quick to marry each other and it turned out just fine, I figured I could be rash once in awhile, too." He raised an eyebrow, "Does that bother you?"

"Not at all!"

The twins jumped up and hugged the two adults before peeking back at their parents on the dance floor, "Today's a good day for love."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took me a really long time to make. It got so long that I had to write the story in one document and cut and paste it onto another because it kept lagging! But it was worth it, because I'm pretty proud of myself for this one!  
> Also: AHHH! I'm in love with Kyoya being a super caring parental figure for the twins and I completely overused that trope throughout this chapter but I have no regrets!  
> Just so you're aware, I do have a few more AU ideas if you're interested, such as KyoJin-centric Beauty and the Beast, so if you liked this and want more I can oblige. Also, if you'd like to request a movie AU I can try to write it out as well. But I'm still taking regular prompts as well!  
> See you next chapter!


	58. Photo Shoot!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A guest-picked photo shoot... what could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another request!! I absolutely loved this idea, and I hope you enjoy this one, too!

“Koda-chan! Wait up!”

At the sound of her name, a short girl with chin-length black hair stopped in her tracks, turning around to spot her two friends running up behind her. She smiled widely as they approached, “Tsukuda-senpai! Sakane-senpai! What are you two doing here? Don’t you have tennis practice in a few minutes?”

The taller of the two 3rd year students waved her hands in front of her, “That doesn’t matter right now! Renge Hoshakuji just announced that the Host Club is doing a collaborative photo book! And all the photos will be based off of requests from their guests!”

Any thought on her next art project quickly dissipated from Koda’s mind, “Wait,  _ what? _ ”

Sakane answered next, her classmate too busy squealing and jumping around to speak, “One of Tamaki’s guests showed him a sketch she made of the twins and confessed that she would love to have an actual picture of them recreating her drawing. So now there’s a notice on the club’s doors saying that if we want to offer suggestions for their photo book, we just have to write out which hosts we want in the photo, and then either a description or a drawing or another photo for them to create and deliver them to Hoshakuji-san.”

“It’s going to be so amazing!” Tsukuda looked to be on the verge of hyperventilating, “I have so many shots I want to see! Mori-san putting Honey-kun down for a nap… Haruhi and Tamaki together… more Jin photos! She doesn’t even have her own photo book out yet!” The blond pouted, ignoring the way her friends were snickering behind their hands. “What about you two?”

Koda shrugged, “I’d like to see more KyoJin content, to be honest.”

“I  _ know…” _

The girls giggled a little before their third friend cleared her throat, “Actually… I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Kyoya being jealous of the other Hosts.”

When Koda and Tsukuda went silent, Sakane found herself blushing, “Look, I ship KyoJin with all my heart, just like you two, but… watching their movie and the blooper reel I couldn’t help but think that Kyoya was just so  _ adorable _ being all huffy and protective around Jin and the various crushes she had. I’d like to see some more... Tumblr gifs can only sustain me for so long.”

“You know…” Koda nodded, “You’re right. I want to see more of that, too. Kyoya used to be very closed off and emotionless in class before he and Jin became a thing. And the jealousy towards Beni-san was priceless.”

“Do you think they’ll take requests for Kyoya acting jealous?”

“Probably. But I kinda want it to be authentic… I have a feeling that if Kyoya was asked to pretend to be jealous he’d tone down his usual reaction.”

Tsukuda stopped bouncing around and turned to her friends with a sneaky grin on her face, “You’re absolutely right, Koda-chan. But since we’re giving the suggestions to Hoshakuji-san… I have an idea on how to get those photos.

* The Next Day *

“Alright everyone, circle up!” Renge sharply blew into a whistle hanging around her neck before glaring at the host club as they slowly approached her.

Jin slid up next to her boyfriend and gently nudged his arm, “ _ Do you think she’s still mad about when we made the movie? _ ”

“ _ Undoubtedly. _ ”

The two stopped at the edge of a lopsided circle just as Renge lifted her clipboard, “Alright, we have a full day of shooting today, and if for  _ some reason you all can’t behave like normal people _ , we might have to wrap it up on Sunday.  _ But I would very much appreciate if we didn’t have to do that. _ Clear?”

“Crystal~”

The girl glared heatedly at the Hitachiins before returning to her clipboard, “I selected the top fifty photos requested from the guests to put into the photobook. Jin-senpai-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, help out the lighting crew-”

“-you’re in more than half of them so I need you to be on top of your game, today.”

Jin paused for a moment, staring at the other girl in incomprehension, “...I’m what now?” She was the only one in their little group of nine who seemed surprised by the manager’s statement. Kyoya smirked slightly at the girl’s confusion, slipping an arm around her waist to give her a brief squeeze of encouragement.

“Seems that your popularity has skyrocketed, Darling.”

“Or maybe it’s because Kyoya-senpai never put together a photobook for you.”

The ravenet glared at the twins as Jin groaned, her head falling back, “Because I asked him not too. I don’t  _ need _ a photobook. I’m not a host!”

“Well, in all technicalities-”

“Don’t you start on that again.” Jin sighed but moved her head to lean it against the boy’s shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the French girl, “Fine. I’m assuming I’m with Kyoya for most of them?”

Renge pretended to consult her clipboard once again, the perfect front for hiding her smirk, “Actually… not at all. KyoJin only has five photos. You have a lot of requests just as yourself and with the other hosts.”

“Come again?”

“Report to makeup, gentlemen and ladies. Big day ahead of us!” And with that, she turned around and marched towards the other side of the room, trying to not make it too obvious how she was enjoying knowing something that Kyoya Ootori did not.

Because while the host club didn’t know it, one of them was already being photographed.  

* * *

Kyoya didn’t speak out loud again until forty minutes after the first photograph was taken. He was staring at the set in front of him, a kitchen countertop along with a fake stove top and one of the club room’s windows just in the shot. Across the counters were various splotches of flour and chocolate powder, as well as a chocolate-batter-covered whisk. Jin was standing on set, listening politely as she was handed a bowl of fake chocolate cake batter and a wooden spoon.

“...I am still not sure what to make of this development.”

He had intended for his statement to go unnoticed, hoping that speaking his thoughts out loud might help work out the possibilities in his head. Unfortunately, the twins had crept up behind him, just finished with their costume change for their next photo.

The brothers glanced at each other before inching closer to their senpai. Both of them looked a little too pleased considering the topic.

“Which part of this is so confusing to you, Kyoya-senpai?”

“We thought it was obvious that Jin-nēchan’s fan base had grown since the video release-”

“-or were you talking about how her fanbase ships her with people other than you?”

Kyoya’s dark eyes narrowed a little bit as he pondered whether to respond to the twin’s jabs at all. As he weighed the options in his head, he watched as his girlfriend was told to swipe a chocolate-covered thumb across her cheek, despite how her nose scrunched in discomfort. The effect of the mess was cute, of course, as was the slightly messy apron and bowl of cake mix in her hands, but Kyoya was a bit to preoccupied with the twin’s statements to truly appreciate it.

Because those happened to be his  _ exact _ thoughts.

“ _ He hasn’t responded… _ ”

“ _ Does that mean we’re right? _ ”

The ravenet rolled his eyes, “Not at all. And don’t you two have your own photos to take?”

Before the twins could answer, the camera in front of them went off once again, “I think that’s all we need for that one! Hitachiin’s!”

The redheads grinned at their senpai before bounding on stage. A flurry of make-up artists rushed all three teenagers, Jin audibly sighing in relief as the drying gunk was scrubbed off her face. Kyoya watched with his jaw clenched tightly as she was presented with a tube of bright red lipstick and told to apply it liberally. He turned away just as she was instructed to kiss the twin’s cheeks, in order to leave very prominent lip marks.

_ I’m taking her out for a lunch date today. _

Little did he know, that just off to his left Renge was quietly directing another photographer who had their own camera going off again and again in the same direction as the moping boy. Both with playful smirks on their faces as the plan played out perfectly.

* Time Skip *

“Last photo! Fujioka-san and Ootori-san, front and center, please!”

Jin let out a deep sigh as she once again stood on a fake grassy field. For a moment she remained still, then quickly bent down to yank off her shoes. It wasn’t like they would make or break the photo anyways, and her feet were  _ killing _ her.

Another sigh escaped as her heels were removed and thrown off set, toes curling into the grass beneath her feet. She hadn’t remembered it being this soft earlier during the other photos, and  _ especially _ not when she’d been forced to lie on her back for the “couple’s yoga” photo with Honey.

The pose had been fun, considering that’s what she and the small blond had done when they were younger as well, but the back of her neck hadn’t been happy with the incessant tickling. At least the clothes she’d been given had been comfortable. Better than the stupid neko cosplay she’d been given.  _ That _ had been uncomfortable in many senses of the word. She hadn’t thought any of her outfits could be worse.

Of course, she had been wrong.

Jin unhappily pulled at her blue sundress, which clung uncomfortably at her skin. The heavy and wet material pulled at her skin, making it very awkward to walk and move around. Groaning as she pulled the dress upwards again to cover the tops of her breasts, the brunette simultaneously tucked a lock of her wet hair behind her ear, forcing herself not to shiver from the cold..

Her only consolation was that this time she did not have to suffer alone. Just then, an equally wet Kyoya approached her on set and the photographer began gesturing at them, prompting them to move closer.

“Ootori-san, if you could wrap your arms around Fujioka-san’s waist… just like that! Okay, and Fujioka-san, hands on his chest- perfect! Hold that position.”

She began to position the cameras to angle towards the couple, ignoring the soft giggles coming from the two. In the middle of the fake grass, Kyoya ducked his head slightly, “So, which was your favorite photo today?”

Jin smirked, “Are you going to pout if I say it wasn’t one with you?”

“I would do no such thing.”

“Mm-hm. Well, lucky for you, it was ‘The Kiss’.”

“Which one?”

Jin lightly smacked his chest, “Smartass. You know damn well what I meant. The black and white photo.”

“Hm,” Kyoya gently squeezed his arms around her, pulling her completely flush against his chest, “And why was that your favorite?”

“Because I’m positive you kept messing up to just to keep kissing me.” The brunette pushed herself onto her toes for a split second, planting a small kiss on the boy’s nose before pulling back, “And you looked so cute with that lil’ sailor’s cap.”

“I’ll get you for that.”

“Alright! Focus! Cue the rain!”

From high above the couple, a young man pressed a button on his impromptu catwalk and a sheet of raindrops fell in a straight line between the camera and the two teenagers. Without needing to be prompted, Jin rose to her toes again, gently pressing her forehead against the ravenet’s.

The camera lights blinked rapidly for a few seconds before Kyoya winked and tilted his head a little, connecting their lips. There was a brief coo from the photographer before she went back to work, trying to capture as many angles as she could. By the time she called for the rain to stop, Jin’s right foot had popped off the ground, Kyoya all but lifting her off her feet.

Renge let out a sigh of relief, “That’s a wrap! Everybody pack up!”

Multiple conversations simultaneously broke out around the music room as the photographer’s employees began taking down the different sets and equipment in earnest, no longer needing to keep it down. Back on the grass, Jin was reluctantly eased back onto her own two feet, the couple pulling apart ever so slightly.

“ _ I think I just got a new favorite. _ ”

Kyoya smiled slightly, pecking Jin’s lips once again, “ _ I’d be tempted to say the same… but my favorite still remains to be the one you took with Haruhi. _ ” He was, of course, referring to a cute little picture where Jin hugged Haruhi from behind, the sisters beaming at the camera like they couldn’t think of anywhere else they’d rather be than with each other. The girls had already decided that they’d get a copy of that particular picture for their dad to put in his wallet.

The answer was so sweet, Jin couldn’t help but kiss him once again.

* * *

“ _ SOOOO CUUUUUUTE!!! _ ”

Music Room #3 was in chaos.

Jin yelped and jumped up onto a nearby chair just to avoid being trampled on by a fresh wave of guests running towards Renge’s booth. She climbed down once they passed and ran across the room, placing the slice of cake in front of Honey before collapsing on the couch beside him.

“I am  _ not _ doing that again. You’d think the girls would know that we have to be  _ alive _ if they want more photobooks.”

“I dunno, Jin-nēchan…”

“These ones look like our best ones yet.”

“They might not ever need new ones.”

Hikaru and Kaoru were perched on the armrests on either side of the couch, flipping through two photobooks they had “borrowed” from Renge’s stand while the girl wasn’t looking. Every so often Hikaru would shift the page to let Mori view it over his shoulder, then again so Honey could see it. Haruhi and Tamaki were peering over Kaoru’s shoulders.

Jin straightened up in her seat a little, spotting Kyoya across the room attempting to rally the new guests into a straight line least Renge lose her cool and just throw the books at the crowd for free. The professional photographer they’d hired hadn’t been cheap!

She smiled before glancing at the photos in Kaoru’s book. He was near the middle of the collection, Mori’s featured photograph in the top right corner. To add a little more value to the photobooks, each of the hosts had chosen a ‘favorite’ to feature on every other page, with a short explanation as to why. The photo Mori had chosen was one of him and Jin cosplaying as Sherlock and Watson, the BBC version. Apparently after the game where Jin made the boys figure out her fandoms he had checked out the show ‘Sherlock’ and became addicted.

Jin had most definitely cackled like a madman when she discovered this. In her opinion, there was nothing more satisfying than passing on your obsession to your friends.

“I still can’t believe you favorited the ‘Mob Boss’ photo, Boss.”

“Hey! It’s not about a Mob Boss!”

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and lifted his page, which showed Tamaki’s favorited photograph, “Are you sure? Because you’re in a pinstripe suit and Jin-nēchan is in a dark dress and it’s in black and white. Looks pretty ‘American Mob Boss from the early 20’s’ to me.”

“That’s… oddly specific…” Jin commented before turning back to the chaos on the other side of the room. All of the guests who had already purchased their photobooks were riffling through them like they might hold the secrets of the universe, clutching and squealing and a few using the walls and pillars for support.

_ I’ll never understand the girls at this school. _

Just as she was about to turn her attention back to the pictures in the redhead’s hands… her eyes caught onto something. Jin stared at one of the girls who was hurrying to join her screaming friends, unsure as to what had captured her attention… when she saw it again.

The girl was holding two  _ different _ photobooks.

Pushing herself to the edge of her couch cushion, the brunette’s eyes zipped around the room, spotting the different photobooks all around.

“Guys… why is Renge selling two different photobooks to the guests?”

A brief silence met her question before the twins were bolting across the room towards Renge’s stand. Through the crowds the remaining hosts watched as the twins and the manager seemed to argue about something before Hikaru dove over the stand to grab at something just beneath the desk. Renge shouted something at the boy, but it was too late.

He and Kaoru raced back to their friends on the couch, and Renge was too busy dealing with fangirls to chase after them.

The twins collapsed on either side of Jin, Kaoru once again reclaiming his armrest. Allowing them to catch their breath, the brunette glanced at the photobook in Hikaru’s hand. Yep, it was definitely different from the one they were already familiar with, because this one… had Kyoya on the front, only. And he was glaring at something to his left that you couldn’t see in the picture.

Jin’s eyebrows rose in surprise when she read the title.

“Green with envy for a green rose”

_ What? _

Shifting into a more comfortable position, Hikaru flipped open the book, the host club gathering around to peek inside. Tamaki took once glance before he started laughing. The others soon joined in.

“No  _ wonder _ Jin took so many photos without Kyoya! It was to get content for this photobook!”

“Do you think this was another request and he just gave too much content?”

Jin was giggling, even though her cheeks were bright red with a blush, “Have you read some of these captions? ‘ _ Being told Jin was going to be in couple’s photos without him. _ ’ ‘ _ Watching Tamaki present Jin with a red rose. _ ’ ‘ _ Dragging Jin off to a ‘private’ lunch date, complete with bodyguards to keep the others away. _ ’ ‘ _ Off camera canoodling _ ’? Who came up with these?”

“With what?”

All seven of the hosts jumped, but not even Kyoya’s curious stare could keep them from giggling still. Haruhi was the one who snatched the photobook out of her classmate’s hand and hand it to the ravenet, her brown eyes gleaming with just a little too much amusement than was probably necessary.

Said amusement only heightened among the group as the Vice President started flipping through the photobook, his eyes narrowing and page flips increasing in speed the more he saw. Finally, her snapped the thing shut and spun around.

“Renge? I believe you have some explaining to do.”

“I won’t be explaining  _ anything _ . You’re the one with the jealousy issues, Kyoya-senpai!”

The rest of the hosts burst out laughing once more, Kaoru falling off the couch as he did so. Kyoya turned around to glare at them, the words ‘shut up’ already on his tongue when he was interrupted with a pair of lips against his. It was only a quick peck, but it calmed the boy down quicker than he would’ve liked to admit.

His girlfriend met his gaze, lips curled in an amused yet soft smile, “Did it really bother you  _ that _ much to see me kissing the other’s cheeks? Do you not trust us?”

Her tone was teasing, and yet Kyoya could still detect the seriousness behind the questions, and he sighed, looping his arms around her waist, “I do trust you, of course, but that doesn’t mean I like sharing your romantic affection. Your sibling affections and friend affections are fine…” Jin squeaked softly as he suddenly pulled her close, replicating their last photograph from the weekend, “... _ but your romantic affections are for me. As are your kisses. _ ”

Not even caring that the guests were probably watching, or how Haruhi was probably pretending to be sick behind her back, Jin slipped her arms around her boyfriend’s neck, her fingers toying with a few of the hairs on the back of his neck, “ _ Hmm… I suppose you do have a point. Does that mean I owe you something for each of those kisses and ‘romantic’-like photos from Saturday? _ ”

“ _ It does, though I’m sure a simple payment plan could be arranged… _ ”

“Hey, Nēchan? Could you maybe wait until  _ after _ club activities before making out with your boyfriend? Preferably somewhere where I don’t have to  _ watch? _ ”

Jin rolled her eyes and went to pull away, but before she could, Kyoya maneuvered her into a slight dip, forcing her to tighten her grip on his shoulders.

“If you don’t wish to watch, Haruhi, you could always shut your eyes.”

The older Fujioka would’ve laughed if it weren’t for the following kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! IT IS DONE! I’M JUST GONNA UPLOAD THIS WITHOUT AN OVERALL EDIT BECAUSE I’M ALREADY A WEEK LATE AND CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Anyways, awww…this turned out really cute. But I’m glad I finished it. And here I thought being on summer vacation would mean more time to write… guess I forgot about work.  
> Also, random question: What Hogwarts house do you all think Jin should be in and why? Just curious.  
> See you next chapter!


	59. The Fujioka Café!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffeeshop!AU  
> Because why not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the purpose of this story, none of the boys are rich. They're slightly above middle class and everyone still goes to the same high school, but it's a public school.
> 
> Disclaimer: No.

 

 

"Girls, I have an announcement!"

Jin and Haruhi looked up from their plates, a little surprised by their father's outburst. They hadn't seen him this excited or peppy since the construction had started a few months back. They gave each other a questioning glance before setting their chopsticks down.

Ranka leaned forward in his chair, "According to the contractor, the café's renovations should be completed in two weeks!"

As one, all three of them cheered. Ranka was referring, of course, to The Fujioka Café that they ran as a family. Ranka and Kotoko, the girl's mother, had bought the building together almost twenty years ago to start their dream of owning a family-run café. With Ranka's skills from his years of bartending and Kotoko's business law minor from college, they managed to keep the place going for years. Their two daughters, Jin and Haruhi, had been working in the café ever since they could turn on a mixing machine. It was their life.

Last year, however, was when the Fujioka's  _ really _ got their big break. That was when the community college had finished  _ their _ expansion. They purchased quite a few of the older buildings downtown and demolished them, building brand new student apartments in their place. There was a bit of a walk between the college and these new apartments, of course… and The Fujioka Café was smack dab in the middle of it.

Business had boomed, so to speak. Unfortunately, they were so busy that it was almost impossible to keep everything running smoothly, even  _ with _ Misuzu-chi finally agreeing to take up the second managing position. There would be a line leading out the door every day for hours on end in the summer, and during the school year the building was practically overrun with students in the afternoon. The booths and tables were almost never empty, and there was never time to clean them off during the rush, so the café was always  _ trashed _ by the time they hit a lull. Not to mention with all four of them working the front, Ranka and Misuzu-chi barely kept up with the paperwork. It was… stressful, to say the least.

But, like Kotoko used to say, every cloud has a silver lining. With the sudden increase in sales and customers, and the building beside them being completely empty, Ranka decided to expand. Once everything was completed, the café would be double its original size, which would help with the expected crowds.

Unfortunately, the Fujioka's also happened to live above the café. So knowing the loud construction was almost completed was pretty amazing news.

"That's awesome!"

Ranka beamed, "Of course, that means we should probably start training the new employees sooner rather than later."

"Yeah… I still don't think we need  _ six _ people."

Jin rolled her eyes, "Just because  _ you _ didn't interview them doesn't mean they're gonna be bad employees."

Haruhi stuck out her tongue.

"Girls… I know that we only hired boys, so if any of them try anything-"

"Dad! Come on, Haru and I know all of them already! I trained with Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai for most of my life! And Tamaki and Kyoya are respectful students in class."

Haruhi rolled her eyes, "If I had a problem with Hikaru and Kaoru working here, I would've said something when we were looking at resumes."

Ranka hummed, but didn't press the issue any further, "Well, if you're sure about it, then I'm going to give all six of them an email tomorrow. They'll come in on Sunday when we're closed and after their paperwork is completed, we can show them about the shop and start scheduling. I want them to be at least somewhat competent employees by the time we have our Grand Reopening!"

"I… we never closed, so is it really a reopening?"

"Hush and enjoy the moment."

His daughters snickered, but nodded before going back to their dinner. These next few weeks were certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

"Come on in, guys." Jin smiled as she opened the door, letting in the six boys currently waiting around outside. The new employees returned her smile as they walked past her.

Jin relocked the door just as her father and sister emerged from the hallway, "Welcome back, all of you. Well, congrats on your new jobs. Oh, introductions, as well. You've already met my eldest daughter, Jin." She gave them a little wave. "And this is my younger daughter, Haruhi. You'll be working alongside either her or Jin every day. They will be your shift-managers. Myself and Misuzu-chi are your managers, but you'll meet him another time. Have you all been introduced to each other?"

All six boys nodded, the one with glasses speaking up, "We all attend the same school along with your daughters, and most of our parents are friends with each other as well."

"Perfect! Then we'll start with the paperwork. Follow me."

The seven boys paraded towards the back office, leaving the sisters in the front of the store. Haruhi sighed as she and Jin made their way into the bakery, "I'm glad we're finally getting this done. Hikaru and Kaoru have been pestering me daily about when we'd finally do orientations."

"Same with the other four. So, what do you think it's going to be like… working with people who aren't family?"

Haruhi shrugged, "I'm guessing we'll be less worried about them getting mad at us because we won't have to deal with them at the dinner table after closing time." Her sister laughed as she began pulling out the flour. Even though they might be closed on Sundays, they had a number of special orders to make regardless. Mostly for teachers or businesses who wanted to treat their students and workers on Monday mornings.

By the time the girls were prepping the doughnuts for frying, their father and the boys emerged from the back room, "Alright, tour first! This is the Bakery, where we make every pastry from scratch. We make a majority of pastries early in the morning before opening, so we'll only need one person back here in the evenings. Oh, except for those who'll be working Saturday mornings and if we later decide to include a few morning shifts for you gentlemen, but we'll go into more detail later. Now, all of our ingredients are delivered about an hour before we open up shop and on Sundays-"

_ Bzzzzz! _

Ranka's cheerful expression fell, "Oh dear, he's early. Um, Jin? Could you finish their tour and start working on scheduling while Haruhi and I unload the truck?"

"Sure thing, Dad." Both girls dusted the flour off their hands as best as they could before shucking off their white aprons. After quickly washing their hands and removing the hair nets, Jin approached the boys while her father and sister ran to the back of the store. "So, any questions about the Bakery before we move on?"

To no one's surprise, Honey's hand was up in the air before she even finished the question, "Do we get to eat the mess ups?"

Her eyes narrowed playfully, "No… the only mess ups we don't sell are because they're not safe to be eaten. If something comes out  _ really _ really disfigured we just put it on the clearance rack. If you want to eat something while you're working, you either have to bring it yourself or buy something." Honey's hand dropped, as did his head. "But Dad's giving you all a 10% employee discount once your employee cards come in. Any other questions?"

Tamaki's hand went up next, "How long have you and Haruhi worked here?"

"Oh boy…" Jin scratched the back of her head, "Well… we've helped out in the Bakery since we were kids… and assisted with inventory adjustments and counting and truck unloading and such, too. But we started "working" when I was maybe… thirteen? Fourteen? And the "working" title was only when we officially became employees and started getting paid for it. In many ways, Haru and I have been working here our whole lives, considering we live upstairs. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Hikaru flicked a sort of half-hearted salute to get her attention, "Where did Haruhi and Ranka go? He seemed worried. And, as a side question, do we have to start calling him Fujioka-san now that he's our official employer."

Jin smirked, "I think he'll still want you to call him Ranka, since there's three of us with the name 'Fujioka'. And they just went to the back room. The truck that delivers our ingredients showed up early. More often than not Suzushima-san gets here around eleven on Sundays. Dad was worried that your orientation would be interrupted since unloading the truck takes a while."

"Will we be unloading the truck at all?"

"Only if you work Saturday mornings. Aaaand maybe eventually if some of you are asked to come in on Sundays or the really early morning shifts on school days, but that won't be for some time, if ever. Now, let's head out to the front."

The seven went out into the main café area. Jin flicked on half of the lights so they'd be able to see, hoping no one passing by would assume they were open. It was awkward when she had to send them away. Honestly, why couldn't people just  _ read the sign on the door? _ Like, really? They even had it written in English for good measure!

Once the boys were in a semicircle around her, Jin patted the countertop, "So, here's where most of you will be spending your time. We only have two cash registers, but typically we only need one cashier at a time unless there's a big rush. You'll be expected to not only take people's orders and handle cash transactions, but you'll need to interact with the customers as well. In general, be nice and smile and treat them like decent human beings. Simple enough, really."

She walked down to the other end of the counter and tapped the large glass display case that came up to her shoulder. It was empty at the moment. "This is where we keep our goodies to sell to the general public. All special orders will be kept in the bakery until they're picked up, but everything else comes up here. You will notice, it is empty at the moment. Every morning before we open it will be filled up, but when you guys close whoever is cashier is tasked with packaging them away so they stay fresh. You'll be taught how to do that and your other nightly duties as you go along."

"And finally," she gestures for them to follow her around behind the counter, leading them to the wide area that had multiple machines and cups and syrups and anything else you could think of, "this is where all the coffee is made. Everyone who works as a barista will basically live here for a few hours every shift. When the cashier punches in an order, it'll come out of  _ this  _ thing," She gestured to a small screen in the middle of the two largest machines. "Basically, you rip off the first one and make it, and then throw the slip away when you hand off the order. This way no one makes the same order twice and you have the instructions for it with you the whole time. I know it might sound a little complicated, but after a while it just becomes a sort of rhythm."

Some of the boys exchanged nervous glances, which is what Jin was expecting, "Hey, don't worry about it. We've already made cheat sheets for you all, but I promise you don't have to memorize them right away. There will always be two baristas working at once, and one of them will always be either Haru or myself. If you have a question about how to make a certain coffee or about the machines or anything, just ask. And that goes for the cashiers and people in the bakery, too. Haru and I have both worked all three positions for years, and we know all the tricks. We'll do our best to teach you, but a lot of the skills are going to take some time. No pressure."

Once the boys looked a little less uneasy, she went to lead them to the manager's room. It was probably better to start setting up the schedules now rather than later.

"Wait, Jin?"

"Mmm?"

Kyoya was regarding the white sheet that was cutting the room in half with muted curiosity, "What are they building over there?"

"Oh, that? They've been expanding the shop into the next building. It's just to make a bigger sitting area so our customers don't have to stand the whole time. Dad's hoping to expand the backroom and storage space next. Now, about those stairs in the back of the hall-"

"Wouldn't it have been more productive if you'd expanded the area where you make the coffee instead? Or perhaps add more cash registers? Also, wouldn't it have been better to hire other workers who could work midday shifts as well?"

Jin paused, "No, actually. See, a large portion of our customers are students, too. While we're not around, Dad and Misuzu-chi can handle the crowds pretty well on their own, though they are considering hiring more hands later on, once we're sure we can afford it. Besides, when we were going over the designs, Dad realized our biggest flaw with the café was that there was no place for everyone to sit. The more we promote socializing, the more likely we'll get customers who'll stick around and buy additional pastries or bring their friends in to chat. My dad's been running this place for almost 20 years. He's not an amateur."

And with that, she started leading them down the hall.

Tamaki lightly elbowed his friend, giving him his best ' _ what were you thinking? _ ' face. Kyoya ignored him, following the others in silence instead. Internally, however, he was hoping that he wouldn't be scheduled to work with Jin Fujioka all that much. They were already academic rivals in class, no need to jeopardize his first job so soon.

*The Following Saturday*

"Good morning, boys!"

A series of groans were Jin's response as she let the morning shift come in. And no wonder. It  _ was _ 6 am. Mori padded in first, ruffling the brunette's hair as he went, followed by Hikaru and… Kaoru?

"Hold up, I thought Kyoya had the-"

"It's alright, Jin!" Ranka called out from behind the counter, "He and Kaoru agreed to switch their Saturday shifts around. I've already adjusted the schedules."

The girl hummed, but didn't comment further. She already worked with that jerk on Mondays and Wednesdays. At least this way she technically didn't have to see him at all today unless she wanted to.

Locking the door, she claimed their attention, "Okay, so you all have closed up the shop before, but now I'm going to show you how to  _ open _ . Kaoru, since you're working cash register you have to sweep up the floors, set up the chairs around the tables, and clean the windows. Dad will get you a till maybe ten minutes before we open for the day. Mori, head to the bakery. Dad will help you and Haru today, but next week it's only you two. You'll also probably need to help unload the truck, and Kaoru? If you finish early you'll probably be asked to help out. Hikaru, you're with me in getting the machines ready for the day and filling the display."

The three boys nodded and immediately followed her instructions. Jin had to admit, it was a little nice having other employees around to help out. For example, an hour later when they opened for the day Jin still had plenty of energy, Haruhi got to go back to bed for a few hours, and Ranka had retired to the manager's room for what would probably be the rest of the day unless of an emergency.

As a steady flow of early morning joggers started trickling into the café, Jin thought over the previous week. It had been a major shift, no doubt, with the new employees and the amounts of training they'd gone through. Well, actually, the mornings were pretty normal, still. She and Haru got up early with their dad, opening the café and started things up in the bakery until Misuzu-chi came in and they went off to school.

After that, however? Totally different ball game.

For one, she and Tamaki talked more in class now, while the academic rivalry she had with Kyoya only worsened. Now they were not only battling for the number one spot, but had started whispering quips back and forth to each other. Taunting almost. She started feeling unnaturally smug whenever she scored higher on a test than he did.

Meanwhile she, Mori-senpai, and Honey-senpai had never been closer. The three of them took Tuesdays and Thursdays off to practice at the Dojo they'd joined when they were younger, so they were now seeing each other almost every day.

On the other hand, Jin and Haruhi never worked the same afternoon anymore. They alternated days now, so they only worked together in the mornings, on Sundays, and Friday afternoons. It gave the girls a certain amount of free time they'd never experienced before… and some time apart from each other.

The biggest downfall for Jin, however, were her Wednesdays. Because on Wednesday, Mori was in the bakery, Tamaki was cashier, and she and Kyoya were the baristas.  _ Ugh! _ That day she'd wanted to wring his neck! It would've been fine if he'd left it at doing his job, but the smug bastard had to go and memorize that dumb sheet already, and then never let her help! Seriously, he almost burned his hand off before she stopped him and he never even said 'Thank you'! Unbelieveable!

"Jin-senpai? You there?"

She jolted, "Oh, sorry, Hikaru. What?"

"Um, someone just ordered a ristretto. I've never made that before."

Jin whistled and nodded, "No wonder. That's a concentrated espresso. We only get these occasionally… unless it's exam week. Anyways, you use the espresso machine like you might expect," she steered Hikaru over and pointed out the lever, "Now, like I said, it's concentrated so be-"

"Ow!"

"-careful!" Jin shoved Hikaru's hand into the sink, turning the cold water on, "Keep your hand there." He hissed in pain, but nodded.

Quickly, she ran back to the machine to finish the order, handing it to the customer as soon as she could with a small smile, "Have a good day!"

"Hope your coffee is worth it!"

Jin froze, her eyes shutting.  _ Please… please tell me he didn't just say that. _ Turning around, she saw Hikaru glaring at his hand as the cold water ran over it, Kaoru hovering around trying to get his own look at it. Letting out a sigh, she quietly pulled out their first aid kit and went to his side. The three waited in silence for another couple minutes, Jin keeping her eyes on the front of the store in case someone came in. They didn't.

Eventually she shut the water off, handing him a towel to dry off before offering some lidocaine with aloe vera gel. The redhead applied it without a word. In fact, he didn't speak again until after he took an ibuprofen.

"I messed up."

"Yes. Do you know when?"

The redhead scowled again, "I didn't listen when you wanted me to be careful."

"No." Jin unhappily rubbed at her cheek, glancing at the boy's twin before leading Hikaru to the hallway entrance, nodding at Kaoru to keep him out of earshot, "Hikaru, this job is going to come with it's fair share of cuts and burns. The fact you got a little hurt isn't a big deal, but you  _ can't _ lash out at the customers like that."

The boy looked up in shock, eyes widening. "You could've lost us a customer with that outburst. It wasn't their fault, in fact it was entirely your fault you got hurt, rushing into a job you didn't fully know how to do yet. Now… I'm afraid I'll have to write you up. Which means you're gonna have a similar conversation with my Dad after your shift today."

Hikaru swallowed, looking like he was trying not to cry, "I… I didn't mean it. Please don't fire me."

"Who said anything about firing you?" Jin laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, "It's your first week of your first job. We can cut you some slack this time, but please… it's not easy, especially when you're stressed or the customer is being rude, but consider this: If Kyoya Ootori can be nice to the customers, so can you."

Her joke pulled a half-hearted chuckle from the boy, who nodded in understanding. Thankfully before they had to continue the conversation, another customer came in. After that, the two lost themselves in their work, Jin slipping away to write the report, but otherwise never speaking of the incident again. And while Hikaru occasionally winced whenever something brushed too harshly against the back of his hand, Jin was pleased to note he kept a smile on his face whenever he spoke with a customer.

Of course, by the time the evening shift came in and Hikaru finished his talk with Ranka, the smile was gone. Jin couldn't help but feel bad. From what Haru had told her, the twins were some of the most popular guys in her class, but only because of their looks. They didn't really talk to anyone else, besides Haruhi on occasion. No wonder Hikaru was taking the reprimanding so personally.

The brothers were almost out the door when she called out, "Hey! Hold on, you two." She beckoned them back in and felt a twinge in her stomach when Hikaru didn't even meet her eyes. Gently steering them to get in line with her, she pulled out her debit card, "Pick whatever you want."

_ That _ got his attention.

"Jin-senpai, you don't-"

"I want too. I know how rough you can be on yourself when you make a mistake on the job. I once ruined an entire batch of muffins and cookies because I didn't pull my hair back. Safety regulations and all that. We lost a lot of supplies because of that. And I was younger than you are. I can't give you special treatment while we're working, but off the clock? Consider me your friend."

Hikaru stared at her, as if deciding whether to believe her or not, all the way up to the front of the line. Kyoya raised his eyebrows at them all, but Jin decided not to explain. He didn't need to know.

Instead, she nudged Kaoru's arm. "Whatever you want," she repeated.

After another brief moment of hesitation, the boys ordered two green teas and some cookies. Jin ran her card through the reader, which make their cashier look even more confused, but she once again ignored him.

The three waited together until the twin's orders were fulfilled, Jin occasionally prompting them with questions about school and homework. Kaoru was the more talkative of the two, or maybe that was just because of the day Hikaru had been having. Either way, both boys were smiling and waving as they left. Jin nodded and was about to head upstairs when-

"Why did you do that?"

She glanced at the ravenet, "Why not?" And she left.

* * *

"Three… two… one!" The large sheet that separated the old café from it's extension was pulled down to a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs'. Jin bounced on her toes excitedly. The new area looked so  _ shiny! _ And there were so many new booths and tables!

Internally she groaned at the idea of more sweeping and table washing, but for now she decided to ignore that thought.

She caught Haruhi's eyes through the crowd and smiled.  _ About time, don't you think? _

_ Yeah, maybe we'll actually get some good sleep tonight! _

Jin snorted and inched closer to her sister until they were both leaning against the countertop. The noise of the crowd was loud, like... ' _ rush hour _ ' loud, which is part of the reason the sister's silent conversations came in handy so much.

_ What's the weirdest part for you? _

_ The fact there are customers here on a Sunday. You? _

_ The extra floor space. _

_ When do we start selling stuff? _

_ Mmm… _ Jin regarded the clock hanging above the front entrance,  _ 5 minutes. We should probably get everyone into position. _

Haruhi nodded and ran off to find Mori and Honey. Since their father had wanted a grand revelation party for the end of construction, he'd decided to have the café open for a full 5 hours that Sunday, not to mention putting out a whole lot of advertisements around campus and downtown.

Oh, and the 15% off all items sale. That was there, too.

So, naturally, with so many customers expected and a shiny new place to attend too, all ten employees were there that day to work. Ranka and Misuzu-chi were going to be walking around, taking most of the attention for the new renovations - there was even some talk of an interview for the local paper - and the teenagers would be running the shop.

For once, there would be two cashiers running at the same time, Tamaki and Kaoru. In the bakery would be Mori, Honey, and Haruhi. And Jin, Kyoya, and Hikaru would be the baristas. It felt kinda crowded behind the counter with five of them standing around, but so long as Tamaki and Kaoru didn't move too suddenly and the baristas managed to communicate like usual, then there shouldn't be any big accidents.

Hopefully.

Jin sighed as Tamaki and Kaoru put their tills into the registers at the exact same time, prompting half the people in the café to line up and start placing orders. It was the beginning of a crazy busy day...

"Jin-senpai? We just got three- no, four -mocha orders. Do we have enough chocolate syrup?"

_ And so it begins. _

As predicted, it's crazy from the get-go. Every fifteen minutes or so Haruhi is running out of the bakery to refill the display case, both Tamaki and Kaoru have already gone through at least one full roll of receipt tape each, and the customers just kept coming. But otherwise… it's not as bad as Jin thought it would be.

Despite having only worked together for two weeks, and never all eight at once, they were doing pretty well. Jin was… kinda proud of them.

But something was still bothering her. It had started almost a week ago and took her an entire day for her to realize what it was, but when she did her knees nearly buckled. It was Kyoya. He was being…  _ kind _ to her.

Or, well, kind _ er _ . It had started last Monday in class, when their most recent test had been graded and passed back. Jin had smiled at her 100% and glanced at Kyoya's desk to see what he got… only to find he had already put his away. She had, at first, assumed his score was lower and had hidden it out of shame.

But then the girl that sat on Kyoya's other side whispered congratulations to him for getting a perfect score.

Jin hadn't known what to think of it. Was he trying to make her feel guilty for being smug? No… that didn't seem like something he'd do. But the strange interactions didn't stop there. Even during lunch time when all eight co-workers sat together and talked, there hadn't been any bickering between them. Some of the others noticed and gave Jin odd looks, but she was just as lost as they were.

Her Wednesday shift wasn't immune to the changes either, it would seem. Sure, the two bickered somewhat still, but it was nowhere near the usual amount and didn't have any heat behind the words. Not to mention the moment when Kyoya actually  _ admitted _ that he was unsure about how to make something and allowed Jin to show him the proper method. He even tacked on a 'thank you' and a small  _ smirk _ at the end! Even Tamaki had stared at the two in shock afterwards.

Jin was reeling at this point. She hadn't outright asked Kyoya what was going on, but she couldn't deny she liked Kyoya a lot more when he wasn't being a self-righteous prick all the time. Finally, the friendship between her male classmates made sense. Except, she still had no idea what had set off the change. Or if it would last.

"Behind you." Jin stiffened as Kyoya gently touched her mid-back as he passed her, a grande mocha in his other hand. It took her a moment before she could return to her own order, nerves on fire. Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her before tossing his gaze to Kyoya and back. She shrugged and shook her head in response.

Returning to her work, she expertly filled another cup with hot chocolate. She spotted a little boy and his older sister watching her with interest, but before she could carry the drinks over to the toppings, both cups were gently plucked from her hands.

"I'll finish these for you," Kyoya nodded to a small slip of paper he had just set on the counter beside her, "Another hot chocolate was just ordered."

Jin opened her mouth, ready to argue when she paused. That's… exactly what Haruhi would've done if she had been up here instead. Kyoya had… done a very smart thing. She shut her mouth and turned back to the machine, gears churning in her head.

Nibbling her bottom lip, she peeked at the ravenet as sneakily as she could. He was finishing up with the chocolate drizzle… what was he doing with the sharpie?

Her head snapped to the side fully as he sneakily drew a little smiley face on one of the cups. Jin watched with wide eyes as he handed the order to the two siblings, the little boy giggling with glee at the smiley face on his cup.

She looked away as Kyoya turned around, but Hikaru nudged her side with a smirk, " _ You're blushing. _ "

" _ Shut up! _ "

Hastily piling a small mountain of whipped cream and chocolate drizzle on the hot chocolate  _ she _ was working on, Jin handed the drink off and checked the baked goods display. To her relief, one of the slots was empty. And, like fate-

"Um… could I get a blueberry muffin with that? I don't see any in the display, but…"

"Don't worry, we're bound to have more. I'll go check in the back." Jin's eyes were probably comically wide as Kyoya gave her a smirk before disappearing through the door to the kitchen. She and Tamaki met eyes, both equally surprised. Then the blond shrugged and returned to his customer.

Which was good. He was doing his job... which is what  _ she  _ should be doing right now. But it was a little hard when she felt like she was dying. The brunette tried to ignore her warm face and the way her stomach was playing jump rope around her insides. She stared at the new order in her hands.

_ Latte. Easy. Good. _

Despite how her brain wasn't functioning properly, her hands acted on autopilot. Even the little fern design in the foam looked perfect, despite the fact her eyes were glazed over in thought.

Someone tapped her shoulder and she jumped, just barely stopping herself from dumping the whole container of milk into the drink.

Surprise, surprise, it was Kyoya. "Your face is a little red. Is something causing you stress today, Jin?"

"Yeah, I have to do both your job  _ and _ mine. Who  _ trained _ you?" Her response is out of her mouth before she could really think it over. Meaning, she responded like she would have if it were Haruhi.

Because there had been no heat behind her words. Or his.

Kyoya even managed a small laugh, "I believe you did? I was unaware you associated with self-deprecating humour."

"How long have you known me?"

Another laugh, "Right."

"Oi! Quit flirting and  _ do your jobs, we have customers! _ "

Both Jin and Kyoya flushed when they noticed how everyone from both sides of the counter were pretty much staring at them. Kyoya grabbed another order while Jin hurried to the pick-up counter, handing the latte to a woman in a business outfit.

"Here you go! Have a nice day!"

The woman smiled, "Thank you. And it's so nice to see a young couple working together. You two seem very close."

Jin was once again frozen as the lady walked away. A few of the other patrons snickered at the look on her face, secretly agreeing but deciding to cut the poor girl some slack.

"Tamaki, could you please refrain from flirting with the customers?" The voice of her sister snapped Jin out of it. She turned around just in time to see Haruhi disappearing back into the kitchen, an empty tray from the display in her hands and a pout on her lips.

Jin smiled, amused. Haruhi seemed to have no clue  _ why _ she found Tamaki's flirting so irritating, even when she came downstairs on Wednesdays  _ just _ to scowl at the blond at the register. Jin found it cute, wondering when she'd figure it out.

*Months Later*

"Jin-chan!"

The brunette and her two classmates stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning around at the sound of Honey's voice. Tamaki called out a greeting to the small blond running towards them, which makes Jin almost unreasonably happy.

She and the rest of the Café Club (Hikaru and Kaoru had picked it out, and refused to call them anything else) had grown into a rather close friend group… which actually wasn't all that surprising. After all, they all hung out with each other about twice a week without fail, not to mention how most were either classmates or old friends or related to each other. After spending so much time together, it didn't take long before they started hanging out even when they  _ weren't _ forced to.

They ate lunch together and spent their free periods chatting around the school grounds or lounging around in one of the unused school music rooms. Even Sundays were spent together. There was no shortage of things to do in town, and even when they had mountains of schoolwork or upcoming tests, the studying almost wasn't half bad with such a large 'study group'.

When Honey finally reached the trio, he wasted no time in wrapping a hug around Jin's waist, "Jin-chan! I'm glad I caught you!"

"What's up?"

"It's Takashi! He's sick!" Jin's eyes widened, exchanging alarmed looks with both Kyoya and Tamaki. Mori was supposed to work today with the three of them! "He had to go home early, but tried to say he couldn't because he had to work! Jin-chan, you won't make him, will you?"

The brunette crouched down, "Of course not! But if Mori-senpai isn't working in the bakery…" Honey gasped, the beginnings of a smile appearing on his face before Jin interrupts him, "No, you can't cover for him. You and Mori have a mountain of homework to get done, and he's going to need your help. And I know Haru and the twins have a big project due tomorrow…"

The three boys wait as Jin starts muttering quietly to herself, her brown eyes now trained on the floor. Occasionally the group would get a weird look from someone passing by, but they just ignored it. It was becoming more commonplace for them to be the center of attention. Only a fool would claim that they weren't a good-looking group, and the fact they were always around each other seemed to make it more obvious.

It took a full minute before Jin straightened up, her brown eyes regarding her classmates curiously. Even Kyoya squirmed a little in her intense stare.

"Hmm…" she tilted her head, "Maybe… since Wednesday afternoons are a little slow… I could work in the bakery myself. Kyoya? Can you manage making the coffees by yourself today? If it gets too busy you can always call me up to the front."

Kyoya hesitated. He had to admit, Jin offering to let him work alone, without her assistance, was more than a little fantastic. Not that she hadn't displayed trust for him before, but this was making it that much more obvious.

He could hardly contain his smile, somehow managing to keep his typical smirk instead, "Of course. If you believe I'm ready, I will do my best."

"Great! Thank you so much!" Jin's entire body relaxed before she quickly wrapped the ravenet in a hug. Kyoya barely had time to reciprocate before she was pulling away, her phone now in her hands, "I have to call my dad and let him know. See you in the music room!"

Kyoya watched as she walked away, dialing the phone number for the café in the hopes someone would be able to pick up. And he probably would've continued to watch if it weren't for the snickering from behind him. Rolling his eyes, he continued walking down the hallway, trying to avoid the upcoming teasing.

But it was not to be.

"Awww… your face was so red, Kyo-chan!"

"I'm surprised you let her go! Don't your hugs normally turn into vertical snuggling? I'm surprised you didn't just sweep Jin off her feet!"

"You were like her knight in shining armor!"

"Oh, Kyoya~ My Kyoya~ You're the absolute best~! Thank you for agreeing to do the job you would've had to do anyways unless you want to be fired~!"

"Tama-chan, look! His ears are turning red!"

The two boys were cracking up as they followed their friend, but the kind smiles on their faces were genuine. Every member of the Café Club knew  _ aaaaaall _ about Kyoya's giant crush on Miss Jin Fujioka… except for Jin, of course. Similarly, only Kyoya seemed unaware that the feeling was reciprocated. Most days, the rest of their little 'club' teased and lightly shoved at the two, trying to gently encourage them into a relationship. But other days… they had to really restrain themselves from not shouting the secret out for everyone to hear or locking the two of them in a dark closet until  _ someone _ finally confessed.

Tamaki sighed when Kyoya refused to react to their teasing, "Ah… Mon Ami, come on. We all know you like her, and you make it pretty obvious to anyone who comes into the café, too. Why are you taking so long to confess to her?"

"I have a proposition, Tamaki." The ravenet turned around, casually pushing his glasses back into place before glaring daggers at his best friend, "The moment you successfully ask out Haruhi, I'll consider taking your relationship advice seriously."

Once Tamaki's face was a sufficient shade of red and he had gone quiet for a full fifteen seconds, Kyoya nodded and walked into the music room.

*Time Skip*

"Thank you! Have a good day!" Kyoya nodded to the girl as she took her coffee and hurried towards the booth with her friends before turning around. "I think the caramel-"

He stopped short, a small wave of embarrassment washing over him when he was reminded that Jin wasn't behind him.  _ I'll just… replace the jug myself. _ Silently he went about getting another jug of caramel sauce out, keeping one eye on the front door. But no one came in. Jin had been truthful earlier; Wednesday afternoons weren't well known for their large crowds.

The lack of friendly chatting and banter was starting to get to Kyoya. He had already started working on ways to kindly request that Mori-senpai never miss another Wednesday shift ever again.

Tamaki offered no form of companionship, either. He was far too busy pouting whenever he thought no one was watching. With their big school project due the next day, the twins and Haruhi were at the public library to double check and add as many possible references as they could. Meaning there was no possibility of Haruhi wandering downstairs to chat with Tamaki. It would seem as though both of their Fujioka's were not where they wished they were.

_ Beeeep! _

The sudden noise caused both boys to jump slightly. Frowning, Kyoya walked over to the coffee grinder, eyes narrowing slightly as he observed it. The light bulb in the upper right hand corner was on. He'd never seen that before.

Kyoya regarded the machine for a few seconds more before turning to Tamaki, "Call for me if someone comes in." The blond smirked and winked at his friend before nodding and pretending to shoo him along. Kyoya decidedly ignored him and quickly slipped through the doorway that separated the front of the café from the bakery.

He spotted Jin immediately. She stood at the large table in the middle of the room, humming softly along to the radio playing nearby, her hands gently kneading the large pile of dough before her. For a few seconds, Kyoya just watches her. She looked undeniably adorable with her apron all covered in flour and her hair tied back in a simply ponytail. She looked very relaxed.

Clearing his throat, Kyoya walked closer, "Jin?"

"Yeah?" She didn't even appear startled, smiling up at Kyoya as he approached the table, "What's up, Glasses?"

"Um… the coffee grinder. One of the lights just turned on. I'm not sure what it means... it was in the top right corner?"

"Oh, that! Don't worry, it just needs to be cleaned. Haru must've forgotten to do that last night. I've shown you how to clean all the machines before, right? I know it's not exactly ideal to do that  _ now _ , but if you've got the time that would be great. And if you don't, it's fine, too. Shouldn't be a big deal until we close."

Kyoya's shoulders deflated a little. In all honesty, he had almost hoped that it would've been a big enough problem that Jin would've had to come up front and fix it. Quickly thanking her, he began walking back towards the doorway when Jin called after him.

"Hold on!" She hastily dusted her hands off on her apron as she ran around the table, pulling a sheet of parchment paper off of a tray completely covered in miniature cherry pies before picking it up, "While you're here, could you take these out to the display? I would've done it myself earlier, but then I realized we had no muffins!"

"Of course."

Kyoya gently grabs the tray, his fingers brushing against Jin's as he did so. There was still a faint dusting of flour coating them, making her skin look paler than usual. Kyoya didn't even notice something was amiss until he realized Jin had yet to pull away. In fact, neither of them made any attempt to move away at all. Kyoya raised an eyebrow in question, but Jin was staring at the pies.

Until she inevitably pulled away, clasping her hands in front of her, "Ah… thank you." Was it Kyoya's imagination… or was Jin blushing?

The brunette glanced up at her friend briefly, hastily brushing a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. Kyoya's gaze immediately trained on the light trail of flour that now traced from the girl's cheek to her ear, some of it now in her hair, even.

Having realized her mistake, Jin's blush darken, "Oh, shoot." She hastily scurried towards the nearest sink and turned it on, scrubbing the flour and spare pieces of dough from between her fingers.

A small part of Kyoya wanted to leave. Actually, a more accurate term for the action would be 'run away'. Something about this precise moment was absolutely terrifying Kyoya, but it was only a small part. A small part that he ignored as he set down the tray and walked back over to Jin, who was now drying her hands and still not looking at him.

Eventually, though, she did have to turn around. This time she managed to meet Kyoya's eyes, even as he quietly asked her if something was wrong. She didn't answer. She didn't  _ have _ an answer. Heck, she wasn't sure if what Kyoya had asked was even the right kind of question. Wrong? Either everything  _ about _ this situation was wrong or there was nothing at all and she honestly couldn't decide which one she wanted at the moment.

As she hummed and stumbled over her response, which was going over  _ brilliantly _ , she couldn't help but notice that Kyoya was getting a little closer. She stuttered to a complete stop when the boy actually  _ smirked _ down at her, his hand reaching up to brush at the flour she'd wiped across her cheek.

Swallowing harshly, Jin looked away, trying to catch her breath. But Kyoya's hand was still on her face, and now it was on her chin… and  _ now _ he was gently steering her back to face him.

Jin felt like she could breathe, " _ Kyoya? _ "

" _ Don't look away, Jin. Please. _ "

" _ Kyoya, I… I… _ "

"JIN! SWEETHEART? COULD YOU COME HERE FOR A SECOND?"

At Ranka's shout, Jin yelped and jumped a good foot in the air. Kyoya was no better, his entire body jolting like he'd just been struck with lightning. Hastily stepping away from each other, Jin didn't say another word as she bolted from the kitchen and into the adjacent hallway.

Kyoya watched her leave for the second time that day, but this time he couldn't help but feel like he'd just been smacked across the face.  _ Now _ what was he going to do?

Down the hallway, Jin hastily attempted to steady her breathing. Ridiculously, it was like her brain had forgotten how. Hoping she could play off the undoubtedly  _ gigantic _ blush on her face as a result of the heat from the ovens, Jin pushed open the door to the office with a big smile.

"Hi, Dad! You called-"

"Sit."

The smile vanished and Jin hastily sat down. Her father did  _ not _ look to be in a good mood. She nibbled her bottom lip, not daring to hope or assume or even guess. Her emotions were a bit too much of a mess to do so and not cry out of frustration or fear.

Her father stared at her for a few moments more before spinning his computer monitor around with one hand. Jin's face went immediately pale.

Security monitors.

"I take it you know what I saw."

"Dad… listen, I-"

"Do you like him?" Jin swore she was going to faint. "Because if you don't and he's trying to come on to you and you don't want him to-"

"No! Dad, no, please! I like him! I wanted him to… I like him a lot."

Jin's blush was back and she stared into her lap, shuffling her feet. She couldn't see it, but her father looked both extremely and not at all surprised at the same time… if that were possible. He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow, "Just… 'a lot'? Or  _ a lot _ 'a lot'."

"Um… a lot a lot."

"Well, then. I suppose I have no other option."

* * *

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Afraid not."

Tamaki threw his hands over his head, "You're kidding? You were  _ right there _ and you  _ didn't _ kiss her? You've gotta be…" the blond started pacing, raking his fingers through his hair, "And here I thought you two would  _ finally _ stop pining over each other! Dang it! Now I owe Hikaru 200 yen! He said you'd chicken out the first time!"

Kyoya's back straightened, ready to inform Tamaki that he had mos certainly  _ not _ 'chickened out', when he noticed the blond had gone incredibly silent. Tamaki was staring over his shoulder, and sure enough when Kyoya turned around Jin was standing at the entrance to the hallway.

_ Please _ don't let her have been standing there for long.

There's a short moment of tense silence before Jin lets out a deep breath, "Um, Kyoya? Could you come here, please?" Well, there was no way for him to get out of it, so the ravenet quietly followed.

They didn't walk far, only getting about halfway down the hallway before stopping. Kyoya found himself noticing the smallest details. One of the lights that illuminated the staircase at the end of the hallway was flickering every couple seconds. All of the chatter from the café's sitting area had been reduced to a few shapeless sounds. The manager's office door was shut.

"So…" Despite the situation and how his heart was hammering away inside his chest, Kyoya couldn't help but note how cute Jin's little pink blush was. Perhaps this wasn't going to be about anything bad? "Um, I guess there's no gentle way to say this, but… my dad… he has security cameras in the bakery."

Nevermind.

_ Welp, congratulations, dimwit. You're about to be fired. Oh, did you think that you could just… try to kiss your employer's daughter in the workplace and you would get off scot free? You must be the biggest moron on the planet! Why couldn't you just ask her out on a date and kiss her there like any NORMAL person would do? _

Jin kept quiet, like she was waiting for Kyoya to react, but he looked pretty frozen. Which, she supposed, was a reaction in of itself. But she still allowed the boy to internally wig out for  _ juuust _ a little longer. As payback for what he pulled in the kitchen.

Drumming her fingers against her pant leg, Jin carefully weighed her following words, "Yeah… and we noticed that you forgot something in there."

Kyoya doesn't respond still, but the clear panic that had been in his eyes faded slightly. Now he was more confused than anything.

"What?"

Jin let him wait for all of two seconds before answering. Hands on his shoulders and popping onto her tiptoes, she pressed their lips together. Neither of them knew how long they stood there. What felt like hours might've been only milliseconds. They weren't exactly coherent enough to pull out a stopwatch.

In fact, it's not until Jin pulled away that either of them could think properly at all. And even then, it takes an embarrassingly long time before Kyoya could think up a response that wasn't  _ Uh… _ or  _ Wow _ .

"I believe you are mistaken… I definitely did not forget that. But thank you for giving it to me regardless."

Jin couldn't help but giggle at the cheesy response. Or… well… cheesy for  _ Kyoya _ , but still. And she couldn't resist a smile as the two looped their arms more comfortably around each other, hers around his neck, his at her waist. "Well, I'm pretty sure you forgot something right here, too, but I'm afraid all the cameras for the hallway have been turned off."

"Oh, I think we can manage."

After that the two teenagers became mysteriously quiet up until Tamaki called out, "Kyoya! Please get out here, there are customers and I don't know how to make the coffee!"

*The Next Day*

Hikaru was the first to notice.

"Oh,  _ finally _ , you two!"

At his words, Kaoru, Honey, and a very tired looking Mori followed the redhead's line of sight. Most of them cheered as well when they spotted Jin, Haruhi, Tamaki, and Kyoya walking down the hallway towards them.

Kyoya's right arm was wrapped around Jin's waist, and the two had never looked happier.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… yeah. I liked writing this. I know Coffeeshop!AUs are a bit of an overused trope, but that doesn't mean it's not still freakin cute! I even managed to slip in a few small things from the original story line, like Hikaru saying/thinking 'Finally' when the two get together.
> 
> If you liked this, please favorite and follow for more! Also, I love it when people leave reviews! They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside!  
> See you next chapter!


	60. Life of Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geez, I didn't expect that much positive feedback! But I'm glad all the same! I came across a Mafia!AU thread on a tumblr blog and it gave me the inspiration for this! Also, I needed more practice with angst. This worked good.
> 
> Disclaimer: I still don't own the ORIGINAL characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! THIS CHAPTER IS RATED 'M' FOR VIOLENCE, BLOOD, SEXUAL THEMES, ATTEMPTED RAPE, MENTIONS OF RAPE, AND MINOR CHARACTER DEATH!  
> DON'T LIKE?  
> DON'T READ!

 

Tamaki's eyelids fluttered open in the grey darkness. That was the only way he could tell it was daytime down here; when the cellar was more grey than black.

Grunting a little with the effort, the nine year old slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. His face hurt from pressing against the cement all night long, but he hardly registered the stiffness. It never went away anymore.

Inching across the floor to the cellar bars, he picked up the glass of water waiting for him. Sipping at the liquid, Tamaki had to force himself not to gulp it down. He only got two of these a day… he had to savor it.

"Mon fils? Tamaki, are you awake?"

"Maman!" The blond set down the glass carefully and smiled, even though he knew his mother couldn't see it. Reaching out of his cell, he watched as a larger, colder hand came out of the cell to his left to hold it, "I'm up, Maman. How did you sleep?"

"Fine, fine. And you?"

"Okay, Maman." He hesitated, squeezing her cold hand with his own, "I... had the dream again."

His mother took a moment to respond. Tamaki liked to imagine what her face looked like whenever he told her that. He liked to see in his mind's eye her soft smile, the twinkle in her eyes as she reminisced.

"Would you tell me about your dream, mon fils? I love your dreams."

"Of course, Maman. It started with the screams, like always, but it was the mean men and Uncle screaming this time. You told me to not be afraid when they came down the stairs, and I wasn't, Maman! I heard you laugh. And then… he was there. Papa was opening my cage. You were there, too! He took us home, Maman!" He smiled, a tear tracing his cheek, "And then… I woke up."

There was silence in the cellar once again. It stretched for a moment too long. Long enough for Tamaki to hastily wipe away the tears with his free hand. Long enough for him to ask, "Maman? Tell me about Papa again?"

"Your father…" the woman sighed. Tamaki leaned his head against the cement wall, picturing his mother doing the same behind him, "Your father… was unlike anyone you've ever met, mon fils. He was strong and brave, yes, but also kind. His hands were soft as we danced, and his voice softer. He didn't care who your uncle was, or my last name... he said he saw my soul. He said… he said I had the most beautiful heart of anyone he's ever known. He had brown, chestnut hair and matching eyes. There were scars on his face, but his smile was still beautiful and warm… oh, Tamaki. I wish he'd met you."

Tamaki stared at their clasped hands. His mother's looked so withered, and yet dainty and soft. How graceful she must've been… until he had been born. Until her brother had locked her and her bastard son in the cellar. Until she'd had Tamaki with the boss of a rival family.

Until him.

"Maman? Does Papa know about me?"

"Yes. I told him about you as soon as I could. He wanted to take us, mon fils. He… he wanted us safe. But…"

"...But Uncle found out."

A heartbeat passed.

"Yes."

_ Creeeeeeak... _

Tamaki received one last squeeze before they pulled back. He even inched further into his cell for good measure. His chest tightened as the footsteps grew closer. This wasn't like his dream… and the man staring him down was most definitely not his father. His cellar door was opened harshly, rusted metal screeching in protest. Tamaki's feet felt like they were encased in ice.

"Get up."

Shakily, the blond crawled to his feet. To his left, he heard his mother whimpering as she attempted to do the same. The man didn't shift his gaze once.

Once he was on his own two feet, Tamaki's arm was grabbed. He hissed at the bruising grip as he was dragged into the hallway, but didn't complain otherwise. The thug threw the child against the wall as he shut the cellar door once again. Tamaki quaked in fear. The only time the doors were shut when they were empty… was when the prisoners never returned.

His mother grunted as she was also pulled from her cell. She was thrown to stand beside her son, whom she quickly wrapped in a hug. Tamaki buried his face into her shabby clothes, his shaking dying down a little. He only ever saw his mother every two months or so. He'd never get tired of her kind face. Her warm hugs. Her sweet smile. She caressed his shaggy blond hair once more before they were both shoved towards the staircase. He had to hold her tightly so she wouldn't fall to the floor.

"Move."

They did. Tamaki clutched at his mother as they made their way up the stairs as fast as they could. His mother was breathing heavily by the time they made it, but Tamaki didn't get an opportunity to ask if she was alright. They were shoved down various hallways, the guards not saying anything other than basic commands. Tamaki swallowed when he realized where they were going.

His uncle's office.

The little family was almost bodily thrown into the room, and Tamaki would've appreciated how warm it felt with the fireplace going if it weren't for the biggest details. Tamaki's uncle was staring out the window when they came in, his hands clasped behind his back. The guards had entered the room with them and shut the door.

And there was a gun waiting on the desk.

The only sound in the room came from the crackling fireplace and Tamaki's mother. She was wheezing softly, leaning heavily on her son. Clearly that had been more exercise than she'd been allowed for quite some time. Her knees shook from exhaustion. Tamaki would've asked for a chair for her if he wasn't too afraid to speak.

"There is a quote I heard recently, dear sister. Would you like to hear it?" Tamaki felt his mother stiffen, her hand gripping the back of his dirty shirt with all of her might. She didn't speak, but her brother continued as if she had. He turned away from the window, still not looking at them as he walked over to his desk, "It goes: 'Blood makes you related… but loyalty makes you family.' I take it… you understand why that particular quote caught my attention?"

"Gabriel-"

"Shut it, whore!" Mother and son jolted, pressing closer to each other as Gabriel returned to his calm expression, "I used to believe that we were a family, you know. We were raised together after all. I loved you, sister. I did. But then you ran off with Suoh… and… I discovered how little loyalty and family meant to you."

He looked at his sister in disdain, as if she were something he had found on the street, being pecked at by the rats. But then he turned towards Tamaki. The boy gasped softly. His uncle  _ never _ acknowledged him… unless he was ordering to have the blond beaten. His heart rate jumped.

"But… there now remains this… thing, as a product of your transgression. It occurs to me that he did not choose how he came into this world. And… he  _ is _ blood. He could prove useful… should he prove that he is  _ family. _ "

Gabriel snapped his fingers and the thugs jumped into motion once again. One grabbed Tamaki, the other his mother. The small blond made a little croaking sound, attempting to call out but not being able too. The two were pulled apart until they were at opposite ends of the room.

"Gabriel? Gabriel, no!" Tamaki's uncle had picked up the gun. After double checking that it was fully loaded, he walked around his desk and faced his nephew. The blond whimpered, his right leg growing warm as he lost control of his bladder. The fear consumed him. It was impossible to breathe. He was going to die...

… and then his uncle pressed the gun into his hand.

Tamaki stared at the thing in incomprehension. A warm hand grabbed his chin, forcing him to face his uncle. Gabriel stared into his eyes, holding fast as the child tried to squirm away.

"I'm sorry you have to do this, boy, but you need a place in this family. I can't hand it to you randomly, either, so you'll have to prove you're of some use to me." Tamaki sniffled and was roughly shaken in turn, "Don't cry. I can't stand criers. Now… it's very simple. All you have to do is kill an enemy of mine. Can you do that? They did something very bad, and you're going to punish them for me. All right? And then I'll let out out of the cellar. You won't ever have to sleep in the cold ever again. Nod if you understand."

Tamaki shook, but managed a nod. The men around him killed people all the time… so how hard could it be? And then… maybe he could find a way to have his mother pardoned and they would never have to live in the cellar again!

Gabriel smiled, "Good boy. Now…" he released Tamaki and stepped away, "Shoot the whore."

Tamaki froze, his eyes trained on his mother. The woman sobbed, begging her brother to stop. The blond could hardly hear her cries over the ringing in his ears. They wanted him to shoot… his Maman?

"Shut up, whore. Either he shoots you, or you both die. Is that understood?" His mother sobbed once more before turning to face her son. Tamaki could feel something inside of him breaking. He didn't want to die… but he couldn't kill his Maman either… so he was going to die with her.

_ But then… we'll be together, at least. _

His mother smiled gently, and Tamaki thought she understood what he was thinking. He almost smiled back…

"Don't be afraid, mon fils." Her eyes were filled with tears, "Like in your dream, yes? Don't be afraid. Live your life."

Tamaki's sobs caught in his throat. The gun in his hand was shaking something fierce. He wanted to scream. To cry. To kick and wail and tell her he couldn't. He couldn't  _ not _ be afraid! And he couldn't shoot her!

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, then made a flicking motion with his left hand.

"Maman-"

_ Bang! _

Her body fell to the floor in a lifeless heap, Tamaki's screaming nearly covering up the sound of the gun going off. The guard that had been holding his Maman didn't seem very fazed. He just calmly put his gun back in his holster.

Tamaki's scream rose to a crescendo as he raised the gun in his hand, arm completely steady, and fired.

A second body collapsed.

For a moment, nothing was said. The only sounds came from Tamaki's sobs for his mother and the ever crackling fireplace.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, eyeing the blood that was soaking into the carpet, "I never liked that guard anyways. Rei? Take… Tamaki, to his new quarters. He starts his training tomorrow. He's going to need it if he's to stay alive."

*Across Town*

"Thank you for agreeing to see me, Ootori-san."

Yoshio nodded, even as he carefully watched the three men walking into his home, "The pleasure is all mine, Suoh-san. Shall we have this discussion in the living room?"

"I'd appreciate it. This may take a while." Yuzuru turned to his two guards, "Wait in the parlor. I am among friends here." The men nodded to their boss before turning to guard the door.

After they were seated and the tea had been poured, Suoh leaned forward, "Do you know why I'm here, Ootori-san?"

"I assumed it was the same reason that every other Head of family in this city had attempted to contact me, Suoh-san. You want my favor."

"Indeed. And I suppose you've agreed to meet with only me because I offer the best protection?"

"Correct." The two men paused, each letting the other consider the conversation they were having. One of the guards in the parlor cleared his throat. There was the sound of pans clanging against each other coming from the kitchen.

"Then I suppose this meeting won't take very long at all. Very well, right to it, then." Yuzuru straightened up in his seat, "I wish to gain the financial, political, and social favor of your name. The Ootori family is well known for its wealth and your hand in the medical business. Your two eldest son are doctors, which make them highly respected and protected in…  _ my  _ community, and your daughter is currently living somewhere in Europe I've heard. But that leaves you and your youngest son as the biggest targets. You need protection… so, I propose a trade."

Yoshio nodded along, "Very well. I want my home's importance to rank second only to your own building. It  _ will _ be one of your priorities in the event of any sort of disaster. I will have bodyguards who have been trained by Haninozuka-san himself. And my sons will never be asked to forfeit their Hippocratic Oath, even if their patient is from a rival family."

"Hmmm… agreed. And in return, I'll give you a choice. I want either 35% of your yearly income, which will help cover the expenses that come from your protection… or…" Yoshio raised an eyebrow, holding back a smirk.

Upstairs, a nine year old Kyoya was playing with his blocks. He smiled as he managed to balance a red triangle on the very top of his most recent creation. A clock tower. Kyoya admired the tall tower for a moment before quickly dismantling the building and starting on another, determined to make a replica of his own house this time.

He loved his blocks. They were the only toy he still had. Mostly because father had taken away all the others, saying he was much too old for ridiculous items. The blocks remained because Kyoya hid them underneath his bed and the maids were kind.

But since father was talking business downstairs, Kyoya had some time to himself and his toys. He only wished his big brothers or his big sister were there. They loved playing blocks with him.

The sound of feet climbing the staircase pulled the small boy out of his daydreaming. Hastily shoving the colorful blocks of wood underneath his bed, Kyoya clambered onto his comforter and grabbed the nearest book. It was one of Yuuichi's old textbooks from when he was still studying in college… the only kind of books Kyoya was allowed to have. He didn't understand most of the bigger words, but he liked the pictures and reciting the Hippo Oath for his big brothers. They always ruffled his hair afterwards and told him stories about their fun times in the hospital until he fell asleep.

He was so excited for them to visit this afternoon. He missed them alot.

The door that lead to the hallway opened harshly, startling the book right out of Kyoya's hands. Instead of his father at the doorway or his big brothers, like he'd expected, there were two men he didn't recognize. They were in black clothes and one of them had multiple scars across his face. They looked scary.

They became even scarier when they walked into his bedroom, heading straight for him.

"H-hey! Who are you? Go away- No!"

The one with the scars scooped him off the bed and threw him over his shoulder. Kyoya started shouting in earnest, banging his little fists on the man's back as he was carried out of his room and down the stairs. He stopped squirming for a moment, afraid of being dropped on his head, but once they were on the first floor he continued.

The three passed the living room doors when Kyoya spotted his father. He was shaking hands with another man with brown hair, looking as close to smiling as Kyoya had ever seen him before.

"Father! Father, help! They're taking me! Father!"

"I expect my new bodyguards to be here by tomorrow morning. I'll send Kyoya's belongings along that afternoon." Yoshio didn't acknowledge the expression on Suoh's face, but it would've been hard to ignore. It wasn't shock. More… pity. And a hint of disbelief, but he didn't quite understand the reason behind it. Suoh  _ had _ been the one to make the offer.

Kyoya's eyes grew wide when his father didn't even turn his head, "Wait… Father? Father?!" The guards walked out the front door, carrying Kyoya with them, "FATHER!"

"Hey? What are you doing?" Kyoya gasped and pushed himself up a little, staring over his shoulder as best as he could. His big brothers were here! He started shouting for them as the other scary man kept them away. Yuuichi continued to call out Kyoya's name, telling the man to put him down while Akito called for their father.

Kyoya's chest filled with dread when he realized his brothers couldn't get to him. He continued to shout, even long after the car door was shut in his face.

The next day, a box was delivered to Kyoya's new room. He sat cross-legged on his bed and picked through everything. Clothes. Toiletries. Glasses case. A couple books...

But the little boy wept late into the night when he finally emptied the whole thing.

They was missing.

His blocks were gone.

* * *

Two high pitched screams echoed in the night.

Jin raked her fingernails down the man's arm, receiving a sharp yank on her hair in return. Her little sister, Haruhi, was on the other side of the man, screaming for their father at the top of her lungs as the two were dragged into the alley. Jin kicked at the man's shin and was released, only to be backhanded across the face and shoved against the brick wall. Her cheek stung from where the man's ring had dug into her cheek and she whimpered on the ground.

"Shut up, bitch!" A kick to her stomach had Jin seeing stars. Haruhi's screams increased in pitch until she was smacked, too.

Jin pushed herself up to her knees. She knew no one was coming to save them. Living on the streets in their little huts, their neighbors had bigger worries than little girls being raped in the middle of the night. And father… father was working a 'job'. He wouldn't be home for hours, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't be bleeding from between his legs when he returned either.

Haruhi let out another wail and was smacked once more, her hair being yanked harshly enough for some strands to come out, "I said  _ shut up _ , you little whores! You're going to put those mouths to work if you know what's good for you!"

Jin crawled closer, faking that her injury was more severe than it was. She had gotten good at that while begging for money on the streets. If someone kicked her as a joke, her funds typically doubled over the next half hour. Haruhi's whimpers were killing her, though, so she knew she had to act fast.

The man was breathing heavily as he tried to undo his belt buckle. Jin's eyes narrowed when she noticed something small was in his pocket. A pocket knife?

Perfect.

"Nēchan!"

"Shut the  _ fuck uAHHHH! _ "

Jin had moved fast. Lunging for the man's pocket and pulling the knife out of his pocket. Without any hesitation, she clicked it open and stuck the blade hilt deep into his thigh. He released Haruhi's hair with a scream and Jin grabbed her sister, dragging her into a run back out of the alley when-

_ Bang! _

The girls gasped, stumbling to their knees at the sound of a gunshot. Neither of them felt any pain, but they still hastily checked each other over for the blood that was sure to be there… only to find none.

Turning back around, Haruhi squeaked and buried her face into Jin's chest. Their would-be rapist lay dead on the ground, his blood making a small pool in the dirt and garbage.

"Are you girls alright?" The new voice startled them, Jin pulling her sister closer to the alley's entrance as another man stepped out of the shadows, "Don't be alarmed. I'm not here to hurt you, I came for him." He lightly nudged the dead man with his toe, but otherwise didn't acknowledge the body.

Jin gently stroked Haruhi's hair as she sniffled in her arms, "Who… who are you?"

"Haninozuka-san."

Jin gasped, "You… you're in the Suoh family, aren't you?"

"You've heard of me?"

The brunette nodded, "You're the only family that doesn't… doesn't  _ target _ our neighborhood."

Haninozuka-san raised an eyebrow, "Then you're aware that this man was from a rival family?"

"Mhm."

"You've been around this crime all your life?"

"Yes, sir."

Now both of the man's eyebrows were raised. He turned back towards the body, "You put that knife in his leg, didn't you? That was brave, using his own knife against him."

"I… I had nothing else."

"Resourceful, then. And still brave. To be quite honest with you…"

"Jin. Jin Fujioka."

The man managed a small smile, "To be honest with you, Fujioka-san, we could use people with your kind of bravery. You remind me of my son... who has just started training himself only recently."

Jin's eyes grew wide. She couldn't believe… there was no way… "Are… are you offering to… to  _ train _ me?"

"Depends. Will you accept?"

Haruhi tightened her grip around Jin's torso. She was peeking out at the scary man before them, but continued to hold her sister. Jin glanced down at the younger girl, her brown eyes narrowing as she thought it over. Finally, she looked up, "I won't leave Haru alone. She has to come and watch me train."

"Done." Haninozuka's smile grew just a fraction when the girls both smiled in relief, "Now, you two should head home. Come back here tomorrow afternoon when the clock strikes seven. You'll train in the evenings." He stepped back into the shadows, leaving the man's dead body where it lay, "It was lovely to meet you, Fujioka-san."

The girls watched until they could no longer see the man. Jin let out a deep breath before gently leading her sister back home, "Come on, Haru…"

"N-Nēchan?"

"Hm?"

Haruhi hesitated, "W… Cut my hair off!"

Jin nodded, not even pretending to be surprised, and pressed a soft kiss to the girl's head, "Okay, Haru. I'll get some scissors in the morning. No one's going to grab your hair like that ever again."

*Three years later*

"Fire!"

_ Bang! Bang bang! Bang! Bang! _

"Halt!"

Jin lowered the gun and relaxed her stance. A self-satisfied smirk pulled at her lips as the targets were pulled forward, showing five perfect headshots. Behind her a small chorus of cheers went up.

"Next!"

The brunette exchanged places with Takashi Morinozuka, swapping a high five with the boy as her targets were changed to fresh ones. Plopping down beside the tall boy's cousin she quickly took a sip of her water. Mitsukuni Haninozuka grinned up at her, "That was so good, Jin-chan! No one else has gotten five head-shots on the moving targets, yet!"

"Eh, I'm sure you and Mori-kun will get them today, too. I'm more nervous for paintball next week. It's probably really different when someone's firing back at you." She glanced over at her little sister, who was happily watching the training session with interest from the far wall. "So, am I going to do paintball training with you and Mori-kun only, or is your dad  _ finally _ going to introduce me to the rest of the class?"

Honey nibbled on his lower lip, his feet swinging beneath him on the bench, "I don't think so, Jin-chan. We're not supposed to tell anyone that you're here, really. My dad got special permission from Suoh-sama to train you, but he doesn't want everyone to know that we're… taking kids off the street. Especially girls."

"Hmm." Jin stared at Mori as he began shooting. She honestly wasn't all that surprised by the decision. The only people who knew she was in the compound at all were the four people in this room and Suoh-sama himself. Oh, and that other guy who spotted her outside one day and made a few lewd comments before she broke his nose.

That had been fun.

Sighing, the brunette leaned back onto her hands as the targets were pulled forward, showing a near perfect score for her friend. As much as she enjoyed spending time in training with the two older boys and knowing Haruhi was in a safe-ish environment for a few hours every day… sometimes Jin couldn't help but wonder about kids her own age.

Honey had once mentioned that there was one other twelve year old in the family, but he wasn't exactly the nicest person ever. Still… she wondered.

*Two years later*

Kyoya was in the middle of his newest book when someone knocked on his door. Quickly slipping a bookmark in, the teenager walked across the rather spacious bedroom and opened the door. A surprising greeted him from the other side.

"Ando-san? What is it?"

"Suoh has requested you in his office."

The ravenet raised an eyebrow, but nodded all the same and exited the room. If Suoh-sama wanted to see Kyoya badly enough to send his right-hand man to collect him, who was he to argue?

Kyoya's room wasn't that far away from Suoh-sama's office, so there wasn't much time to chat with the older man about why he was needed all of the sudden. Still, he managed to compile an extensive list of theories by the time they arrived, leaning from a serious mission to (finally) being promoted up to a higher rank. After being a part of the family for more than five years, Kyoya felt a little… unappreciated, to say the least.

Needless to say, he was quite surprised when he opened the door and saw another boy who looked to be about his age standing there. He glanced over his shoulder at Ando-san, who only gestured for him to walk inside, before cautiously approaching the desk.

"You wanted to see me, Suoh-sama?"

The brunet man nodded, but Kyoya was shocked to see… was that a smile? He inclined his head towards the blond boy who was standing on Kyoya's right, "I wished to introduce you to someone. This is Tamaki Suoh, my son."

In the space of an instant, Kyoya's interest in the other boy went from less than two percent to a full one hundred. Whipping his head to the side, he was met with a large smile from Tamaki and a hand outstretched towards him. Quickly shaking the other's hand, Kyoya attempted to piece the information together. He had been completely unaware that Suoh-sama had a son. Let alone one  _ his  _ age. Where had he come from?

"I'm sure the two of you will have much to talk about, but I was hoping you could do that after completing this mission." Suoh's expression turned a little more serious. "A few members of the Suzushima family have taken residences in the upper levels of the MGM Grand casino."

Kyoya stiffened. That was  _ their _ casino. Suoh seemed to notice the boy tensing up, and he waved a hand, "It's only a few. I have a truce with Suzushima and he's informed me the ones involved have done so to make it a suicide mission and create another war. I don't wish for this to happen, so I'm sending the two of you to… clear them out. Take some back up if you wish, but I want to see how well the two of you work together. Now, off you go."

With two quick bows, the teens exited the office. Almost immediately, Tamaki spoke up, "So, you're Kyoya Ootori, right? Father told me a bit about you while we waited."

The ravenet tried not to feel… bitter as he thinks up a response. It was almost unfair. Sure, it wasn't Tamaki's fault for being the son of the boss, but after five long years Suoh-sama  _ suddenly _ got a new favorite? And why did it take so long for Tamaki to show up? Even so, he straightened up and gave the blond his best smile, "Yes. I hope what was discussed reflected kindly on my character, considering we are to work together."

"Actually, I tried to get Father to change his mind. But he seems to think that since we're the same age and grew up in this lifestyle we'll get along just fine. I disagree, but I can't complain either. Do you need to grab anything before we go?"

Kyoya gritted his teeth, "No. I always have my gun on my person."

"Huh. That must be interesting in the bedroom. Come on, then. Unless you think you'll need back up." Kyoya's eyelid twitched as he followed the blond towards the elevator. Was the idiot  _ trying _ to encourage Kyoya to shoot him?

It took nearly twenty minutes for them to reach casino. Neither of the boys had spoken to each other, save to check that their radio communication was working. Kyoya was just hoping to get this over with before he never had to work with the blond again.

He peeked out from the back seat of the car and eyed the windows of the casino's penthouse suite. The curtains were drawn, but he could still make out the faint silhouettes of a small collection of men milling around inside. It looked like they were drinking. Perhaps they were aware that they were on a suicide mission. Did they even knew their boss had given the go-ahead for their death? How stupid of them.

He double checked the number of bullets he had before glancing at his 'partner' for the evening, "Let's make this short and simple. We go in, take out any loners in the hallway quietly, then I'll breach the penthouse suite and you stay in the hallway to catch any stragglers who try to escape."

"No! Are you crazy?" Tamaki was staring at him like Kyoya had grown an extra head, "You'll be shot down before you fire two bullets! Father told me you were  _ intelligent! _ "

Kyoya felt like he'd been smacked in the face, "I know that suite like the back of my hand! I know what furniture they've likely moved around, the secret back entrance, and the places I can still use for cover! You're the novice in this situation, so let me take the lead and don't get in my way!"

"No!" Tamaki growled, poking the ravenet's chest, "I'm no novice in any sense of the word! I've seen and done worse things than you could probably imagine!"

"Oh yeah? Try me."

"Broken a man's fingers one after another, and then cut off his ear!"

"Found a snitch and tortured his girlfriend with a noose, nearly strangled her for half an hour while a knife was in his thigh."

"Walked into a house to collect some insurance and found the whole family hanging from the banister. Children included!"

"Watched a man be run over by a train."

"Tied down a man on the train tracks!"

" _ Pushed _ a man in front of an oncoming train."

"Was told to shoot my maman, and when I refused a guard shot her instead, right in front of me! Then I shot the guard! I was  _ nine! _ "

"When  _ I _ was nine my father  _ sold _ me to the mafia for protection rather than give up any of his profits!"

The boys paused, staring at each other, chests heaving. Tamaki swallowed suddenly and leaned back, "Father said… you  _ joined. _ "

"That's one way to put it." Kyoya glanced out the window before looking back, "Was shooting the guard that killed your mother… what got you into this life?"

"It was a test from my uncle. He said he'd kill us both if I didn't, but after I shot my maman's murderer… I guess he changed his mind." They continued to watch each other until Tamaki starts to laugh, shaking his head, "Oh my god, what's  _ wrong _ with us?"

"Probably a lot."

Tamaki only laughed harder, and even Kyoya managed a hint of a smile. It  _ was  _ pretty ridiculous. This wasn't typically what teenage boys fought about.

When the blond managed to rein himself in, he was smiling widely at Kyoya, "Okay, okay, we should probably do the job. But I still think I should be the one to go in- No, wait, let me explain. They'll be expecting you. They don't know me yet. I never had any dealings with the Suzushima Family, and Uncle never let me out much, anyways. I'm a better actor than you might believe. Just… trust me."

Kyoya narrows his eyes. He can't remember the last time he actually  _ trusted _ someone, save for Ando-san or Suoh-sama. But…

"Fine. But I'm not staying in the hallway once the shooting begins."

"Wouldn't imagine it any other way."

An hour later, Ando-san was checking his watch as he stood in the front parlor. They were running later than he'd expected. Leaning against the staircase banister, he stared at the front doors, as if he could make the boys open them with sheer force of will. Yuzuru had been  _ adamant _ that those two would come back from a successful mission as trusted mission partners in no time at all, but the second-in-command had his doubts.

While he knew both Kyoya and Tamaki were skilled in their field and they'd no doubt complete the mission, he also knew that Kyoya wasn't the  _ friendliest _ teenager around. Nor the most trusting. And from what he knew of the Suoh kid's past, he probably wasn't quite ready for a touchy-feely friendship-

He heard the laughter long before the doors opened. Ando-san kept his expression passive, but on the inside he was positively gaping in shock. Tamaki was laughing loudly, putting his whole body into the movement, while Kyoya smiled in amusement at his side. The boys noticed the older man at the same time, but neither of them stopped looking pleased. The blond even  _ waved _ in greeting.

"Hi, Ando-san! Were you waiting on us?"

"Yes. I take it your mission was a success?"

"Yeah it was!" Tamaki was practically bouncing on his toes, a complete 180 from what he'd been like when they'd left. He even held up a hand for Kyoya to high-five, and once he got one continued to bound around, "There was a moment where some guy was sneaking up behind me and Kyoya yelled 'Down' so I just dropped to my stomach and Kyoya took the guy  _ out! _ It was  _ awesome! _ "

"I'm glad you liked it, but your acting was quite phenomenal, Tamaki." Kyoya's smile had grown a bit, "Knocking on the door and playing  _ lost? _ I nearly dropped my gun when they invited you inside for some water! You're one convincing crier."

"What can I say? If I wasn't a criminal, I'd probably be an actor~!" Tamaki dramatically tossed his bangs to the side, the back of his hand pressed to his forehead, and Kyoya started laughing.

"You're such an  _ idiot! _ "

The two boys continued to laugh, unaware of Ando-san staring at them. Looks like Yuzuru won their bet. How the fuck had he known… Clearing his throat, the man nodded at the boys, "Shall I inform the boss that you two wish to be partners from now on?"

Tamaki nodded eagerly, looking like Christmas had come early, while Kyoya just kept it at a simple nod. But he couldn't seem to hide his smile, either. And once the man started up the stairs-

"I guess you're stuck with me now, huh?"

"It would seem so."

Tamaki laughed again, throwing an arm over Kyoya's shoulders and steering him towards the rooms.

*A year later*

"Please sit."

Jin did as she was told, doing her best to relax and not stare around the office. Suoh-sama was staring her down across his desk, and she had to maintain eye contact. The older man tapped his pointer fingers together once… twice… then three times before sitting back in his chair.

"Do you know why I called you up to my office, Fujioka-san?"

"No."

"Really? I thought it would've been obvious." The man reached down to his side and Jin tensed slightly, relaxing only a little when he dropped a filing folder onto his desk. Flipping it open, he traced the words on the page, "Fujioka-san has shown remarkable progress over her years of training. She now equally matches or supersedes her classmates Haninozuka-san and Morinozuka-san in every field. Her talents in the martial arts are a sight to behold, and is the best marksman I have witnessed in years. All of her assistance in the field has been immeasurable."

Jin wasn't sure if she was still breathing, "Did… did Haninozuka-sensei say that about me?"

"Indeed he did." Suoh flipped through a few other pages in the folder, "Most of these reports have a similar ring to them. I must admit that when Haninozuka-san requested to train a… well, street urchin, I assumed he was doing so out of pity. But now I see it was because he saw your potential."

Jin was silent as the man continued flipping through the pages. He wasn't… he couldn't be…

He flipped the folder shut and returned his attention to the girl, "I'd like to offer you a job position in the family. My only son and heir has gone for too long without a personal bodyguard, and while he and his partner are both well practiced in the field, I don't think an extra set of eyes or another sharp mind will do much harm."

Jin blinked, trying her best to maintain her poker face as she absorbed the new information. Finally she shifted in her chair, crossing her legs, "And…  _ if _ I were to accept, what would happen from there?"

"Well, for starters you would have to sign a contract stating that you will live in the complex and do the job assigned to you until you are either reassigned, your contract expires, or you unfortunately perish. You'll be paid, as well, though I'd assume you'd want to transfer all of your funds to your family. Most people do. It would be a substantial amount, enough for you to be considered the breadwinner in your family."

_ Father would never have to 'work' again. _ Jin can already imagine the happy tears.

"And if I refuse?"

Suoh finally smiled, "You won't."

"Well, I suppose I can't argue with that logic." Jin sat forward as the man pulled out a contract from within her personal folder. It already had her name printed on the very bottom, next to where her signature would go. He had been  _ really _ positive she was going to join.  _ Can't disappoint him then, now can I? _

It didn't take long to go over the contract and before she knew it Jin was signing the bottom with a small smile. Suoh nodded in return before calling out, "Tamaki? You can come in, now."

The door opened and a tall, blond boy walked inside. The first thing Jin thought was,  _ Wow, he has purple eyes. _ The next was,  _ Wow, he's really handsome. _ Of course, she pushed those first impressions to the back of her mind and gave him a lopsided smile and an extended hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Tamaki. I'm Jin, your new bodyguard."

The blond's eyes lit up, "Oh! I didn't realize you were going to be a girl!" He quickly shook her hand, "It's lovely to meet you, but… if you don't mind me asking… could you give me your qualifications? As much as I trust father's judgement, I'd like to make my own decisions?"

"Of course. I've trained under Haninozuka-sensei for six years and he himself has stated I am equal to or greater than Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai in terms of skills in combat." She inclined her head a bit to whisper, " _ Also, I've already signed the contract, so you're kinda stuck with me, buddy. _ "

Tamaki laughed, "Well, at least I'll be in good hands."

"It looks like the two of you will get along just fine. Tamaki, if you could please show Jin to her new room?"

"Of course, sir." With a grand sweep of his arm, the boy gestured her out through the doorway. Making their way down the hallway, Tamaki began poking and prodding Jin for more information. Where was she was from? Why hadn't he seen her around before? What was her family like? He seemed really interested in the fact she had a sister only a year younger than her.

They came to a stop one floor down beside a rather empty room, "So this will be your bedroom. I know it looks bare at the moment, but you'll get stuff to fill it up soon enough. Father will probably let you get your things and talk to your family this evening along with giving you your first payment. My room's across the hallway, for obvious reasons. There are only three other kids our age here, and they're all down this hallway. You've already met Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai, who are just down that way. And in the next door down from yours is-"

"Ah, Tamaki. There you are." The two teenagers turned around at the new voice, spotting a ravenet walking down the hallway towards them. When he reached them, he handed a small piece of paper to the blond that had an address scribbled on it. "New job. Target is Yoshimura Hirano. He used to have a protection fund with us, but he's been skimming from it. We've been instructed to collect him and bring him back."

Jin blinked as the boy rattled off the job. He looked to be the same age as her and Tamaki, and if he was Tamaki's partner, then he must be Kyoya Ootori. The third party in their new little group. But he wasn't even looking at her… which was rubbing Jin the wrong way.

Tamaki didn't seem to notice, busy nodding along to Kyoya's words. That is, until he looked up at Jin, "Do you need to grab or do anything here before we go?"

"Nah. I'm all set."

"Excuse me?" Kyoya was looking between the two with a confused expression. Jin saw his eyes roam up and down her form, as if just seeing her for the first time.

Deciding the give him the benefit of the doubt, Jin managed a small smile and nodded in greeting, "Jin Fujioka. I'm Tamaki's new bodyguard, just hired a few minutes ago, actually. I'll be joining you two on your jobs from now on."

At her words, Kyoya's expression went from curiosity and confusion to amused disbelief. He did one more full body scan before raising a single eyebrow, "... _ Really? _ "

"And what was that tone supposed to imply?"

Tamaki cleared his throat, gently shoving Kyoya down the way he had come from, "Hey, let's get going, guys. Jin still has to get her stuff and move in officially. This'll be quick, right?" Neither of the other two respond, Kyoya facing forward and Jin glaring daggers into the back of his head.

If looks could kill, Kyoya would've been dead long before they reached the address Kyoya had been given. It was a tiny house, but something seemed… off, to Jin. She stared at it in concentration as Kyoya and Tamaki discussed their plan.

Tamaki glanced over at the girl and nudged her arm, "Hey, did you hear that?"

"Do we know how much this guy has skimmed?"

The boys looked surprised by the sudden topic change. Kyoya, of course, hid it well beneath a fine layer of exasperation, "I don't see why that would matter at the moment, but I was told it was a very significant amount. He didn't hide it very well. At all, really."

"Then how come the place still looks like a shack?" The girl narrowed her eyes, "If he were to skim without trying to cover his tracks, then the most obvious move would be to get as far away as possible… but it looks like the guy's still here. And if that's the case, then the next plan should've been to get some good security. Guard dog or something since the police are ours in this part of town… but I don't see anything like that, either. So, either he has a whole lot of firepower in that house and is waiting to blow our heads off… or we're missing something."

She turns to the boys finally, who also look a little intrigued, "People who skim usually try to hide it for as long as possible to maximize profits, but it sounds like this guy didn't even try that. But I don't think he's an idiot either, or Suoh-sama wouldn't have wasted time or money on him. Think someone got to him before us?"

Kyoya looked around the girl at the house, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "So, whether or not there are members of a rival mafia waiting for us or a traitor… it's meant to be a trap."

"Exactly." Jin unbuckled her seatbelt, "So tell you what… they're not going to recognize my face. I go up, pretend to be selling something, and figure it out as I go. You boys sneak around back. Stay out of sight. Sound good?"

Tamaki smiled, nodding along as she carefully climbed out of the car and started making her way down the street. Looking over his shoulder, he raised an eyebrow at his friend, "Great minds think alike, I suppose."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, come on, Kyoya!" He turned around fully, "That was along the same lines as the plan  _ I  _ came up with on our first job! Don't tell me you missed that!"

Kyoya rolled his eyes, "It was an idea. Whether it's a good idea remains to be seen."

As it turns out, it  _ was _ a good idea.

A very shaken Yoshimura Hirano appeared at the doorway when she knocked, barely opening the door all the way as he immediately tried to get Jin to go away. As she chatted with the nervous man, the boys snuck around back. No one shot at them, so regardless of how many people were in the house, they were clearly paying attention to the front door.

"Listen you idiot girl, I have nothing to give you. Now  _ go away _ before you regret it."

He blinked rapidly when the girl just continued to smile, "Oh, Hirano-san… are you  _ sure  _ you don't have any money for me?"

There was the sound of clattering chairs further inside the house, quickly followed by a door being kicked in. Jin grabbed the man's arm and pushed them further into the house and to the floor, landing on top of the screaming man as gunfire echoed around the house.

Jin rolled off the man but stayed belly to the floor as she fired her gun twice, hitting one man in the back and another in his firing arm. Both went down. Only one screamed.

In fact, he was the only one screaming.

Standing back up, she offered a hand to the man beside her, pulling him to his feet. He was staring at the bloodied bodies in his house with a very pale face. She managed to turn him around just in time for him to throw up into the umbrella stand by the door.

Tamaki marched up to the thug Jin had got in the arm and hit him across the face with his own gun, knocking him out cold. He then glanced around at the carnage, "I don't recognize them. Nice job keeping one alive, Jin." She shrugged before jerking her head towards the client behind them, "Do we still bring him in or leave him to take care of the bodies?"

"Take him. He might be able to explain what was going on if the other man is tight lipped. We'll send someone back for the rest of them." Kyoya quickly tucked his gun away, "Tamaki? Help Hirano-san get his stuff. Jin and I can call up the car and contact your father about this… unusual collection."

It took a little while before Tamaki could convince the older man to step through the living area and into his bedroom, but once the two were gone Jin turned around to find herself face to face with a certain ravenet. "Yeah?"

"I must apologize for doubting you so much, Fujioka-san. Suoh-sama clearly knew what he was doing when he hired you." Kyoya gave her one of his signature smiles, "I hope we work well together in the fu-"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there." Jin pressed a hand against the boy's chest, slowly pushing him until he was forced to take a step away. "My job is to protect Tamaki, which I will do, no issue.  _ You _ , however? You are no priority of mine. Especially not after the crap you pulled when we first met. Please understand it's nothing personal, it's just… actually, it is a little personal. And some business sprinkled in. Just be aware that if you  _ ever _ suggest that my being a girl in anyway affects my ability to be a part of this family, I will treat you like I treat every man who thinks of me nothing more than their future conquest."

And with that, she gave him a bright smile and walked back towards the front door.

"And what happened to those men, dare I ask?"

Still grinning, she tossed the words over her shoulder, "Check the infirmary. Or the morgue! Or the cemetery~!" And then she's gone, disappeared around the corner and out the door. Probably to go get the car.

Tamaki pokes his head out of the bedroom, clearly having just heard the whole exchange. As casually as he could, the blond stepped over the bodies before coming to stand by Kyoya's side. He copied the ravenet's line of sight towards the front entrance before tilting his head towards the other.

"So what do you think of her?"

The question seems to have snapped Kyoya out of whatever funk he was experiencing. He spun on his heel and marched towards their living captive, "She's a bitch, plain and simple. Arrogant after only one plan and probably won't be able to admit to any mistakes she makes in the future. And did you hear what she said to me? Judgmental while I try to apologize then threatens to kill me! Lumping me in with those... and  _ clearly _ she has no regard for the lives of people she's not being paid to protect. I'll work with her because she's keeping you alive, end of story, but don't expect me to like her."

Tamaki smirks, "Right. Just make sure to use protection."

"Tamaki!"

* * *

Jin was currently hanging upside down in the compounds training room. Her legs were hooked over the pull-up bar while her arms hung freely above her head, fingers sometimes coming up to pull at the tangles in her hair. She stayed there for a few more seconds before the head rush got too painful, then quickly grabbed the bar and unhooked her legs, dropping back to the floor.

The responding near-blackout had her leaning against the wall for a second, but the moment it faded she sighed again.

Yup, Jin was bored.

Bored and confused, actually.

_ Nope! Not thinking about it!  _ She grabbed the pull-up bar again, tucking her feet up so she was just swinging from the metal. Unfortunately, she was still thinking about it.

Groaning, she dropped back to the floor and walked out of the training room, hoping that in her roaming she'd find something to do that would take her mind off of… whatever. Her usual go-tos weren't exactly available at the moment, which was a big part of her dilemma. Honey and Mori were giving their younger brothers a few one-on-one sparring matches, and since Chika always stumbled and got his ass handed to him when she was in the room Jin did her best to avoid his training.

Tamaki would generally be next in line, but right now Jin didn't feel like telling him stories about all the trouble Haruhi had gotten into when she was little. Sure, she loved talking about her baby sister and all the cute and funny things she had said before reality took it's hold… but she was feeling kinda…  _ homesick _ at the moment. She hadn't seen her sister or father in months, not since she had helped move them into the apartment near the open market district, and she missed them.

_ But being homesick is probably better than whatever  _ this  _ is. _

The brunette stopped at the edge of the front parlor and turned around, pressing her forehead against the wall. She was tempted to smack her face against it repeatedly, but couldn't afford to. She lost enough brain cells as it was dealing with Kyoya Ootori on a daily basis.

_ Ba-bump _

" _ Noooo… _ " With a whine she slid to the floor, curling her knees up and leaning her side against the drywall. What was  _ wrong _ with her? Everything had been just fine until the job two days ago!

Jin risked a single tap of her head against the wall as the night came back. It had been a simple hostage rescue of one of their own… until Tamaki was cornered, of course. Jin appeared in the hallway just behind the man, saw the gun pointed at Tamaki's back while he untied the unconscious hostage, and shot the man without a second thought.

Her aim was perfect…

… as was Kyoya's.

The man's head exploded in a spray of blood and tissue from the force of a bullet hitting it from two angles at the same time. Shocked, Jin stood still for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Tamaki didn't even turn around as he shouted his thanks to her, unaware of his best friend walking up to the dead man from the other hallway.

He spotted Jin and gestured at the body with his own gun. She nodded, then repeated the gesture. He nodded.

_ So… he really does care. _

They hadn't spoken about it since then. After that there had been nothing to do besides paperwork, and since Jin didn't have much of that to do in the first place she became stuck in a cycle of training, eating, reading, talking with Tamaki, and her  _ thoughts. _

Those were usually scary enough as they were, but now with these weird feelings about Kyoya they were 5 times worse. Feelings that maybe he wasn't  _ that bad of a guy? _ She'd been getting those kinds of vibes for a while, of course. Like when she caught him cracking a smile at Honey-kun's cute behavior. Or when he encouraged Tamaki while they worked out. Or the one time he lent her one of his books after she confessed she was interested in it.

Kyoya was becoming both easier and harder to figure out, in that he didn't seem like a  _ total _ asshole, but Jin didn't know  _ what _ he was anymore.

"Jin? What are you doing out here?" The brunette looked up from her sulking to find, surprise surprise, Kyoya staring at her as he closed the front doors behind him.

The question 'where were you' was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Kyoya raised an eyebrow, pausing in unwrapping the scarf from around his neck to cross his arms instead.

"Not that I cared you were gone. Just curious as to where you were."

"So I gathered." The boy stared at her for a few moments longer before rolling his eyes, "Well, if you must know, I was visiting my brothers. Now, if you have no more questions-"

"Your brothers? The doctors?" Kyoya paused, one foot resting on the bottom stair. This time Jin met his eyes as the silence stretched between them. And for some reason she felt a hint of relief when the boy put both feet back on the black and white tiles.

"You know my brothers are doctors?"

"Well… yeah. Most people here know. I heard Toyotomi-san talking about an Akito Ootori who stitched him up after we rescued him. I assumed there was some sort of relation between you two and after asking around…" she shrugged. "It's nice you still visit them."

"They're the only ones I can or wish to visit." Kyoya stuffed his hands into his pockets, now only a few steps away from the girl on the floor. It didn't escape his notice the way her leg was bouncing in a constant rhythm, a finger tapping the opposing arm at the same time. Was she anxious?

She cleared her throat, hesitantly scratching at her cheek, "Um… I also heard another rumor."

"If it's in regards to the people who assume Tamaki and I-"

"No!" Jin snorted, the humor coming out despite her best efforts.  _ Those _ rumors were really funny to her for some reason, "I… um… I was talking about the ones… about how you joined?"

Kyoya carefully sat down in front of the girl, taking extra care to keep his dark blue button-down away from the dirty floor beneath him. Even so, Jin was surprised at the boy's decision to sit with her, but said nothing. What was there to say?

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, "What did you hear, exactly?"

"Something about a jackass of a father."

"Hmm. Accurate enough."

Jin blinked, forgetting for a split second that she was supposed to hate the boy, "What the fuck is his problem?" Not giving Kyoya a chance to interrupt, she pulled away from the wall and jumped to her feet, "What the  _ fuck _ kind of person would give away his own  _ son? _ He was fucking  _ rich _ and couldn't think to give  _ part _ of his fortune away even when his  _ son _ was the other option? I hope I end up in Hell because then I can meet him down there and give him what he deserves, a round of bullets in his face!"

Kyoya's eyes were wide as he watched Jin pace the length of the wall. Her arms flailed out occasionally, pretending that she was strangling an invisible person before her. He was… surprised wasn't exactly the right word. Tamaki occasionally did this when they had more 'serious' talks, and Kyoya agreed with the sentiments in regards to the blond's uncle, but he hadn't ever considered that Jin might possibly  _ agree _ with it. Sure, his father was a cruel businessman on a good day, but-

"I'm sorry I'm painting such a vivid picture of how I see your father, but god _ damn _ I hate him and I've never even  _ met  _ him…  _ yet. _ "

"You don't even like me."

Jin finally stopped, meeting Kyoya's stare, "Did… did you think I wouldn't care? You're my partner."

"Well, no... because you don't even like me."

"You're my partner." Jin sat back down, facing the boy, "Why are you still arguing that?" Deciding to file away that information for later pondering, Kyoya requested a subject change. That got a laugh from the girl.

"Fine. Tell me about your brothers. You clearly still like them."

Kyoya nodded, "Well, you already know I still visit them. Since the hospital is neutral territory, I can visit them without an extra danger coming to their persons. I don't think my father is aware that I do it, and I never visit on Mondays so I've yet to come across him." A small smile began to stretch across his face, "When I was younger… they were my only playmates. Them and my sister… oh, yes, I had a sister, too. She moved away to England some time ago, and that left us boys. They'd play blocks with me, told me stories, and helped teach me to read when I was younger. I'd even recite the Hippocratic Oath for them, to the best of my ability. They seemed to like that."

He glanced up and saw Jin smiling softly at him. It was an expression he hadn't seen on the girl before, and something tightened in his abdomen. Clearing his throat, he made a nodding gesture towards her. Her turn.

"Eh… not much to tell, really. Grew up on the streets. Mom passed away when I was about… six? No friends to speak of, other than my little sister, Haruhi. I call her Haru. She's the cutest thing ever, and so  _ smart. _ My dad… he had to prostitute himself to get us money. He cried when I told him all the money I was getting from my contract here. They're living in the open market district. Last I heard Haru is getting reading lessons from their new neighbor... but I haven't seen then in months."

Now Kyoya was the one smiling as he listened. He'd heard a bit of her backstory from Tamaki, who was oddly taken with the stories she had of her little sister. Haruhi clearly loved Jin, and she, her. It reminded the ravenet of his relationship with his older brothers. But he still had one more question.

"Jin? How were you recruited?"

The brunette took a moment to collect her thoughts, leaving only the sound of the heaters running above their heads, "Well… it was at night. And Dad was gone. I was putting Haruhi to bed when… when a man ripped off the curtain that acted as our front door. He had us by our hair and dragged us outside and into the alley. No one came to our screams. And… he let go of me to smack and kick me. I played up my injuries and he ignored me, but he still had Haru. I spotted the outline of his pocket knife and… when he was unbuckling his pants I grabbed it and stabbed his leg with it. Haninozuka-sensei shot him afterwards, because he was from the Tonnerre family. He said I was brave, and offered to teach me how to defend myself better. So… here I am."

She didn't expect him to say anything. Most "I'm sorry that happened to you"s didn't mean much. It was a common enough occurrence where they were that there wasn't much to do but accept it.

So when Kyoya gently held her hand and said that man had deserved what he'd gotten and far worse, she wasn't even able to respond. The only thing she could do was nod when he suggested they get something to eat, maybe a hot drink after those heavy topics.

And even as they walked together towards the kitchen Jin wasn't able to carry on a simple conversation. Nothing about the past twenty minutes had helped her at all. Kyoya Ootori's story had come further out into the open, and yet it was like he was gradually becoming more obscure.

Little did she know, the boy beside her was thinking the exact same thing of her.

*Time Skip*

" _ Go go go! _ "

Tamaki and Jin raced across the lawn, black masks covering everything but their eyes, which were trained on the house they were fast approaching. On cue, the outside lights shut off, concealing the teens in total darkness. There wasn't even a full moon to help. But that didn't matter.

Tamaki knew the place like the back of his hand.

Their lockpicker finished with the back door the second they arrived, pushing inside along with the five other members on their heels.

The two friends exchanged a nod before running in different directions. Tamaki for the office. Jin for the cellars.

Inside her head, Jin was cussing up a storm. She didn't think twice as she slammed her gun across the face of the first person she came across, kicking him as he crumbled for good measure.  _ Fucking Grantaine family! Fucking Kyoya and his fucking brothers! Fucking kidnappers! _

The moment they heard Kyoya had been grabbed on his walk back from the hospital, Jin and Tamaki had been in the car with a handful of guards and a burning desire to make those responsible  _ pay. _ And their desire only increased when they learned exactly  _ who _ had done it.

Tamaki was finally going to have his long awaited 'chat' with his least favorite uncle.

Still, despite everything, Jin couldn't help but be gracious that it was the Grantaine family who took her friend, or else they might've had to wait even longer before coming up with an attack plan. This way, Tamaki knew the most likely place they'd have him prisoner, and where to find the people responsible.

But it still didn't seem fast enough to her. After knowing him for two years, the idea of Kyoya being tortured and in pain was driving Jin crazy. She should've  _ insisted  _ that he wait until one of the cars came back to use! Should've gone  _ with  _ him!  _ Should've should've should've with that stupid stupid boy! _

She passed closed door after closed door, keeping her ears and eyes peeled for any sign of Kyoya.

And she got it.

" _ You know, I'm getting tired of this. He's not going to give us anything, Suoh's got his claws in him. And that kid is his friend. He won't sell him out if he hasn't done it yet. _ "

" _ What do you suggest? _ " Jin inched closer to the door and listened. She was only a few doors away from the one that lead to the cellar, so this was probably one of the rooms designed to be a torture chamber. Which meant...

" _ Make an example for the little traitor. Drown 'im. _ "

She kicked the door open and registered that there were three men in the room. Two of them she didn't recognize. The third had his head forced inside of the rather large bucket of water in the middle of the room. His knees were on the floor, arms tied behind his back, and head completely submerged as he writhed and struggled. Ice cubes floated along the top of the water line, mixing with the occasional bubble.

And then she started shooting.

The men barely got out their cries of alarm before they were lying on the floor, bloodied messes. Kyoya's head burst out of the water, the boy gasping before promptly coughing up a mouthful of water. With a sob Jin shut the door behind her and ran to him, yanking off her mask and dropping to her knees she pulled Kyoya away from the bucket of ice water. He continued to cough, throwing up some more water on the floor as she cut his binds off. Immediately he was leaning forward on his elbows, shaking like mad from the cold and the exertion.

Jin gasped a few times, trying to blink the tears out of her vision, " _ Glasses… your glasses… _ " Not spotting the familiar silver frames anywhere, the girl frantically pushed the ice bucket over, spilling its contents all over the floor. She shivered as her sleeves and pants immediately began soaking the frigid water up, but ignored her discomfort at the sound of tinkling metal.

" _ Jin? _ "

Grabbing the frames from where they'd come to rest on the floor, she hurried back to Kyoya. He was still coughing, but it looked like he was finished with getting all the water out, which was a relief. She knew with the cold water they'd have to get him out of those wet clothes as soon as possible… but she wasn't instructed to leave until Tamaki gave the all-clear.

Slowly pulling the boy closer, she hugged him tightly. Kyoya let out a sigh of relief as he felt her body warmth, shutting his eyes and letting himself catch his breath. Jin was still crying, combing her fingers through his hair in an attempt to squeeze the water out while the boy rested.

"Jin? Where… where are my-"

"Right here."

Hastily placing the glasses back on the boy's nose, she pulls away enough to cup his face. The ravenet manages to offer a small smile as she came into focus, "You look like shit."

"So do you," Jin laughs, "You… you  _ fucker! _ " She punched his shoulder, "Don't you ever  _ fucking _ threaten to die on me again! I'm getting Suoh-sama to put you on house-arrest for a week, you utter bastard! Where'd you get the idea it would be okay to do this?"

Throughout the girl's continued rant Kyoya was smiling still. His eyelids fluttered at how good her warm hands felt on his face, "I'm sorry for worrying you, then."

"You'd better be! You'd better never do something this reckless ever again!"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Jin finally sighed, rubbing her thumb across the boy's cheekbone before pressing forward and laying a gentle kiss on his lips.

Just as she pulled away a new voice sounded in her ear, " _ Jin? You can stop beating Kyoya up. This is the all-clear. The boys and I will clean things up here, you take him home and take care of him. _ "

"Thanks, Tamaki." The brunette stood up, hauling Kyoya's rather pliant body with her, "Come on, Glasses-boy. Let's get you home and out of those wet clothes." The ravenet nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the house. He didn't speak all the way back to the compound. Not even then, really.

Jin's stomach was twisted with concerned as she lead him up to his room. Worry gnawed at her mind, questioning as to whether the little kiss they'd shared had something to do with Kyoya suddenly being mute. It had been a spur of the moment thing, kissing Kyoya. She had just been  _ so happy _ to find him alive and… perhaps not entirely  _ well _ , but he was still fixable. Nothing had been cut off, though there might be a bit of trauma regarding bodies of water from then on and a threat of pneumonia in the next few minutes, but Kyoya had still been smiling because she had come to save him…

She couldn't help herself.

Kyoya unlocked his bedroom door and Jin took a step back, "You should probably get out of those wet clothes and into something dry. Do you need anything before I go? Hot tea or..." He didn't say anything, just turned around to stare at her. Jin scuffed her shoe against the floor. Sometimes she wished he would just tell her what he was thinking.

The ravenet leaned his head a little closer, turning left and right to look down the hallway. Jin swallowed. What was he going to say?

She was allowed to worry for another two seconds before the boy threw an arm around her waist and kissed her, pulling her into the room. Jin made a small squeaking sound against his lips before she became lost in the feeling. Her back collided with the dark wood of his door, effectively shutting it at the same time while his wet body crowded her against it.

She faintly heard the lock click in place before Kyoya's hands began roaming up and down her back. Clutching at the boy's shirt, in the back of her mind Jin registered that Kyoya was still wearing his wet clothes.

She smirked into the kiss.

_ Not for long. _

Kyoya didn't move as Jin frantically unbuttoned the shirt, only groaning heatedly when she pressed her warm hands against his chest before biting at her bottom lip. The cold fabric dropped to the floor just behind his ankles, which they stepped over as the ravenet pulled the girl further into his bedroom. Various articles of clothing were thrown this way and that, neither of them even  _ considering _ stopping. Jin gasped as Kyoya tossed her onto his dark blue bedspread, the softness of the fabric caressing her bare skin. He stepped out of his underwear as he joined her, kissing her lips once more before moving down her jawbone.

Jin couldn't help the little whine that escaped when he nibbled at her neck, but somehow her voice remained soft and teasing, " _ So eager… _ "

" _ It's been awhile. _ " Even if he didn't laugh, Jin could feel the amusement in his voice as he left various marks above her collarbone. She rolled her eyes and gently tugged at his damp hair.

" _ You gonna remember where everything goes? _ "

She replied to her own question with a moan as the boy moved further down, back arching a little to allow Kyoya to slip a hand behind her back. Despite the callouses on his hands and his cold nature and skin, his grip was soft as he handled her.

Jin was gasping softly, but not done teasing just yet, " _ Now… don't go thinking this will become a regular thing, Mr. Ootori. I've got a reputation… _ "

Another amused sound was hummed against her skin before the boy pulled away by an inch or two. Kyoya gradually adjusted himself until he was completely hovering over her body, a mere breath away from her lips and with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

" _ Of course not, Ms. Fujioka. Never. _ "

They were both lying, of course, but there wasn't a need to say it.

* * *

It took Tamaki roughly an hour to find out about Kyoya and Jin. He hadn't even bothered to knock on his best friend's bedroom door once he heard the noises coming from within. About a week later he revealed to Jin that he knew, and wasn't surprised by the development either. A full month passed before he brought it up with Kyoya, along with an 'innocent' question about the girl's skill in the bedroom, considering the ravenet had yet to find release with anyone other than her since they started.

After taking another month after that to let Kyoya cool down and finally agree to be his work-out partner once again, Tamaki stopped asking the ravenet questions about it and settled for teasing. So long as he didn't touch on the sheer number of 'one-night-stands' the two had or their lack of other partners, Tamaki's words often drew a hidden smile from the ravenet and a blush from the brunette… even now, an entire year later after that first night.

Internally, Tamaki wasn't surprised whatsoever. He had expected it ever since the two overcame their differences and started treating each other like valued partners. Of course, he had also expected this not-so-open relationship even if he thought it was pointless for them to pretend they weren't exclusive. But they had to figure it out themselves.

But even so…

The blond dropped his head back and sighed, closing his eyes in a suffering way. Lifting a hand to his right ear, his finger found the well-worn button and pressed it, "I swear to God, you two. If you flirt over the comm during the mission again, I'm going to physically walk in front of the next firing squad I find. Wait until the sun sets at  _ least, _ Jesus  _ fuck! _ "

Jin's soft laughter echoed in his ear, as well as Kyoya's whispered reminder that if Tamaki died because of them the blond's father would have them joined in the afterlife before long.

But he didn't deny the flirting.

In the left wing, Jin found herself grinning to herself as she also noted the lack of a denial from her nightly bedmate. Shaking her head, she continued to move through the 'house'. Somewhere in this sprawling array of rooms was the money they were owed. And it would've been collected without a problem if the Komatsuzawa family wasn't so stupid or didn't have such a death wish. Who the fuck would think it was a good idea to steal the money meant for the Suoh family and take it for themselves?

A gentle buzzing in her ear alerted the brunette that Tamaki had made it to the office. It always was a nice power play whenever Tamaki snuck to the Boss's office only to knock on the door and be invited inside.

Jin carefully eased another door open, after hearing nothing from the other side. She was both grateful and concerned that Kyoya had ended up with the wing that consisted mostly of living quarters. That was always the more nerve-wracking straw to draw…

The door swung open into a dark stairwell. If she had to judge based on the musty smell and it's overwhelming  _ dark _ ness… definitely a cellar. Probably had a few cells or torture rooms down there, but it didn't sound like-

Jin stared into the dark. A decent half of her brain tried to remind her that she had a job to do, but she still decided to make her way down the stairwell, shutting the door behind her and flicking on the lights as she did so. The moment the lights flickered to life above her head and further along her path, Jin heard it again.

The sound of clothes shuffling against cement.

Someone was down here.

Keeping her feet close to the wall to minimize creaking, Jin eventually inched her way into the cellar. There were five little jail cells along each wall, and the first four of each of them were empty.

The two at the end that faced each other were not.

Twin boys with fiery red hair blinked out at her from the furthest corners of their cells. The one on her left was curled in on himself, and the other had sneakily grabbed the leg of his chair, looking like he was ready to throw it. Briefly, she wondered why the boy would think throwing a chair at someone with a gun would be a good idea, considering both boys were chained to the floor with thick shackles and the second boy in particular was covered in bruises and cuts, but she wasn't allowed to think on it for long.

"Who are you?"

For a shackled boy, she had to admit he didn't sound all that afraid. Jin glanced at his twin and lowered her gun experimentally. He relaxed a little.

She offered a small smile, "I'm Jin. Who are you?"

"Hikaru. And that's Kaoru."

Jin looked at the shyer boy and back again, noticing how Hikaru's grip on the chair leg had tightened. She filed that information away for later before asking, "Why are you in here?"

His knuckles went white, "I knew it… you're here to punish us!"

"No."

"Don't lie! I know how those fuckers work! This is your initiation! Punish the prisoners! Well do your worst! I'm not afraid to fuck you up, cock-sucking Bitch!"

Jin just blinked. She might've believed that this Hikaru was actually really angry if it weren't for the terrified squeak in his voice. But when she turned back to Kaoru, the poor boy had already curled back in on himself, staring at her in fear. Jin suddenly understood.

"You're riling me up so I leave Kaoru alone." Hikaru faltered, his face going as white as his grip, "And if I make any motion I'd hurt your brother, you'd throw that chair of yours to reclaim my attention. Which is why you're so beat up."

"S-shut the hell up you motherfucking slut! I-I bet you've let all the boys upstairs have a go already! Whore!" And there went the chair, slamming into the bars and making them rattle with an echoing  _ boom. _

Jin held her breath and stared at the ceiling. Waiting… waiting…

A full minute passed before she could breathe easy again. There were no sounds of footsteps and Kyoya hadn't asked what the noise was. Hoping she hadn't gotten any grey hairs from that moment, she turned back to Hikaru. The boy was shaking, his eyes wide and pupils tiny.

She walked closer to his cell, not missing how the boy was tensing up. No doubt preparing for her to walk in and start beating him with her gun and adding another bullet hole in his leg. Judging by his pants and the many scars she could see, it wouldn't be the first time he'd been patched up after a 'session'. Though… the blood stains that decorated almost every inch of his clothes and sheets from his bed had been left alone.

The Komatsuzawa Family's employees seemed to enjoy having their toys around for a long time.

The two stared at each other, multiple scenarios flying through their heads in the space of an instant before Jin bent down and reached through the bars. She easily flipped the chair back onto its legs, which had somehow remained intact.

"You're the eldest, aren't you?"

Hikaru's lower lip shook, but eventually he nodded.

"You've done well protecting your younger brother, Hikaru. And I would know. I would've done the same for my little sister." Her eyes caught how his shabby trousers had been ripped almost completely down the middle. Very stained with blood. When their eyes finally met again, there was a small sheen of tears along his lower lids. "I'm getting you both out of here."

"Please!" Behind her, Kaoru had all but thrown himself at the bars, staring at her with pleading, golden eyes. Hikaru made a small noise that might've been a rebuttal, but he was too choked from keeping his tears back to really speak. Jin decided to let him think for a second while she pulled a ring of tools from her back pocket -just for emergencies, of course- and quickly popped Kaoru's cell door.

By the time his shackle was off and she had helped him into the hallway, Hikaru had made his way over to the door as well, "You're serious?"

"The Suoh family never goes back on their word."

Less than a minute later and the second boy was free. The twins hugged each other for a long moment, Kaoru's tears falling without a second thought. Jin felts tears threaten as well.  _ When was the last time those two had touched each other? How many beatings and rapes had Kaoru been forced to witness? How many had Hikaru taken upon himself so that Kaoru would be left alone? _

" _ Jin? Kyoya? Turns out Komatsuzawa's eldest son stole the money to get back in his mother's good books. I have it- _ "

"Give it back."

There was a pause.

" _ Jin? Is something the matter? _ "

"Tamaki, give the money back and say it's payment for the two 'toys' I just found in the cellar. I don't care what your father says,  _ do it. _ "

" _... If you say so. Kyoya? Help Jin and get whatever she found into the car. I've still got Hotta in case things go South. _ "

Jin used the following six minutes waiting for Kyoya to assess the boy's health and any pressing issues. They were horrifically malnourished, which wasn't surprising, and were probably also dehydrated. She made a mental note to give them each a small bottle of water when they got into the car. It didn't look like they had been beaten in a while, which was good, and none of their wounds looked life-threatening at the moment. It looked like the biggest damage would be psychological.

Even still, the moment Kyoya was down in the cellar with her, Jin eased Kaoru onto his feet with her arms around him, "We need to take them to your brothers. Now." Without question, Kyoya was helping Hikaru to his feet and they began moving the red heads up the stairs.

Tamaki's exchange must've gone over better and faster than Jin had expected, because the blond was waiting for the four of them by the car when they arrived. Just as when Kyoya had showed up, the twins regressed a little. Kaoru went mute and curled himself into Jin's arms while Hikaru spit insults as an answer to every question or statement the blond had to make.

But, like Jin knew he would, Tamaki saw past their actions and offered to talk to his father about bringing the twins into their family as soon as Kyoya's brother's released them from the hospital. Hikaru went quiet and Kaoru managed a smile before they were eased into the car.

Jin went to climb after the twins into the back when Hikaru held out a hand to stop her. For once the fire in his eyes had completely died, leaving the scared little boy she knew had been hiding there the whole time. With a shaky voice that was a higher pitch than she had heard before now, he asked, "How can you even trust us? How do you know we won't just turn on you?"

Spotting the questions for what they were, Jin managed a smile, "Because I don't think you feel anything for the people you have hurt you so badly and care nothing for others. Because the people we're taking you from have never felt just as scared and terrified as you do now." She let the sentence hang in the air before tacking on, "But we do."

And, finally, Hikaru smiled.

It was weak, and he collapsed into tears against his brother a second later. But it was a smile nonetheless.

*That Night*

Kyoya didn't really bother with 'reasons' when it came to sex.

If he wanted it, he could easily find a willing woman almost anywhere to entertain him for a night, especially with his looks. And if he wasn't feeling like putting in that much effort or no pretty dame caught his fancy, his hand worked just as well.

But there was something…  _ different _ about sex with Jin Fujioka. A certain realness to it. This wasn't a random girl plucked up at a bar whose name he wouldn't even remember once they finished. This was  _ Jin. _ A name he couldn't forget, even it he lost everything else. It spoke of soft brown hair he could lose himself in stroking late into the night even after it's owner fell asleep. It brought up memories of golden-brown eyes that twinkled at jokes and teasing alike, harbored flames when angered, and looked as soft as satin when they stared back at him in the early morning light. He could almost perfectly recall how soft her skin felt against his hand, pressed to his cheek… his lips.

Jin was fire and snow and sharp and soft and fair and tough and emotion and logic and a billion other things that fought against each other in nature but somehow managed to produce this single, extraordinary being.

So when it came to 'reasons'...

"That was incredibly brave of you to bet Suoh-sama's money against those twin boys."

"Their names are Hikaru and Kaoru."

… well, he never really ran out of them.

They had progressed as they normally did these days, with a little more foreplay than their first time, teasing kisses and wandering hands as the clothes gradually disappeared. But soon enough Jin was on her back and Kyoya was crawling after her.

He couldn't help but smile as he lightly traced a finger along the chain of the girl's necklace. She returned the smile, content with watching his face as he took his time with her. Almost lazily, Kyoya flipped over the metal bar that rested in the hollow of her neck to stare at the cursive writing on the other side. It was upside down from his view point, but there was no mistaking his own name. A pleasant warmth filled his chest whenever he saw Jin wear it. And considering she only took it off to sleep, Kyoya was getting pretty damn used to how nice that feeling actually was.

The ravenet ducked his head to kiss the necklace before continuing on with what they were doing.

A few minutes later and his ears were filled with the usual moans and soft calls of his name. Kyoya had his head tucked, keeping his eyes closed as to let the sounds wash over him. Normally this would be around the time he'd start whispering those dirty words he could come up with so well into her ear, but he wanted this to go for a little longer tonight. So instead of words he gave a particularly rough thrust, which was met with short fingernails scratching themselves down his back. He moaned against his will. She knew he loved the pain. No doubt he'd have red lines crisscrossed all over his back come morning.

That was one of the things Kyoya liked so much about Jin as a sexual partner. She knew what he liked, sure, but still managed to surprise him when she used the knowledge to her advantage. It was the same thing vice versa, too, but Kyoya didn't think on that too often. At least he tried not to.

Just like how neither of them had even  _ looked _ at another person for sexual pleasure since their first time together. Or how Jin actually hadn't ever been with someone before Kyoya at all as far as he was aware. No… Kyoya didn't think about that when he could avoid it.

Opening his eyes, he had to fight hard against the orgasm he was working towards. The sight below him was definitely one to behold. Jin's head was thrown back into his pillow, her hair spread out in a big mess across the emerald green pillowcase with a few crimps in it here and there from the ponytail she'd had in earlier. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her cheeks were flushed as Kyoya's name fell from her lips over and over again.

Not wanting to ignore his calling, Kyoya bent his head and carefully sucked at the skin beneath her ear. The salty taste of her skin washed across his tongue as her neck vibrated with her moans. Instead of scratching him again, Jin wove her fingers into the boy's black locks, making a moderately loose fist before tugging ever so gently.

Kyoya's hips jumped, causing a full body roll from the girl beneath him and yet another tug. Jin let out a gasp and relaxed the fist, letting her fingers run carefully through his hair. Her nails, which had previously been scratching near-bloody rows down Kyoya's pale back, were now pleasantly itching his scalp.

He damn near purred…

But he  _ definitely _ whispered, " _ I love you. _ "

He didn't stop moving, but internally Kyoya's brain short circuited. He wanted to freeze after such a  _ big _ declaration and start denying what he'd said, but kept going because of three reasons. One, because since they were in the throes of pleasure Jin might not think much of it. Two, she might not have even  _ heard _ him at all. And three… he had meant it. And perhaps she would think the same...

Still, he had to hope for the second one. That would be much easier. It was safer. It was-

" _ I love you, too. _ "

This time he did stop. Jin began sobbing as soon as he did, and Kyoya pulled out before falling to his side. Collecting the brunette into his arms, he held her against his chest as she began lightly hitting her fists against his chest. It wasn't like he could do anything else, either. He was busy staring above her head towards the nightstand that was encased in darkness. While Jin was already suffering, he was having a little trouble…  _ accepting _ the situation.

"You  _ moron… _ " her hits were getting weaker, "You… god… damn... damn you to Hell, Kyoya Ootori. I fucking love you, what have you  _ done _ to me?"

A kiss to the top of her head stopped the words and the hits, but she continues to sob. And it was no secret as to why.

Fuck buddies was one thing. It implied there were no feelings. No strings, no attachment, no complications. Now with  _ that _ arrangement completely debunked, they had both become bigger targets, not just for themselves but to lure or hurt the other. And their feelings were a danger to not just themselves, but their jobs. If Suoh-sama knew that two of his employees felt a stronger tie to each other than to him… how would he react? Would he just kill them on sight?

In a small area of their minds, they knew that last bit wasn't the case, but it definitely emphasized the point. They were screwing up royally, but neither could they fight it.

Fuck.

It takes a moment before they're calm enough to face each other again. Kyoya hadn't considered what he was going to say. He should've told her that they should've tried to stop. To distance themselves in this part of their lives. Or even flat out cut her out. It would've been easier.

Instead, he gently caressed Jin's cheek with the palm of his hand, his thumb swiping at the tears still escaping from her lower lids. She didn't pull away. In fact, she lightly grabbed his hand with her own, shutting her eyes against the familiar feeling.

Kyoya cautiously pressed a kiss to her lips, a gentle  _ smack _ noise echoing in the quiet space between them when they parted. Jin let out a deep sigh against his lips, letting her forehead come to rest against his as well.

" _ I love you, Jin Fujioka. _ "

" _ And I love you, too, Kyoya Ootori. _ "

It took Jin less than fifteen minutes to drift off to sleep in the ravenet's arms, exhausted from the crying. Kyoya took a little longer, pressing kisses around the girl's face until she drifted off, then just watching her peaceful dreaming.

* * *

It was the twins who had originally suggested it.

The month of April had just started up, making it a little less than a year since they had been absorbed into the Suoh family. Kaoru wanted to celebrate it, but Hikaru didn't want it to be  _ obvious _ what they were celebrating.

So knowing that Tamaki's 18th birthday was coming up, they settled on that. The rest of their little group of seven agreed, even if they all knew what they were  _ really _ celebrating. Honey, still enough of a child at heart to be considered 'cute', had offered the idea of getting ice cream. Just like normal teenagers.

He didn't say that last part out loud, but it was heard pretty clear all the same.

When the night of April 8th finally arrived, the teenagers were actually pretty excited. They walked to the little shop, rather than take one of the many cars available. After all, they were seven of the most heavily loaded teenagers in the city. No one would bother them.

It took several minutes, but as the compound began to fade in the distance behind them, the unspoken tension began to dissolve around them. Jin felt the smoothness of Kyoya's new silver ring as he grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. She tucked herself a little closer to the boy and delicately stroked the metal band. It was only her imagination, but she swore she could tell exactly where on the inside was the engraving of her name.

The tension only dissipated further the longer they stayed out. Mori and Kyoya watched in amusement while the other five sang along to any song they knew from the shop's radio, and even some songs they  _ didn't _ know. Honey did his best to dodge Mori and his emergency wet-wipes, claiming he was saving the ice cream on his nose for later. From there, Tamaki stuck his own nose into his ice cream and got everyone laughing. The laughter only grew from there when the blond winked at a couple passing girls and they  _ still _ blushed and giggled.

They stayed at the little picnic table for  _ hours. _ Near the end, Hikaru and Kaoru were standing up at either end of the table, each mockingly pretending to be the other before they bent in half from their laughter. Everyone else joined in with it before, eventually, Kyoya stood up and pulled Jin with him. The others groaned and complained, but followed the couple from the table. Honey took extra care in folding up the little drawing of a bunny Jin had made for him and tucked the napkin into his back pocket for safekeeping.

On the way back, no one mentioned how they were going slower than usual. They were all too busy swapping ideas for more outings. Tamaki wanted weekly movie nights from then on. Hikaru and Kaoru tried to convince him to talk to his father about letting them use the casino. Honey was skipping along ahead of them all, "casually" wondering if there was a petting zoo nearby.

Jin and Kyoya… just hung back. They were no longer holding hands, but instead Kyoya had an arm wrapped around the girl's waist, her head on his shoulder. It was another thing the group had noticed, but didn't speak about… they were acting very much like the couple they both mentally knew they were. Instead of worrying what someone else would say or imply should they even look at each other, Jin and Kyoya were free to touch. To exchange short, cute little kisses every now and again. To share a few licks of each other's ice cream and snuggle together on the picnic bench. To hold each other and smile and stare into each other's eyes until a wadded up napkin hit Kyoya in the face (which neither twin had owned up to).

That evening had been the most fun, laid back couple of hours most of them had ever experienced before in their  _ life. _ And they had  _ loved _ it.

But the laughter and smiles died the moment they rounded the corner.

Their complex stood at the end of the street.

The door had been kicked in.

And there was the sound of gunfire and screams.

Without a word, everyone drew their guns and retreated back. Jin took the lead without much preamble and began running down multiple alleyways until they ended up behind the building with the sounds of a war zone. She hastily pried open a small doorway that the boys would've completely missed if she hadn't done so. No one asked, because they knew this must be the door she had used to sneak into the complex for her training.

It lead into a dark hallway with only one other door at the far end. Honey, being the smallest and quietest, slipped out and found himself behind all of the extra punching bags, the doorway blending in perfectly with the brickwork. He was in the training room.

The room was quiet, so when he peeked inside and sobbed, the sound was as jarring as the gunshots coming from the rest of the building.

While everyone else quickly piled out into the room after him, Honey had already run out from the hiding place to kneel by his father's body. The man was laid across two smaller bodies of trainees. Honey didn't know whether he was crying because of his father and the dead children, or the fact that neither of them were his little brother or cousin.

Tamaki looked between the crying blond and his best friend briefly before tapping his foot against the tile floor for attention, "Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai stay down here. Keep an eye on the front door. Don't let anyone escape. And search around to see if some of the trainees managed to hide."

He received two deft nods before running out the door, quickly followed by the remaining party.

They don't find anything other than bodies at first, which is a little odd. Especially when they make it up to their own bedrooms. Carefully slipping into each room, the five look for survivors or stake-outs, but find zilch.

Kaoru nibbled his lower lip as he peered around Jin's room.  _ If they were planning on taking the compound, then they must know about us. So if we weren't here when they arrived, wouldn't they assume we'd come back sooner or- _

_ Bang! _

"Aaaah!" Kaoru dropped to his knees instantly, the following bullets sailing harmlessly over his head and into the wall. Frantic footsteps follow the sudden sound, both from inside the room and out in the hallway. Adrenaline helping to numb the sharp pain in the red head's shoulder, he rolled sideways underneath the bed just as his assailant ran around the furniture to finish the job.

But Jin was faster.

Kaoru whimpered as the body fell to the floor beside him, allowing himself to think of the pain in his arm. There was the sound of shuffling before two pairs of hands hauled him out into the light. He gasped as his shoulder caught the edge of the bed.

"Kaoru!" Hikaru was knelt by his twin's head immediately, tentatively pulling his shirt sleeve away to check the wound. Bullet hole in the shoulder. There was a decent amount of blood, too.

The older of the two boys stared at Jin in desperation, silent as she pulled out a knife and sliced off a strip of her shirt, pressing it into his hands. Hikaru immediately started bandaging his brother while Tamaki and Kyoya kept sentry at the door.

Tamaki risked a glance over his shoulder at the trio, "We need to keep moving. Jin and Kyoya, you're with me. Hikaru, get Kaoru into the bathroom then  _ stay at this doorway. _ No one gets down those stairs except us, got it?"

His response was a deft checking of remaining bullets and a firm nod.

No one bothered to mention how the complex had gone unnaturally quiet as they continued up floor by floor. It was painfully obvious. Thankfully they found a few more survivors who had holed up in their bedrooms and were passed by. This wasn't a surprise either.

The further they went, it was obvious that whoever did this had a very specific destination in mind.

The hallway that lead to Suoh-sama's office reeked of blood and fresh corpses. They were everywhere. The walls had been redecorated by multiple bullets, and where there weren't huge holes, there was blood. Two of the lights had been hit in the firing, so the entire hallway was bathed in an eerie dim light.

Cautiously, the three eighteen year olds made their way over the bodies. Perhaps it was the lighting, or the extensive wounds, or perhaps even their own subconsciouses, but they couldn't name most of the people they stepped over. A few they could, however.

One was Akira Komatsuzawa, the eldest son of Komatsuzawa-sama. His ugly sneer still on his face despite the fact his eyes had glazed over. Jin swallowed when she spotted the boy's two bodyguards just behind him. Tomochika Sakyo was slumped against the wall, head tucked to his chest. Chikage Ukyo looked like he could've been sleeping, the shorter boy sprawled over the other's long legs, eyes shut and head on a bent arm.

A quick check proved that was not the case.

It was a shame. According to the twins, those two had always been the kindest of their guards. Never beating the boys and trying to tell Akira to relax on their punishments. Jin was glad the red heads weren't with them.

A few steps over and Tamaki made a small noise. A quick look at the long scar running down the dead man's face was an easy identifier, even if his nose was missing. He was the Head of Security for the Grantaine family. Someone Tamaki knew  _ very _ well. They didn't bother to check for a pulse.

Finally getting up to the door, all three teenagers had to stop and stare. Because there was a single body sitting in the corner with multiple wounds embedded in his chest.

Ando-san.

There was a slight ring of space around him, rimmed by a low wall of bodies. The black-haired man had two guns in hand, fingers still on the triggers. Kyoya stepped over the bodies and knelt before the man. He reached out towards his neck... hesitated… then gently closed the man's eyes.

Jin laid a hand on Kyoya's shoulder, which was immediately clutched in silent desperation.

Tamaki probably would've copied the move, but just then heard a noise coming from his father's office. Stepping over the body of his father's personal guard as quickly as he could, the blond peeked through the ajar doorway.

The office looked even worse than the hallway. Complete and total carnage. The desk was kindling and the bookshelf had been toppled over. Glass was scattered all over the floor and some of the bodies. Only one person was still standing, his left temple was completely covered in blood from a head wound and Tamaki spotted more than a couple bullet wounds in his left leg, but the stranger was still moving as he pointed a gun at someone on the floor.

Tamaki fired from the doorway and the man collapsed.

Pushing inside took longer than Tamaki wished it had, but by the time he was able to squeeze in, he had identified the last living person in the room. His father was lying on his back, head leaning against a part of what used to be the cushion from his chair. His clothes were soaked in blood, a majority of it escaping from the gaping wound on his belly. Each breath is a raspy gasp that sounded less painful than it probably was.

It wasn't until Tamaki knelt by his father's side and took his hand that the brunet opened his eyes.

"Ta-maki?"

"Father, hush. Save your strength. We need to get you-"

"There is no taking me anywhere, my boy. I am dying."

"Father-"

"No, Tamaki." The blond shook, tightening his grip as his father took in a steadying breath, "I need you… to promise… Take over the family. It is… what you were born… to do."

The blond was sobbing now, shaking his head but agreeing to his father's wish at the same time. Yuzuru managed to smile around the pain, stroking his thumb across his son's fingers.

" _ You look so much like her… your mother… would be proud of you. _ " Another shakier inhale, " _ I'll give her… your love. Promise… to keep her soft heart… Tamaki. It's what… I loved… in her… and… you… _ "

"I will, Father." The blond stared at the face of his father with a small smile through his tears. The expression faltered when the older man was silent. "Father?" He shook the limp hand in his grasp, "Father! Father, come back!"

The tears wouldn't stop coming. Tamaki bowed his head and cried into his father's bloody shirt, never once letting go of his hand. His throat closed up around his pleading, his begging for his father's chest to once again rise and fall.

He had no idea how long he had stayed there, but his father's hand had gone cold when he finally let go of it. Taking in a few more deep breaths, the blond turned around.

Kyoya and Jin were watching him from the doorway. Kyoya's eyes were rimmed red, but it was Jin who had wet cheeks of her own. Somehow, Tamaki felt a little better. He still had them. There were still people who he loved and loved him in return.

Realizing the shift in his friend, Kyoya tightened his grip on Jin's waist and straightened his back, putting on his 'business' face.

"What do you need us to do… Boss?"

Tamaki almost smiled, the new title would take some getting used too.

"We've got work to do."

* * *

Tamaki stared at the desktop before him. There were a few papers before him that needed to be read, and then signed. The phone on his right was expected to ring within the following hour from the police station in regards to the last Grantaine member's upcoming court case. And then there was a list of construction and renovations that he needed to call in about and set a schedule for completion within the next month.

Considering it had been a month and a half since a majority of the Suoh family had been wiped out, Tamaki knew they couldn't do much serious recruiting until Honey had a training center up to par with the schedule he and Jin had come up with. Thankfully, Hikaru and Kaoru had taken to their new jobs as mission coordinators well. They were keeping up with the money collections just fine, not letting a single person miss a payment without their knowledge.

The knock at his office door pulled Tamaki's thoughts back to the present. A word from him and it opened, Jin and Kyoya walking inside. The blond spotted Mori standing on the other side, taking his new role as Tamaki's personal guard  _ very _ seriously it seemed.

The three friends exchanged smiles as Tamaki leaned back in his chair, "Ahh, have my friends come to relieve me of my boredom?" At the raised eyebrows, he slumped forward, "Or has my Chief Strategist and my Head of Security come to give me more work?"

Jin rolled her eyes, "A mixture of the two, actually. We have a request."

That caught Tamaki's attention. Kyoya and Jin, as his most trusted advisers, had done a lot to help Tamaki get the family out of the dirt. They had helped a lot with reining in the last of their members from immediately launching a counterattack on the Grantaine and Komatsuzawa families after Tamaki made the decision to let the police handle it. Most of the Komatsuzawa family, including their Boss, hadn't had a clue as to the plan of it's heir, and Tamaki knew the last thing they needed was an all out war between the families. So if they were coming to him for a request, then they must be further out of the dark than Tamaki had realized.

That certainly relaxed the teen a little more and he leaned back in his chair, "Is that so? Well, what can I do for you two?"

"We'd like a door to be placed between our rooms." Now it was Tamaki's turn to raise an eyebrow. He had a feeling Mori had a similar expression from his place outside the door. While the bluntness of the request was to be expected of Kyoya and the request itself was similarly expected, Tamaki didn't think it would've come to him so soon after their promotions.

"Is this your way of asking if you can get married to each other without actually getting married?" The blushes and small smiles were answer enough, even though the couple both mumbled agreement regardless. With a laugh, Tamaki gave his friends a wide grin, "Oh, please, don't be embarrassed. You've been pretty much married for a year now- don't give me that look, Kyoya Ootori, I know  _ all _ about your engraved ring and Jin's necklace. I'll add it to the renovations list. But now I should probably tell you that you should  _ not _ forge a marriage license between you two, despite the fact I know I'm  _ definitely _ putting the idea in your head and I would  _ love _ to be your only witness, it's a part of my job to at least  _ say _ I'm not supposed to endorse something so binding between two of my employees. But… I suppose you're more family than employees…"

Jin's smile hadn't faltered the whole time Tamaki spoke, and while Kyoya's emotions were hidden a little better, the sparkle in his eyes was so clear and obvious he might as well have been singing.

From the other side of the door, they heard Mori's muffled voice, " _ Mitsukuni and I will be there. So will Hikaru and Kaoru. _ "

Jin ran around Tamaki's desk and hugged her friend in his seat. Kyoya just shook his hand before allowing Jin to pull him out of the office. Probably for victory sex or to just go out and get the marriage certificate immediately.

Tamaki stood up and shouted down the hallway after then, "But don't make this 'request' thing a habit! I can't always give you special treatment."

"Yes, you can," Mori added before shutting the door for him.

*Downtown*

If you were to compare Haruhi Fujioka as she was now, at the age of 17, to when she was 8… you wouldn't even be able to recognize that they were the same person.

At the moment, Haruhi was roaming the bookstore just down the street from her family's apartment. She was short, as the average person's height went, but it didn't bother her all that much, and she liked that it matched her short brown hair. Said hair was, yes, still short, but instead of looking ragged and dirty, it was regularly washed and cut at the barber shop a few streets down to give it a more stylish appearance. Similarly, her dirty and ripped clothes had been happily replaced with nicer ones with more color and definitely stayed in repair more often than not. Not to mention her grateful exchange of those cracked glasses for contacts. She really liked how her peripheral vision was more enhanced when her vision wasn't confined to two square frames.

That peripheral vision is what saved her that day.

At the time, she was innocently reading the back of a new book after plucking it off the shelf. There was quite a lot of talk about dragons, which is probably why she didn't take notice of the front door opening and shutting. The welcoming from the shop's owner also fell on Haruhi's deaf ears, but the following sound did not. She hadn't heard it for a few years… so she was almost too late in reacting to it.

A safety clicking off.

Haruhi dropped to her knees and the books above her exploded into scraps of paper. She opened her mouth but couldn't actually hear the resulting scream she made. Thank god for Kichibei-san and his paranoid self. The owner had his own gun out and firing the moment the stranger had opened fire on Haruhi, only  _ his _ shots actually met their mark.

The man crumpled to the floor with a shout of pain, a hand clasped on his thigh in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Haruhi remained in a crouched position, huffing and puffing as her heart rate attempted to slow back down. It wasn't until Kichibei-san beckoned her closer that she willed herself to move.

By the time she got close enough to hear the strange man's whimpering, the bookshop owner was on the phone. Something about getting an ambulance for some idiot who's gun had gone off in his own pocket because he left the safety off.

The man's face was ashen, his body probably going into shock from the unexpected attack. He looked… young. Barely older than Haruhi was, probably. But the bags under his eyes spoke of age and sleepless nights as he stared the brunette down, even from his position flat on his back.

" _ Watch your back, little girl. Your onēchan has made…  _ a lot…  _ of enemies. You're as good as dead… _ "

He spit at her, and Kichibei slammed the side of his head with the butt of his own gun. After a few seconds, he returned his attention to the phone call, "Oh, no. He's refusing to believe it was his fault. He tried to attack me because apparently  _ I _ shot him. I had to knock him out, sorry." At the insistent look in the man's eyes, Haruhi got back to her feet and headed towards the door, dropping the book in her hands to the floor as she did so.

It was probably dangerous of her to do so, but Haruhi wasn't very watchful as she made her way back home. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts.

_ So this is mafia business. There's no other reason for that man to have mentioned nēchan if it was anything else. They know where I am, and where I frequent, and they want to kill me. And they probably know about Dad, too. So we're in danger so long as we're on our own, out of protection from another family. _

By the time Haruhi was climbing the stairs to her family's apartment, she had an idea in place.

Looks like it was time to take a leaf out of her sister's book.

* * *

The advertisement hasn't even been up for a full day before she sets up an interview.

On that day Haruhi dresses herself up in her only crop top, which was an accidental purchase, really, and a pair of short shorts. She even allows her father to apply a small amount of eyeliner and mascara to her face. The only thing she forwent were a pair of heels, hoping her small size would help her odds.

An extremely tall black haired boy answered her knocks. For a moment Haruhi's voice is lost, mostly because he looked oddly familiar… but she found it again soon enough.

"I'm here for an interview with Suoh-san."

The man nodded and held the door further open for her, not saying a word as he shut the door before leading Haruhi further into the complex. They went up a few stairs and down a rather long hallway before coming to a stop outside of a freshly polished oak door. Haruhi straightened her back as the man knocked for her. From the other side came a faint ' _ come in _ '.

There was a tense silence as Haruhi quietly padded over to the single chair left in front of the desk. She tried not to stare, but she hadn't expected her future employer to look so… young. He looked to be about Jin's age, which was close to Haruhi's age. It certainly made her feel a little better about her plan.

Settling herself down into the chair, she met Suoh's gaze evenly. The blond was eyeing her up and down, but it was more of an assessment rather than undressing her with his eyes. The nervousness loosened even further.

"You don't seem afraid."

"Why would I be? I'm the one who applied, didn't I?"

The boy seemed to appreciate her reply as he shifted in his seat, "Then I suppose you know  _ exactly _ what you're signing up to be?"

"Yes. Sex doesn't bother me. My father prostituted himself when I was younger, so-"

"Wait, wait, slow down there!" The blond laughed lightly, waving a hand, "It's not just  _ sex _ , you know? If you take this job, you are to be my  _ pet. _ You'll be my constant companion, you'll live in this building, you'll be surrounded by this family's…  _ work _ , day in and day out."

"Fine," Haruhi shrugged, not revealing how she actually  _ hadn't _ been aware of those extra parts of the job. The boy narrowed his eyes at her.

He tilted his head, "Why do you even want this job? Clearly you are very intelligent and, if I may, very independent. Your safety might be a little on the line and there are more…  _ respectable _ jobs out there for a woman such as yourself."

Haruhi shrugged again, blunt as ever with her following comment, "Well, Dad and I are already in the firing line because of you. The Suoh family and it's employees have no shortage of enemies, it see- What are you doing?"

The blond was now halfway bent over his desk, eyes thin slits as he attempted to burn her face off with his eyes. When he spoke again, it was in carefully measured words.

"You're… Jin Fujioka's… sister. Aren't you?"

Haruhi's mouth fell open, but couldn't think of a proper response.  _ How had he figured it out? _

"She's told me a lot about you, Haruhi. We've been friends for years, after all, and she's saved my life more than once." He grabbed the phone off of its receiver and punched a number. After a few seconds, someone on the other line picked up, "Kyoya I need to talk to Jin. Don't play coy, I know she's in there with you. Honestly,  _ why _ did I give you your own office- Jin? Get down to my office. Now." And he hung up.

For about four minutes, the two didn't say anything, just staring at each other. Haruhi was twitching a little under such an intense gaze, but refused to be the first to look away. After growing up in the streets, she knew such an act was enough permission for the other person to do whatever they wanted with you.

Then the door opened, and the spell was broken. Haruhi turned around and almost cried at the sight of her older sister, whom she had missed dearly. The only thing she hadn't expected was the slightly-too-large green button-down shirt Jin was wearing. Tamaki merely rolled his eyes at the clothing.

"What's up, Tamaki?" Jin's brown eyes landed on her little sister and instantly her entire demeanor changed, "Ah,  _ fuck! _ "

"Hi, Nēcha-"

"She's not taking the job."

"Jin-"

She slammed her hand against the open door, "She's not taking the  _ fucking _ job, Tamaki!"

"Yes I am, Nēchan!" Haruhi stood up, raising a defiant chin, "I'm not afraid to be in the Suoh family! I have no choice if you want Dad and I to stay safe! We've become targets to get at  _ you! _ "

Jin went a little pale, "No… you could just stay here-"

"We're not going to mooch off of you. This  _ works _ , Nēchan." She finally turned back to Tamaki, who had been watching the scene with odd fascination, "That's my part of the bargain. Don't pay me anything. Just give my father room and board in this complex.

" _ No… Haru… _ " Jin stared at her baby sister with an abnormal amount of emotion, like the floorboards were being pulled out from beneath her, "I… I never wanted this life for you."

"Tough. You're not the only Fujioka who can hack it in this life."

Despite the situation, Jin managed a smile, "Hell hath no fury like a raging Fujioka."

"Damn right."

Tamaki finally broke his silence, laughing out loud, "Well, I certainly like you enough to give you the job, Ms. Fujioka. But I suppose…" his purple eyes bounced between the sisters, "I suppose you'll need quite a bit of extra protection, considering not only will you be my pet, but you're also the only sibling of my Head of Security."

Haruhi couldn't help but glance out of the corner of her eye, "Seriously?"

"Heh… Your onēchan has got a pretty good thing going on here."

"So I hear. When do I get to meet the owner of that shirt?"

"You can meet your  _ future brother-in-law _ later, you little shit."

Tamaki cleared his throat before Haruhi could respond, "Anyways, Jin, can I entrust you with such an important side job?"

"Sir," she crossed her arms with an excited gleam in her eyes, "It would be my genuine pleasure."

"Then it's settled." He eyed both girls again before waving them towards the door, "Oh, go on. Move Haruhi and your father into the complex and catch up. Haruhi, I expect you in this office at 7 am tomorrow morning to finish going over your contract and officially give you the job. Agreed?"

"Sure thing."

"Got it."

Tamaki watched in amusement as the sisters left the office, Haruhi managing to give Mori a little wave even as she started grilling Jin over what her big sister had gotten into over the past few years.

"So, exactly how messy  _ is  _ your criminal record?"

"My criminal record? The only illegal thing I've done is absolutely kill it in heels on a Saturday night!" There's total silence for a few beats before she continued, "Just kidding. I've killed several people."

He could still hear the girl's laughter even after the door shut.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be working on my other stories that haven't been updated in a long time, or perhaps my homework, but this would NOT leave me alone! It also turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. And a lot more angsty, too. I hope you liked it, though!


	61. He Said, She Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genderbent!

 

Two pairs of footsteps clicked against the sidewalk, accompanied by the occasional swish of a dress skirt or pant legs brushing against each other.

"I  _ hate _ this thing."

The tall brunet smirked as he gave his companion an amused side eye, "Do I point out the irony of that statement  _ now _ or  _ later? _ "

"Shut up." Haruhi tugged at the dress collar, grimacing, "You'd think they'd make the girl's uniform with thinner material considering the summer heat. I'm  _ roasting! _ "

"It's probably because females run naturally colder than males. Looks like your biology is coming to bite you in the butt."

Haruhi did his best to glare at his older brother, but when Jun turned to face him and stuck out his tongue with the most serious expression he could muster, they both succumbed to laughter. The shorter brunet lightly punched his brother's arm, "You're a jerk, Niichan."

"So you say, little Haru." Jun threw an arm over Haruhi's shoulders, ruffling his hair briefly before letting go. Haruhi let out a number of complaints as he quickly tried to fix his look. With a little assistance, he looked perfectly presentable by the time the brothers walked through Ouran's front gates.

Immediately the other students started whispering, multiple eyes following the sibling's procession across the grounds. Girls cooed as Jun smiled along to whatever Haruhi was saying, letting his little sister talk as much as she needed before offering his own input. The boys were a little less excited, nervously eyeing the tall brunet, all of them well aware of Jun's… protective streak regarding his sister and their friends at the Hostess Club. It was never more nerve wracking than when they were trying to confess their feelings with the scary boy burning a hole through the back of their heads.

Of course, when Jun's roaming eyes landed on the ravenette waiting for him at the front entrance, a large portion of the student body exchanged amused glances. That huge grin wasn't exactly subtle.

"Hey, Kyou-chan!"

The girl smiled back at the boy, trying not to appear too eager as she watched him bound up the steps towards her, "Morning, Jun."

Behind his brother's back, Haruhi rolled his eyes before continuing his way into the school. No doubt the twins were already waiting for him in their classroom. As it was, Jun barely remembered to wave his brother goodbye, still exchanging pleasantries with his classmate.

"So, should we wait for Tami-chan or head straight to class? Your call today."

The girl hummed, "No. She almost made us late the last time she arrived after you and Haruhi. Best not risk it."

"Oh, yeah." Jun rolled his eyes, gesturing for the two of them to walk inside, "What was her excuse again? She couldn't find her mascara?"

"Her  _ favorite _ mascara, apparently." The two laughed as they continued down the hallway, both of them pretending not to notice the winks and smiles from the other students and simultaneously hoping the other didn't mention them. Kyou didn't know if she should feel encouraged or embarrassed by the blatant amount of support for the potential relationship between her and Jun Fujioka. Or JunKyou to the Fan mobs.

Even so… she couldn't help but admit to herself it was a nice thought. She did like Jun very much. It was most definitely a crush on her part. The only issue was what Jun thought of her. He was nice to her and seemed to enjoy her company… but he acted the same way with the other hostess, no matter what anyone else said. And then there was that whole 'almost arranged marriage' with Honey-senpai and-

"So… what are you not telling me?"

Kyou just barely represses a jump, hastily brushing behind her left ear with her fingers despite her hair being pulled up in a ponytail, "What?"

The boy barely brushed their arms together in a repressed form of a shoulder bump, giving her his best 'sly' smile, "Don't play coy, Glasses. I know you and Tami-chan are planning something special for hosting hours today."

"Well…" Hoping her cheeks weren't flushed red, Kyou raised her eyebrows at him, letting her lips curl into a half smile, "If I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore, now would it?" The ravenette was rewarded with a momentarily blank expression before Jun leaned closer, eyes dancing with glee.

"Oh? It's a surprise, is it?"

Not trusting herself to speak, she gave his chest a light shove before walking into their classroom, Jun right behind her.

At the other end of the school building, Tamiko Suoh was not a happy camper. The blonde unhappily stalked her way through the halls of Ouran Academy, barely managing to wave back to the rest of the student body as she hurried to her classroom.

_ Honestly! I run late  _ one day  _ and now my friends abandon me. Nice. Really nice of them. _ Pouting, the blonde came to a stop just inside the doorway for class 2-A, preparing herself to thoroughly chew her two "friends" out for not waiting at the front doors for her, when she abruptly stopped. All of her anger and annoyance vanished at the sight before her. Jun had once again dragged his chair over to Kyou's desk, sitting backwards on it with his arms resting on the back. The boy was smiling gently as Kyou continued to talk, probably about the book currently in her hands. And, if Tamiko wasn't mistaken, the book actually belonged to Jun. He must've loaned it to her.

Rolling her eyes, the blonde walked over to her seat, "Thanks for waiting."

"Morning, Tami-chan! I see you found all your makeup this morning."

She stuck her tongue out at the boy, but allowed the teasing to go unchallenged. It was something she and the other hostess had quickly grown used to being friends with the Fujioka boys: casually gentle 'roasting'.

No, she was too busy staring her best friend down to fire back at the boy, but Kyou was resolutely staring at the book in hand. Tamiko rolled her eyes again. It would appear that her friend was having second thoughts about their plan. But honestly, what else could she do at this point?

*Flashback*

"Stop stalling."

"I'm not stalling anything."

Tamiko raised an eyebrow, "Then how come you're still single?"

At the question, Kyou's cheeks turned a soft pink, the girl peeking over her best friend's shoulder. Jun hadn't moved from his spot since the last time she checked. The brunet was leaning against a pillar, chatting easily with a guest who was waiting for his turn to sit with Haruhi.

Kyou watched as Jun nodded along to the other boy's words, his eyes suddenly performing a full sweep of the music room. As his brown eyes lingered on the twins' table, she felt her heart melt just a little more for the kind boy. He cared so much for their safety. Even though each of the hostess' had their own alert bell as well as their own screams should a guest overstep his boundaries, their 'security guard' still made it a priority to keep an eye out for any of them becoming uncomfortable. Gosh, she was head over heels for him, wasn't she?

Once Jun is satisfied with Hikaru and Kaoru's personal bubbles, he looked over to Kyou's table and raised an eyebrow at it's emptiness. She watched as he pushed himself away from the pillar, the other boy's conversation faltering as Jun began looking around the room more seriously.

The moment he spotted her and Tamiko standing a little ways off from the crowd his shoulder's physically deflated. Leaning back into his relaxed stance as well, he gave the ravenette a raised eyebrow, to which she shook her head. Kyou watched as his upper body bounced in what was unmistakably a chuckle before he gave her a wink and turned back to face the boy standing beside him.

A few involuntary giggles escaped before Kyou turned back to her friend, who was staring at her incredulously. Her smile vanished, being quickly replaced by a much darker blush than before.

"And you  _ seriously _ think he doesn't like you back?"

"Tamiko-"

"No. No, I'm done beating around the bush,  _ for _ you or otherwise! How long are you going to wait? The boy doesn't  _ have _ to make the first move, you know!"

Kyou opens her mouth in an attempt to wave her friend away from whatever crazy idea she was getting now, but gave up before a single word passed her lips. Tamiko's mouth was set in a straight line. That look could only mean one thing...

*End Flashback*

*After School*

Reaching into the front pockets of their respective suitcases, the Fujioka's gave the rest of the club surprised looks at what they found.

"Our swimsuits…"

"Are we going to the beach again?"

Sure enough, through the limos windows a familiar villa suddenly appeared through the surrounding treeline, along with a long expanse of sand. Little waves gently lapped at the shore, the sunlight bouncing off the water in brilliant sparkles.

The limousine pulled to a stop on the crescent drive and the door instantly burst open, most of the teenagers hurrying inside to change. Just as they did last time they used Kyou's family villa, the whole club was spending the night, in order to maximize their time on the beach. Except this time it was just them the  _ whole _ day. No guests. Hopefully no uninvited visitors. Just the club spending time with each other.

Kyou went to follow the others when a hand grabbed at her wrist. Tamiko narrowed her eyes at her friend, "You'll do what we agreed, right? The whole reason we came-"

"Tamiko, please. Can't we just enjoy a day at the beach without you trying to push Jun and I together?"

"Perhaps you should listen to your friend, Madam. That boy would be good for you." Kyou turned to stare open-mouthed at her driver, who was wisely looking off into the distance. The ravenet didn't dare face her friend again, pulling out of the blonde's grip before hurrying inside with her suitcase trailing behind her.

She could hardly breath until she reached her personal bedroom. Letting out a deep sigh, she leaned backwards against the doors. There was no doubt in her mind that the entire Hostess Club would be pushing at her and Jun to admit  _ something _ to each other the whole day. Possibly even into the night. And now even people  _ outside _ of the club were 'shipping' them?

She groaned. What had her life become? 

A soft knock coming from right behind her head had Kyou jumping about a foot into the air, spinning around to stare at the white wood, "Yes?"

"Kyou-chan?"  _ Oh, great. _ "Haruhi wants to head down to the beach. Do you want me to wait for you or…"

The girl's heart melted all over again, and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to respond, "No. You go ahead, Jun. I'll meet you down there in a bit."

"Okay, Glasses. I'll set up a chair for you."

"Thank you."

She didn't breathe again until she could no longer hear Jun's footsteps down the hallway. Oh, right. Jun's bedroom was right next to hers. Great.

Deciding there was no use in procrastinating the inevitable, the ravenette quickly lifted her suitcase onto her bed. She'd move it to the floor later on tonight when they came back up for dinner, but for now this was much easier for finding… her…

Eyes narrowing, the girl readjusted her glasses before digging further into the suitcase. She could've sworn… Hadn't she placed her swimsuit right at the top? The suitcase hadn't been shifted around  _ that _ much during the trip… right?

Before she started unpacking her whole wardrobe for the trip onto her bed, another knock came from the door. Immediately, Kyou understood what was going on. Biting back her rising annoyance, she walked over to the doors and pulled them open just a crack. Lo and behold…

"Having some trouble?"

Kyou scowled, "What did you do?"

Hikaru gasped, pressing a hand to her chest, just slightly above her bikini top, "After all this time…"

"...everything we've been through…" Kaoru continued, looking just as offended.

"...you still don't  _ trust us? _ "

Kyou didn't respond.

"Okay, that's fair." The redhead's signature smirks were back in place as they held up a bag for her to take, "Boss Lady said you  _ might _ experience some difficulty finding your swimsuit when we got here, so we took the liberty of picking the perfect one from our father's latest summer collection for you to wear!"

"It's not just a bunch of strings knotted together, is it?"

"Hey, take it easy on the imagination, there."

"We want you to seduce Jun-senpai, not kill him."

The ravenette glared that them for another three seconds before snatching the bag from their hands, "Thank you." And she slammed the door shut.

" _ Hey, we're just trying to help you! _ " Kaoru called through the wood.

" _ Yeah! With catching a man! _ "

The twins cackled all the way down the hallway, leaving the ravenette alone with her thoughts once again. Once her annoyance at her friend's meddling faded away, she gave the bag in her hands a nervous once over. She tried not to feel offended, but what had been wrong with her old swimsuit? Jun had said it looked nice… she'd been hoping for another compliment from him this time around, too.

Deciding to bite the bullet, she pulled the swimsuit out. Her jaw dropped.  _ Oh… oh no... _

* * *

The brunet hummed to himself as he stared up at the villa. Kyou was taking a little longer than he had expected her to. Everyone else was already out and having a good time. The twins were splashing around in the shallows, Haruhi was sitting on a large rock poking at the various sea creatures resting along the edge of the water, and Honey and Mori were building a sand castle with Tamiko's help.

Jun sighed, trying not to worry so much for the ravenette. If he wasn't careful, he might come off as stalker-like, obsessing over Kyou like that. Leaning back in his seat a little more, he sketched a few more lines of Mitsuru's smiling face. Humming a little, he quickly added a flower-decorated speech bubble on the upper right-hand side of the drawing, throwing the name "Takaka" into it. The 3rd year's guests were oddly enamored with the blonde's adoration of her cousin.

"Are you honestly working on our day off? Seriously, you have the gall to say  _ I'm _ the workaholic?" Jun glanced over his shoulder, signature smirk in place for two seconds before his mouth fell open. The girl he was staring at blushed, trying and failing to act casual as she sat down beside the brunet, "Does it look bad?"

"I…no! No, not at all. You look…" Jun swallowed, his mouth having gone dry. He wasn't aware Kyou owned a black bikini… let alone one that looked so damn  _ good _ on her. It's not like Kyou being hot was a  _ secret _ or anything but…  _ dear lord _ . Not to mention she had let her hair down from her usual neat and tidy ponytail, so her long black hair was draped over her shoulders and back in a way he wasn't used to. He swallowed again, clearing his throat softly, "You look real nice, Kyou."

The girl gave him a soft smile, "Thanks. The twins gave me the bikini." She tugged at the single strap over her left shoulder, "I just wish they had  _ warned _ me before Tamiko stole  _ my _ swimsuit out of my bag."

At that, Jun leaned forward in his seat, "Are you not comfortable showing so much skin? I'm sure they'd give your stuff back if you asked-"

"No, no, I'm fine. I have a dark purple one that looks a bit like this." Willing up her courage, she reached over and squeezed the boy's tanned forearm, "But thanks for your concern. That's really sweet of you."

Jun smiled back and reached up to give her hand a squeeze of his own before letting her pull away. Readjusting his sketchbook against his right leg, Jun gave his sketch of Mitsuru one last once over before flipping to a fresh page. As he began sketching Kyou sitting on her chair, a hand over her eyes to watch the others playing, he couldn't help but send a silent thank you to Tamiko, Hikaru, and Kaoru.

Across the beach, Haruhi was watching his brother and the vice president interacting. Even from this distance, the two boys could easily read each other's body language. Jun looked over at his brother just in time for Haruhi to lean back on the rock a little, inclining his head in Jun's direction.

Jun responded by making a cutting motion across his neck. Haruhi raised his hands before turning back to bothering a cluster of starfish.  _ About time... _

*Time Skip*

Whistling the familiar tune of a Fall Out Boy song, Jun unhurriedly made his way down the steps from the villa, occasionally tossing the water bottle he was holding into the air before catching it again. His stomach growled lowly, protesting his return to the beach after catching a few whiffs of the dinner cooking from the kitchen, but he ignored it. One hour more and everyone would be called inside to change out of their swimsuits and sit down for a delicious dinner.

He smirked at all the jokes he had planned for later on in regards to the  _ last _ time they had all eaten together at the Ootori villa. Oooh… Haru was going to  _ hate _ him...

"Hello, there!"

"Yoo hoo!"

"Pretty boy, over here!"

Jun stopped mid-step, looking around in confusion and nervousness. Sure enough, a small group of girls in sundresses were waving at him, two of them occasionally hiding their faces in their hands or behind their third friend. Frowning, the brunet changed course and walked further up the beach. To his annoyance, the girls took that as some sort of permission and began walking down the sand to meet him halfway. The four came to a stop just a meter or two off the pathway, the girl's heels giving them more than a little trouble traversing the sand.

Without a thought, Jun held out a hand to stop them from going any further, giving the girls his best 'I'm-sorry-about-this' face, "This is a private beach, ladies. I'm afraid you have to leave." To his confusion, the girls just giggled harder.

"You look really strong."

"Do you work out?"

Blinking, he ignored their words and tried again, "This beach is owned by the Ootori Group. You're not allowed here, and I really need you to leave before someone calls security. I don't want to-"

"Oh, come on~" The girl in the middle batted her eyelashes, "You're not seriously gonna make us  _ leave _ . We just got here… you haven't even told us your name." The other two nodded hastily, eyeing Jun's bare chest with little to no shame.

Jun raised an eyebrow and dropped his arm, fighting against the urge to cross his arms over his chest. He didn't want to call security… in fact, he wasn't sure if he had the authority to call security at all. Sure, most of the Black Onion squad that served the Ootori's knew of his honorary Haninozuka status and respected him as a fighter, just as much as they respected Mitsuru or Takaka, but to actually give them an order? It was quite possible that power lay solely with-

"Something wrong, Jun-kun?" Kyou suddenly appeared at his side, slipping her hand into his like it was second nature. In front of them, the girls left out soft gasps that sounded vaguely offended.

Smiling at the cunning nature of his beautiful crush, Jun gave her a beaming smile, "Not at all, Kyou-chan. I was just explaining to these nice girls that they had to leave your family's private beach." With ease, he flipped the water bottle so he was holding onto the upper half before offering it to the ravenet, "Your water, Dear."

"Thank you, Darling."

He marveled at her ability to make even grabbing a water bottle look graceful before turning back to the local girls, "Yeah, there's no problem here, right?"

But they were already gone, huffing and complaining as they hiked back up the sand in their three-inch heels. And there was no mistaking the venom in their eyes when they looked at Kyou over their shoulders. Jun felt the need to laugh when she merely waved and smiled back at them.

When the locals finally disappeared from view the two 2nd years headed back down to their chairs, letting their connected hands swing a little as they did so. With a short laugh, Jun bumped the girl's shoulder with his own, "I think those girls were a little into me."

" _ No… _ really? I never would've been able to tell."

At that he laughed louder, the sound echoing a bit between the villa and the sand dunes across the way, "Maybe when Haru's secret gets out we'll start a  _ host _ club. Where handsome young men with too much time on their hands cater to the beautiful, lonely ladies of Ouran Academy?"

Kyou let out a breath of air that might've almost been a laugh, "You sound just as bad as Tamiko when she convinced me to start  _ this _ club. Besides, where would  _ we _ be without our security?" She leaned her head on the boy's shoulder, at first as a way to add a hint of teasing to the true statement, but instead of pulling away, they stayed like that all the way back to their chairs.

Jun certainly didn't seem to mind… and the other hostess were too busy with their sandcastle city to really pay attention anyways. Kyou smiled to herself at the thought, looking away with a blush as the two sat down.

Their fingers were still loosely twisted together between their seats.

* * *

_ Well if you wanted honesty, that's all you had to say~ _

_ I never want to let you down or have you go _

_ It's better off this way! _

_ For all the dirty looks _

_ The photographs your boyfriend took _

_ Remember when you broke your foot from jumping out the second floor? _

Jun bounced his foot along to the melody, humming louder as he hit the chorus. Normally he'd be moving a lot more, perhaps even singing aloud to the song stuck in his head. But Kyou was leaning her head against his shoulder, and she looked so comfortable, he couldn't risk accidentally jostling her. Besides, as much as he loved MCR, the lyrics didn't seem very accurate right now. He felt…  _ very _ okay.

The sand felt soft between his toes as he stretched his legs out, trying to catch the as much warmth from the setting sun as he could. His stomach was comfortably filled with the delicious dinner they had just finished, with the hinted promise of a sweet dessert whenever they decided to call it a day and retire to the villa for good.

And Kyou's hand was still warmly clasped in his, their fingers interlocked like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Giving the girl a hidden smile, he carefully let his head fall to the side to rest on top of hers. If he really concentrated, Jun could still faintly smell her mint shampoo, making his smile only grow.

At his side, Kyou let out a deep breath before reaching up with her free hand, wrapping it around the brunet's arm in an effort to hold him closer. Jun didn't even flinch at the touch, slowly stroking her thumb with his own. She swore her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

They've been holding hands for almost three hour straight now, Jun casually taking her hand beneath the dinner table and again after they washed up and headed back outside to watch the sun set. She could faintly hear the others talking some ways behind them. They were too far away to make out what they were saying, but Kyou would've bet her whole bank account that they were discussing ways to interfere with her and Jun, in an attempt to push them that one step further…

"Kyou-chan?"

"Mmm?" She shifted a little against his shoulder, causing him to lift his head away from hers. Glancing up, Kyou's stomach performed a backflipping routine. Jun wasn't looking at her, keeping his eyes on the red and orange waves dappling the ocean before them. Swallowing, she tried to focus on something other than the way the golden light was casting mysterious shadows across his face.

Jun took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, "Could I try something?"

"Depends… will I enjoy it?"

He chuckles, finally returning Kyou's stare, "I sure hope so."

"Then go for it."

With only the barest hint of hesitation, the brunet leaned down. Kyou's eyelids fluttered shut as the boy's lips pecked her left cheek. He had pulled back completely by the time her eyes opened again. Brown eyes were glued to her face, attempting to gauge her reaction to his "something". Kyou's cheek still burned where his lips had been only a few seconds ago. Almost as if he had given her a brand rather than a kiss.

"Kyou?"

She abruptly pressed forward, untangling their fingers to throw her arms around his shoulders. Jun make a surprised noise in the back of his throat, throwing his right hand backwards to stop them from tumbling into the sand, his left coming up around Kyou's waist. Smiling against her lips, he carefully pushed himself back into a sitting position, his free hand holding her close. Though her grip on the back of his shirt was doing a decent enough job of that as it was.

Wolf whistles echoed their way up and down the beach, voices that unmistakably belonged to Hikaru and Kaoru screaming in celebration. Kyou pulled away from the kiss, an unsolicited giggle escaping when Jun leaned forward a little with her. The boy was grinning from ear to ear, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

" _ Go get 'em, Kyou-chan! _ "

" _ Heck yeah! _ "

" _ That's what we're  _ talking  _ about! _ "

" _ Are you really gonna let her one-up you, Niichan? _ "

Jun seemed perfectly content just staring at the girl on his lap, but at Haruhi's comment he rolled his eyes before recapturing the ravenette's lips. Kyou couldn't help the little gasp she made, finding herself practically melting into the kiss. The cheers and laughter from the others grew louder, even as the two parted once again.

"Kyou? Will you be my girlfriend?"

She couldn't remember a time she had smiled more.

"Yes."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ThIs IsN't ThE sToRy I'm SuPpOsEd To Be WoRkInG oN! Oh well. I liked writing it. And there's another one I just came up with that I could probably write quickly as well… start powering through the 30+ ideas I have in my GoogleDocs, right? Geez, this is getting pretty intense…  
> Anyways, for anyone confused by the names, I tried to keep them as close to the original names as I could. So the ones that were unisex were kept as is, meaning Hikaru, Kaoru, and Haruhi.
> 
> Requests are closed for the moment. Thank you for your consideration!


	62. Through the Window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neighbors!AU
> 
> Disclaimer: Um… if I change the characters from the very beginning… does that make them mine? No? Fair enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM

 

Kyoya had waited until he could hear his father's heavy snores before daring to move. As quiet as possible the seven-year-old rolled over in his bed, from his back to his stomach. Reaching beneath his pillow, he pulled out a book and a flashlight. Casting another nervous glance to his door, he flicked the light on.

Immediately he opened the book and began to read, a smile spreading across his face. Hours passed without sound or incident as Kyoya read late into the night. Even when his eyelids started to droop from how tired the boy was, he persisted. He couldn't stop now! He was just getting to the good part! Yet a small voice inside his head told him he should sleep. He'd already fallen asleep in class a few times already, and if he continued his mother would get suspicious... But neither did he care very much. His lessons were boring anyways.

Even so, eventually, he started to get too tired to continue. Yawning widely, he reached the end of the chapter. His eyes trailed over the tempting title of the next page even as his eyelids fluttered in exhaustion.

_ Maybe… just one more… _

Something creaked.

A soft yelp escaped the little boy as he abruptly shoved his book and flashlight underneath his pillow, eyes instantly wide open and glued to his bedroom door. But the empty space along the bottom remained dark.

For a moment, Kyoya wondered if he had imagined the noise. His overactive imagination getting the best of him late at night in a dark house... Sighing, he clicked the flashlight off and went to put both it and the book on his nightstand-

A shadow darted across his window curtains.

Gasping, Kyoya pulled his arms close to his body, staring at the dark shape in fear. It waved from side to side for a brief moment before sinking down, vanishing soon after.

His curiosity getting the better of him, Kyoya slowly slipped his way out of bed, leaving his book and flashlight behind. He shivered as his bare feet came into contact with the cold wood floor, quickly padding to the window on his tiptoes while his hand dragged along the nightstand. He didn't want to bump into it and wake up his parents or brothers or sister. They'd come up and tell him to go to bed, and then how'd he find out what made that shadow?

Finally making his way to the window, he carefully pushed the curtains out of the way and pressed a finger to the shades. Slowly, he pulled down and peeked through.

It's not as dark outside as he thought it would be. It must be close to midnight by now, but he could easily see what was going on outside, a combination of moonlight and the streetlamp that was between his house and the one next door, which Kyoya's bedroom was pointed at.

Which made it really easy to see the little brown-haired girl sitting on the roof next door.

Kyoya's curiosity increased 10-fold. The house next door had once belonged to a family of three until the son graduated from college and his parents moved out to find a smaller house. The new family had moved into the two story only a few days ago. Kyoya knew his mother had gone over with a plate of cookies just this morning, but he had yet to meet the father and his two little girls. He hadn't realized that one of the girls would be around his age.

Willing up his courage, he pulls up his shades to reveal the actual window. Carefully flicking the window locks, he pushed the glass panel up. The movement and sound catches the girl's attention, making her gasp and scoot backwards towards an open window on her own house. Probably her bedroom.

For a moment, the two kids just stared at each other.

"What are you doing out here?"

The girl shuffles her feet, pulling her knees closer, "Looking for Mama."

"Your Mama?" Kyoya tilted his head. "Why would she be outside?"

"She isn't." Now he was really confused. This girl wasn't making any sense!

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm lookin' for Heaven."

Oh.

Kyoya felt awkward now. He knew all about Heaven. His mom had explained it to him when his pap-pap had… The boy clenched his hands on the window ledge. He wasn't sure if he should just close the window and go back to bed or continue talking to the girl. He was really tired-

"Um... would you like to look with me?"

Kyoya barely repressed a flinch. Normally when the girls at school asked Kyoya to do stuff with them, it was because they liked him. That's what his big brothers teased him about, at least. But Kyoya thought they were just being mean. And then there was that one girl who had tried to kiss him, chasing him around the playground until he managed to climb up a tree, all because they had paired up in gym class.

But… for some reason he didn't think that's what  _ this _ girl wanted. She looked so small sitting outside. And it was cold out. Kyoya could already feel the breeze just from having his window open. All the girl had was a small pink princess blanket.

If he was sitting outside in the cold looking for Heaven… he'd want some company. Any company.

With a shaky breath, he nodded. Planting his hands on the window sill, he tried to pull himself up and out, but fell back. The ledge was too high up. Pouting, he looked around the room. After staring into the brightness of outside it took a moment to spot what he was looking for, eyes not yet readjusted to the dark.

Less than a minute later, he managed to bring his table chair across the bedroom and set it down beneath the window without having made any noise. Swallowing, he carefully clambered his way up until he was sitting on the sill. His knees were shaky as he set one foot onto the roof tiles. It felt rougher than he had anticipated.

Looking up, he saw the girl staring at him impassively, "I-is this safe?"

"Uh huh. Just be careful."

And careful he was. Keeping both hands and feet firmly planted on the tiles, Kyoya slowly inched his butt closer to the edge of his roof. He couldn't help but note his house's roof was slanted a little more, pushing the edge to dangle a little over the other's. There was no gap for him to jump over, which was a relief.

Before Kyoya knew it, they were sitting side by side, staring up at the sky. The moon was big and full, giving everything a silvery shine. It's a lot colder outside than he had anticipated, and Kyoya was now wishing he'd grabbed a blanket from his own bed before coming out. But he didn't say that outloud.

"What do you think Heaven looks like?"

"Um… white. And bright. And real pretty."

Kyoya pouted, "All I see are stars and the moon."

"Well, if it was so easy I wouldn't need help lookin'!"

He crossed his arms. This girl was so bossy! He wanted to go back to bed already, and he hadn't even been outside for five minutes!

But he stayed anyways, giving the sky another glance, "Maybe… the whole sky is Heaven?" The girl shifts and Kyoya has a feeling she was now staring at him. But when she stays quiet, he continues his thought, "And maybe… the stars are the people? They're bright… and pretty."

"There aren't enough stars."

"Well… what if they get further away the older they are? Then they could get too far to see."

The girl was back to staring upwards, her red-framed glasses glinting in the moonlight, before nodding slowly, "I guess… that would make finding Mama easier. Where do you think she is?"

Kyoya shrugs, pretending to not care that she approved of his idea, leaning closer to the girl and pointing up, "How about that really bright one?"

The girl nodded sharply, "Yes. that's her." She gives Kyoya a shy glance and the first smile he'd seen from her, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. But I gotta go to bed now. I've got school." He began scooting back to his house, carefully crawling up to his window. His hands were freezing and the thought of his warm bed seemed very tempting. He didn't even think about how scary it was to be 10 feet off the ground… he had actually forgotten he was so high up as soon as he started talking to the girl. Weird.

Just before he could climb inside, a voice called out, "Um… what's your name?"

"Kyoya Ootori. You?"

"Jin Fujioka. Kyoya-kun… would you come back tomorrow night? I might need some help finding Mama again."

For a moment, Kyoya considered refusing. Jin could find the stupid star herself, he was cold and tired!

But then another breeze passed between the two houses and the brunette shivered, shoving her hands between her legs. She was cold too… and probably tired. If she was his age, she'd have school tomorrow, too.

Yet she didn't look like she was going inside anytime soon.

"Okay."

*Three Years Later*

"Hey, Ootori-san! Are you interested in joining-"

"Kyoya-senpai! Want to work on math tonight-"

"Wait a minute, Ootori-"

The ravenet ignored everyone as he ran out of Ouran Academy, his school bag bouncing at his hip. A smile was spread across his face as he ran past all the other kids climbing into their family cars. Quickly outstripping the rest of the student body making their way to the train station, he narrowly avoided knocking people down. Only outstripped by bikes and passing cars on the street, Kyoya made it back to his neighborhood in record time, still smiling.

Bursting through the front door, Kyoya kicked his shoes off like they had personally wronged him.

"Kyoya? Are you hom-"

"Hi, Mom!" He was already halfway up the stairs.

Dumping his school bag onto his bed, Kyoya hastily dumped his schoolbooks out before shoving other things into the bag. After his homework, the newest book he'd gotten from the library, and a few snack boxes were safely stored inside, he went to the window and threw it open.

The ten-year-old had already stuck one leg out when common sense caught up with him. Softly cursing himself for almost forgetting, the ravenet stretched to his left and grabbed the black market waiting on his nightstand. Uncapping it, he marked an 'X' next to the words 'In Jin's Room' on the whiteboard that had been hung next to the window.

Satisfied, he capped the marker and threw it in the general direction of his bed before continuing his way out of the window with his bag at his side.

The day is sunny and warm, the roof tiles hot under Kyoya's house slippers. Thankfully after years of learning to balance on the slanted terrain the boy no longer needed to use his hands to climb to Jin's window. It was already open for him, meaning Jin had gotten back home before him…  _ again.  _ Deciding to try something new, Kyoya climbed into the Fujioka's house head-first.

And almost face-planted on Jin's bedroom floor.

The brunette giggled from her spot on her bed, smiling at her friend as he stood up, "Hi, Kyo-kun!"

"Hi!"

Like clockwork, Kyoya sat down at the desk at the end of Jin's elevated bed, setting his bag by his feet so he could take his school jacket off. The brunette quickly shoved her own homework to the side and crawled her way to the end of the bed, flopping onto her stomach to open his bag.

"Aha!" With a cheer, she snagged a box of chocolate pocky and sits back up, gleefully popping open the box to start munching. Kyoya didn't mind the thievery, as he'd brought the treat over specifically for Jin. He wasn't fond of chocolate, and Jin was well aware of that, so permission wasn't all that necessary.

He pulled his homework out, beginning to spread it out across the desk, "Is Haruhi home?"

"No." The girl shook her head, the end of her first pocky stick poking out of her lips like a toothpick, "Arai's."

He paused in his unpacking, "Are we going?"

"Again, no. Beni-kun did bad on a science test, so he's grounded from visitors until the next one, and he can't come over until all his homework is done today, but I think he's staying home for dinner."

Kyoya nodded in understanding, even if he was a little upset. He kinda liked hanging out with the blond boy, especially their sarcasm-fests… as Jin had so helpfully dubbed them. If Kyoya attempted the same thing at home, he'd be told off for being mean, even if he wasn't trying to be.

Besides, he owed a lot to the older boy for looking after Jin while they went to different schools. Sometimes Kyoya wished he  _ did _ go to public school, just so he could go around and kick all the people who were mean to Jin. Even if she told him that was unrealistic, because his foot would get tired.

Of course, that only made him want to do it more.

"Kyoya?"

At the distant voice, Kyoya turned his head towards the open window and shouted back, "Yes, Mom?"

"I do hope you aren't just playing over there!"

" _ Moooom!  _ You know I'm the smartest person in my class! And I have all my homework!"

"Don't think I don't know about those snacks you took as well, Kyoya Ootori! You'd better not spoil your dinner!"

Jin giggled and called out, "We're having tempura, Ootori-san! He'll eat it!"

The sound of Kyoya's mother laughing from the other house carried through the window, making the boy glare at his friend, "Alright, Jin-chan! I'm trusting you to make sure of it, Dear!"

"I will, Ootori-san!"

Kyoya took one look at the evil smile on his friend's face before making a break for the window. He made it halfway before the girl jumped onto his back, legs wrapped around his waist. "Ack! Mother, help!"

Across the way, his mother smiled fondly at the two before moving away from Kyoya's bedroom window, probably heading back downstairs. Kyoya let out a dramatic sob, falling to his knees.

Jin grinned, "Told you she likes me more." And with that, Kyoya fell backwards, trying to squish her beneath him.

There was a knock at Jin's door before the girl's father poked his head in, "Is that Kyoya I hear?" He watches as the two pre-teens squirmed on the floor, Jin attached to Kyoya's back like a koala with a bright smile while the boy tried to escape.

"Kyo-kun has to eat all of his dinner tonight. Ootori-san said so!"

Ranka shook his head, a warm smile on his face, "Very well. You should let him up, though. You both have homework to finish." He eyed the bed and raised an artfully done brow at the snack box, "On a related note, you have to finish your dinner tonight, too, young lady. Don't eat too much."

"Okay, Dad."

With a satisfied nod, the man backed out of the room, shutting the door like his daughter preferred when studying. As soon as her father was gone, Jin gracefully rolled away from her friend and onto her feet, a move she had loved ever since she'd learned it at the Dojo. With a grin, she offered a hand to the boy on the ground.

Kyoya remained still.

"Kyo-kun, get up."

"Can't, I'm dead. You killed me."

"Mmm… no, you're not. Come on, or I'll draw hearts on your homework again." She took one step towards the desk before the boy jerked into motion, grabbing the girl's hand and letting her pull him up. They stuck their tongues out at each other before returning to their original spots.

Quickly placing his science homework in front of him, Kyoya began comparing his notes to the first homework question. On the bed beside him, Jin crossed her ankles and pulled her math homework onto her lap. Plucking a pocky stick out of it's box, she began to nibble at one end when something occurred to her.

Eying the box, she tilted her head, "Kyo-kun? Have you ever heard of the Pocky Game?"

The boy paused, blushing a little, "Yes. Why?"

"What is it?" The girl was now examining the box in confusion, "Some of the kids were giggling about it in class, but I've never heard of it before. And it's not like I could ask them about it…"

"Um… it's a kissing game."

Her eyebrows creased, "A… kissing game?

"Two people put the opposite pieces of a pocky stick in their mouths, then eat towards the middle until someone either backs off or they kiss."

Jin stuck her tongue out again, "Ew! Who wants to kiss with a mouth full of food?"

Kyoya nodded again, feeling a little relieved that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand the appeal of the game, "No idea. But they were probably giggling about getting their First Kiss." At that, he watched Jin nod slowly. Clearly she knew that phrase well enough.

"Eh… I still don't see what's so fun about it." She took a bite, "I'd rather eat the entire pocky."

Kyoya hummed, tapping the end of his pen against his pink cheek. He attempted to refocus on his homework, but… something was bothering him. Figuring it would be best if he simply asked his question directly, the boy leaned back in his chair, "Jin-chan? I was wondering… have you had your First Kiss yet?"

"No." The girl scribbled an answer down, not sounding very embarrassed about the sudden conversation change, "I don't like anyone, and no one at school likes me, so why would I kiss anyone?"

"Not even Beni-senpai? Or Mori-senpai? Or Honey-senpai?"

The girl blushed, "No. Honey-kun and Mori-kun are like my big brothers. And Beni-kun… I used to want to, but he said he's… not into kissing  _ girls. _ "

Kyoya blinked. He hadn't expected… no, wait. He kinda  _ had _ been expecting that. His stomach suddenly made a weird flipping motion. Internally he told himself that even  _ if _ Beni started to like him, he could let the boy down easily and they could still be friends… but that didn't quiet the flipping like he'd hopped.

"What about you?"

"What?"

"Have you kissed anyone?" Jin's pencil had stilled.

Kyoya shook his head, "I was almost forced to, though. Some girls cornered me against the lockers, but I managed to turn them down." He didn't feel the need the mention that by 'turn them down' he meant 'hide in the boy's bathroom until someone came in and told him the girls had disappeared'.

"Hmm." Jin polished off another pocky and glanced into the box. There was only one left. Giggling, she pulled it out and waved it teasingly at the boy, "Care to play?" Kyoya blushed and she laughed louder. Kyo-kun looked so cute when he was embarrassed.

She just barely touched the chocolate to her lips when her bed shifted, Kyoya now sitting by her legs.

"I don't want the chocolate part."

She was shocked, but shook herself out of it quickly enough, narrowing her eyes, "You're going down, Ootori."

"Bring it, Fujioka."

The two snickered at their false bravado, before taking the separate ends into their mouths. Immediately Jin noticed how close Kyoya's face was, her face heating up. Have pocky's always been this short? Instead of thinking on that, she focused on the boy's nose and held up three fingers.

3…

2…

1…

She began munching, trying not to get crumbs on her bedspread and keep the treat in her mouth at the same time, not worried with speed at first. Jin figured she'd win, because Kyoya would stop before he got to the chocolate part.

Until she realized that Kyoya had already eaten past the chocolate line and they were now bumping noses, a few centimeters of cookie left between their lips.

Jin's eyes went wide in surprise before darting off to the side. She refused to meet Kyoya's eyes as best as she could, but it was kinda hard when they were literally right in front of her.

Between clenched teeth, Kyoya mumbled, "Gi'e uh?"

"Ne'er." She pulled at the treat, secretly hoping it would break in half or Kyoya would be startled into biting, but she only managed to pull the boy with her. Kyoya made a noise that might've been a growl before returning the favor, and Jin most definitely did  _ not _ squeak.

The tug of war continued for a full minute until the brunette heard the crinkling of her homework papers beneath them. The game had to end quickly before they ruined her notes or her dad came back up.

Screwing up her courage, Jin took one last bite of the cookie, her lips just barely brushing against Kyoya's before pulling away, quickly swallowing the treat.

Kyoya was frozen in front of her, the tip of the broken cookie still poking out from between his lips as he stared. Jin rolled her eyes, "I don't think that counted, Kyo-kun, stop looking so freaked out." Still, she couldn't help but giggle. He looked so dumb with his dumb red face and his dumb wide eyes as he chewed the food in his mouth dumbly.

Her fingers slowly curled on the bedspread, an evil idea came to mind. Letting her giggles die down until she was smirking, Jin began to lean towards Kyoya again. If possible, the boy managed to flush further, leaning away from her as she advanced. His hands scrambled on the bedspread, searching for a handhold as he started slipping off the bed.  _ Her  _ bed.

" _ J-jin… _ "

The brunette gave her best friend the sweetest smile she could manage… then stretched her arm to start drawing a little heart in the corner of Kyoya's science homework where it waited on the desk behind him.

"Hey!" He abruptly shoved Jin back, the girl laughing as she bounced on her back.

And like that, the tension was broken.

*Two years later*

Yoshio Ootori winced when he first saw the damage. When the thunderstorm had hit last night, he hadn't thought much of it except to occasionally text his neighbor asking if his daughter was doing alright with the loud noises.

Of course… that was before they heard a booming  _ crunch _ as a tree in their backyard fell over.

Now, at seven in the morning, the man was running his fingers through his hair as he surveyed the damage. It wasn't… terrible, but that was only in expenses. The tree had fallen in between his and Ranka's house and it had taken down the roof extensions that connected their children's rooms to each others.

Kyoya and Jin had crossed those sections of roof an infinite amount of times. Whichever room one of them was in, you were sure to find the other. Yoshio remembered the first year the children had started the trend, how his heart would stop momentarily when he would go into Kyoya's room only to find his youngest son had  _ vanished… _ next door. And the number of times Ranka had called him in a panic asking to check Kyoya's room for Jin-

At the sound of a stricken wail, the man's head jerked upwards. Oh no…

Jin Fujioka's head was poking out of her window, her brown eyes staring at the carnage in disbelief and heartbreak. Yoshio's heart lurched. The young girl was basically a second daughter to him. Seeing her so anguished was indescribable.

"KYO-KUN!"

Yoshio gritted his teeth, trying to prepare himself for what was to come.

Sure enough, as soon as Kyoya opened his window at the sound of Jin's voice, the smile on his face vanished. His eyes went wide, mouth falling open. The two children looked at each other between the houses, and Yoshio would've assumed his heart had stopped completely if it didn't hurt so much.

With another cry, Jin disappeared, calling for her father to help. And Kyoya, once his attention was no longer on Jin, spotted his own father watching him from the ground. He also disappeared from his window.

Two minutes later and Yoshio's youngest was by his side, tugging on his jacket sleeve like he hadn't done in years, "Father… y-you can fix this, right? So it's just like it was before? Right?"

He fought against the desire to smile. Oh, to be a child again and only worry about getting to your friend easier than going down a flight of stairs. Of course Yoshio would have to fix it. Not only was the damage unsightly and the fault of his own property, but there was no way he could let his son lose the intimacy of his friendship with the girl next door.

"Hmm…" Yoshio put a hand to his chin. It was a family joke that when the children asked for something with an obvious answer, he would pretend to consider the alternative. Of course, the moment he realized Kyoya's eyes were filling with tears he dropped the act, alarm slashing across his face, "Woah, woah, Kyoya, relax. Of course I'll get it fixed. I'll even pay extra to make sure it still overlaps the Fujioka's."

Kyoya sniffled, wiping at his eyes as he leaned into his father's embrace, sniffling, " _ That wasn't funny… _ "

"No, it was..n't. I'm sorry." Yoshio was staring at the young pre-teen. He hadn't realized until that moment just how important those connecting rooftops meant to his son.

"Kyo-kun!" Jin and her father had stepped outside. At the sound of his friend Yoshio's son released him in favor of hugging the girl, who was also crying. Ranka stood beside his neighbor and whistled lowly at the damage.

Nudging the other man, Yoshio met his eyes before nodding towards their children, "Since it was a tree on my property that did this, I'll pay to fix your roof as well. Kyoya has also informed me that the roofs must look exactly as they did beforehand. Would that be suitable?"

"Absolutely." Ranka looked to be on the verge of tears himself as his daughter cried, "Sooner rather than later would be a big help."

"Count on it, my friend."

*Three years later*

Jin let out a breath as the December air bit at her cheeks. Pushing the window open, she hastily climbed inside, landing on the mat Kyoya's mother had placed there the night before their first snowfall. Abruptly shutting the window behind her, Jin shivered a little and looked around the bedroom.

There was no sign of Kyoya, but that wasn't exactly a surprise. He was probably in the bathroom or somewhere else in the house. They hadn't locked their bedroom windows in years, only if one of them was going on vacation. They never knew when their friend would need to get in if it was raining, or snowing, or if it was late at night and one of them had a nightmare.

As soon as Jin finished pulling off her coat, hat, gloves, boots, and one of Kyoya's scarves, she casually flopped on Kyoya's bed, ruining the perfectly made blankets beneath her. She wasn't sure why her friend had refused to rearrange his room for as long as she knew him, but couldn't complain. While she enjoyed readjusting her own furniture as it was swapped out for larger or more manageable versions, Kyoya's room remained a consistency all it's own that Jin adored.

Rolling to her side briefly, Jin plugged her phone into the speaker waiting on Kyoya's nightstand, pressing play on her most recent choice. A Fall Out Boy song began as she moved onto her back again, stretching languidly. She loved how soft Kyoya's bed was. It was a great after-school napping spot or post-nightmare soother, especially with Kyoya curled up behind her and lightly gripping at the back of her shirt in his own way of making sure she was still there as he dreamed.

Something shifts to her left and she cracks open an eyelid. Nothing's amiss in the room, but Jin had recognized the sound immediately. One of clothes on clothes.

"Come on out, Kyo-kun. I know you're hiding in the closet."

There's a muffled curse before Kyoya opens his closet doors, stumbling out over the dirty clothes wrapped around his ankles, "How do you  _ do _ that?"

"Honey-kun and Mori-kun played hide and seek with me all the time when we were kids at the dojo. I got really good at listening for those tiny sounds."

"Isn't that how you learned how to travel around a house via its air ducts?"

"Your point?" Kyoya rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed, spinning around and falling backwards on the girl. "Oof!" She light smacked at his arm with one hand, her other pinned to her side, "Get off, you lump! You're too heavy!"

The boy ignored her, lazily plucking the phone off its stand and reading the screen, " _ The Phoenix _ , huh? I thought you were in more of a  _ Panic! _ mood recently?

"Eh," she shrugged, no longer pretending to be bothered by his weight, "It's emo."

"You're the least emo-ish emo person I've even known."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now…" Jin wiggled towards the wall, slipping out from underneath the boy and sitting up, "What's on the agenda for this fine Saturday?"

Kyoya placed his hands behind his head, crossing his ankles, "I was thinking a visit to the Downtown Café for some hot tea and your double-chocolate muffins before the movie starts at 2:15."

Jin grinned, nodding along to the plan, "Sounds great!" With a great shove from the girl, Kyoya tumbled to the floor to their mutual laughter. Jin daintily jumped over him, scooping up her various winter clothes from the floor, "Oh, by the way, I'm grounded because I broke a window with my new staff."

"Of course you did, and of course you are."

"I just wanted to make sure it was balanced!"

"And you did it inside because..?"

"It's cold out."

"And yet you managed to climb to my window just fine."

"Shut up, you sound like my dad."

Kyoya finally stood up, making a show of dusting his pants off, "Well, if you listened to one of us the  _ first  _ time, you wouldn't have to listen a second time."

The brunette stuck her tongue out before grabbing her phone from the nightstand and following her friend out of his room. She managed an awkward wave to where Fuyumi was sitting in her own bedroom around her armful of clothes before the two headed downstairs.

"Father?"

"In here, Kyoya."

The teenagers found Yoshio sitting at the dining room table, which coincidentally was right next to the front entrance. They pulled their winter clothes on as Kyoya relayed their plan to his father, holding up their wallets, train tickets, and cellphones as physical proof they were set to enjoy the day.

By the time they were both completely bundled up, Yoshio had finally finished his cup of tea and was now simply observing the two in amusement. "Jin? Didn't your father ground you after the… incident yesterday?"

"Aww…  _ come on! _ " Jin pouted at the older man, "First Dad, then Kyo-kun, and now you, too?" She pulled the door open, throwing her hands into the air in disbelief. Kyoya rolled his eyes and followed after her, calling out his goodbyes before shutting the door behind them.

Instead of turning to the right, in the direction of the train station, they made a left at the sidewalk. Jin slipped away from Kyoya in order to hide around the corner of her house, her brown eyes pinned to her friend as he knocked on the front door.

A few seconds later and the door opened.

" _ Jeez, it's cold out! _ Oh, hey, Kyo-kun."

"Hello, Haruhi."

"Hold on a second." Jin could picture in her mind's eye as her little sister gave her neighbor a brief smile before turning around and shouting, "Dad! Kyo-kun's here for Nēchan!"

A groan responds from further inside the house, "I  _ just _ grounded her!" With a huff, Ranka appeared at the door with a fluffy pink robe wrapped around his shoulders, "What were you planning?"

"Hot drinks and muffins, followed by a movie. It should be over by 4:30."

Ranka sighs, but nods, "As soon as that's done, you come straight back here. You have to do homework in her room tonight. I assume that means you're eating dinner here?"

"If you're offering."

"Don't play coy, Kyoya." Jin's father gives the ravenet a warm smile before turning towards the stairs, "Jin! Get down here! Kyoya's-"

"I heard you already, Dad! Bye!" Haruhi and Ranka turned back to the front door just in time to see Jin pulling Kyoya down the snow-covered sidewalk, the two friends hand in hand.

*Present Day*

Jin slammed her bedroom door shut, finally allowing the tears to spill over her lower lids. Her chest shook at the strength behind her sobs. She should've known… she should've prepared herself… she should've…

Hastily shoving her face into her pillow, she cried a little harder. It was always awful going back to school after a break, but this time it seemed almost worse. Her summer had been amazing as always. Her family, and Kyoya, had traveled up to Karuizawa to spend time with the Fujioka's pseudo-uncle before she and Kyoya spent the second half of summer with the Ootori's at their beach house.

But now she was back, and the bullying was getting worse and  _ now _ she learned that Mori-kun and Honey-kun had joined another after school activity and could only practice two times a  _ week _ with her! It didn't help that Beni was so involved with his new boyfriend and the upcoming musical, which gave him even less time to spend with Jin, and… and… she needed Kyo-kun!

Lip wobbling, she sits up in bed and starts walking towards the window. Earlier on that day she's gotten a text saying that Kyoya couldn't come over to her room today. But that wasn't exactly a problem. Their family schedules and what not changed constantly. Instead of meeting in Jin's room like they usually did on Mondays, she's just go over to Kyoya's. Perhaps it was that project he'd talked about over summer.

A smile is finally starting to return to her face as she pulls her curtains to the side. If anyone could make her feel better-

She stopped.

Kyoya was in his bedroom… with a girl.

Jin was frozen in place as the mystery girl looked around the room, not once leaving Kyoya's personal bubble. She smiled brightly at the boy, who was a good deal taller than her, as he lead her to a chair to sit on. Jin swallowed, her hands starting to shake as fury coursed through her body, tinting her vision red. Because Kyoya didn't even seem  _ bothered by the girl practically hanging off of him. _

With a sudden surge of rage, she yanks her curtains shut. One of the pegs ripped through the fabric.

* * *

Jin looked up from her laptop at the sound of something tapping on her window. Taking in a deep breath, she slowly set her computer to the side and walked over. Kyoya had already taken the liberty of pushing her window open, his signature smirk widening into a smile as she appeared in front of him.

"You're late."

"Lost track of time."

Kyoya chuckled and offered a hand, easily believing the lie. Jin hesitated for a split second before letting him help her outside. It was yet another one of their traditions. On nights when it was warm and the weather was good, they always met on Jin's roof to chat and stargaze, just taking time to unwind with each other. Jin had been looking forward to this until a few hours ago.

Now it felt like a bitter taste in her mouth.

Sitting side by side, Jin didn't know if she wanted Kyoya to notice the small gap between their bodies or not. Deciding to let it play out however it did, she didn't call attention to the space. For a moment, they just listened to the night sounds of their neighborhood. Crickets chirped in their backyards, the occasional car driving past as summer-break stragglers finally made their way home.

Kyoya leaned back on his elbows, letting out a breath as the moonlight shined on his face, "How was school?"

"No different than usual." She heard him sigh before letting his head rest against her side, a silent acknowledgement that he knew what that meant. Jin swallowed back the lump in her throat, abstaining from combing her fingers through his hair like she usually did.

Instead, she waits for four more seconds before shifting, dislodging the boy's head as she stands, "I'm really tired, actually. I should probably go to bed. Sorry, Kyo-kun."

Kyoya watches her as she goes, not stopping her. She shuts her window just as he wishes her good night.

* * *

The pattern continues for a week. School becomes one fresh horror after the other, and now her number one confident was too involved with...

Jin refuses to finish that thought. It was too painful. All because she had once thought… that maybe possibly… Again, she chases the idea off. It was no use thinking it over and feeling worse.

A breeze trickled by. Not shiver inducing, but enough to make Jin wrap herself tighter into her favorite sweatshirt. Or… she hesitated, plucking at the sleeve… was it Kyoya's? It was hard to tell, really. There were a number of sweaters, t-shirts, and various other clothing articles that they'd swapped or stolen over the years, so it was basically a co-ownership where no one knew who had it first.

Somehow, that managed to make her feel worse.

Across the way, Kyoya's window opened and the ravenet scampered out. There was a smile on his face as he approached her, looking rather pleased and relaxed as he collapsed onto his back beside her.

Jin tensed, not wanting to know what his body language meant.

"Hey, Jin."

"Hey."

Kyoya sat up, his grey eyes immediately fixated on her, "Is something wrong?"

"No."

"...I don't think you're telling the truth."

Jin winced at being called out so early in the night. For a moment she wonders if she should tell him about the teacher who had forced her to stay behind after class to clean her desk of all the 'FREAK' graffiti she most  _ certainly _ hadn't done herself. Or how she hadn't eaten lunch all week because her hiding spots had been found already. Or even the past three nights of nightmares that had landed her just outside of Kyoya's window, her fingers curled on the sill, but instead of going in and sharing her dreams only to be cuddled in a place where her dreams were only ever sweet… she had turned around to face her bad dreams herself.

But then a memory of the girl laughing at something Kyoya had said only three hours ago flashed behind Jin's eyes and she curled up a little, "Just a little chilly."

"Oh. Well, I can fix that." She did her best not to flinch away as Kyoya leaned against her, an arm coming around her shoulders.

Jin allowed herself three seconds to indulge in silence before asking, "How was school?"

"Just the project I was telling you about." She couldn't see his face, but knew Kyoya was rolling his eyes, "It's stupid, and my partner is absolutely useless. I can't wait until it's over with."

Jin nodded along, not really listening, "I hate it when that happens. Actually… I think I'm going to turn in early again. It's been a hell of a week."

"Really?" Another nod. Anything to make Kyoya stop staring at her like he was. "Oh, okay… anything you want to talk about?"

"No…"

Jin gave the boy a quick glance before starting to walk to her window, "Night, Kyo-"

"Wait! I almost forgot!" She gasped when she felt Kyoya grab her hand, but the boy was smiling up at her again, looking almost embarrassed, "So, apparently I talk about you too much, because… a  _ friend _ of mine wants to meet you tomorrow. Is that okay-"

"No!"

Jin jerked her hand away and jumped into her room, slamming the window down and… locked it. The lock squeaked in protest out of lack of use. The brunette got one last look of Kyoya scrambling up her rooftop, attempting to reach her window, before she lowered the blinds and pulled the curtains together.

Falling onto her bed, the tears started falling. She quickly grabbed her headphones and plugged in her phone, attempting to drown out Kyoya's knocking against the glass.

*Kyoya's P.O.V.*

My eyelashes flutter in exhaustion, but I shake my head.  _ No. No falling asleep just yet. _ Looking back down at my desk, I see that I've not only completed all of my homework already, but I've also powered through the last couples pages of a sudoku puzzle book and half of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

The clock says it's only 11:24. I probably won't go to sleep until perhaps 2 in the morning.

Sighing, I look to my left and out my bedroom window. I had moved my desk here for easy viewing of the roof while I did my homework and other forms of entertainment… just in case Jin ever came out of her room.

My stomach lurched horribly and I placed my head in my hands. I still don't know what I did to upset her so much, but all I want now was to apologize and hug her and be back on at least speaking terms.

We haven't spoken for a month. To think, there was a time where I once thought that was impossible. But it's not. I still knock at her window every night, hoping for a change, but it never happens. Her father and sister have unhappily turned me away from their door every day after school as well, apparently instructed to not let me into the house.

Of course, a week ago I got sick of waiting and simply marching into the Fujioka's dining room and sat down, refusing to leave until Jin came down from her room to speak with me. Ranka eventually carried me and the chair I was sitting in outside, where I then waited on the front lawn like the idiotic person I am.

I got a cold from sitting out there until midnight passed without even a jacket.

And then I did it again the next day.

The only thing that kept me trying was the fact that she didn't block my phone number. She never answered my texts or my phone calls and apparently became oddly deaf and mute whenever I came up in conversation, but she never blocked me.

I knew my actions were… outlandish. Some might even say borderline stalking, and I regretted how they looked, but it felt like someone had cut a part of who I was and was now dangling it just barely out of reach. Reaching out and  _ almost touching… _ and it was pulled away just before my fingers could close around it. Except the it was a her, and she didn't  _ belong _ to me… I just... miss... her...

My eyes opened slowly, and for a moment I don't know where I am. Groggily, I push myself upright, my back cracking in protest as I do so. A blanket slips off my shoulders and I rub at my face, which has indents running across the right side. Groaning, I stretch. I must've fallen asleep at my desk… and from the looks of it my mother must've come in and given me a blanket and shut my lights off.

A yawn escapes me.  _ I should go to bed. It's…  _ I check my watch...  _ 3:30 am? Geez, I have school tomorrow. _ With a great sigh, I go to stand up, casting one last glance outside my window-

I nearly plastered myself to the glass, staring in shock at Jin Fujioka sitting by herself outside. My heart stops beating.

Cautiously, in case she runs, I carefully slide my window open. As soon as the glass barrier is gone I hear it. Jin is crying, her face buried in her arms. She didn't hear my window opening. My heart breaks in two before I quietly climb outside, using my memorized non-creak points until I'm right next to her.

She doesn't realize I'm there until I'm hugging her.

Jin jerks when I touch her, but instead of running away like I half expected her to, she practically molds herself to my side, sobbing miserably against my chest. I pull her into my lap, just as I've done so many times before and press my cheek against her forehead.

" _ Hey… hey… what's wrong? _ "

" _ E...e-everything! _ "

Suddenly every bad thing that's happened to Jin over the past month is flooding out of her mouth. I listen with a broken heart as I learn about her cousin professing a hatred for her. Honey-senpai getting a cavity, which I remembered dealing with at school, and how he had kicked her across a room, narrowly avoiding breaking her arm. And her class going on a trip to the aquarium, where Jin had suffered a panic attack in the shark exhibit, and it was only a matter of time before her tormentors were shoving sharks in her face.

By the time Jin finished, she was shaking like a leaf, like all the fight had gone out of her. My fingers were gently combing through her hair as I let her get it out. My strong Jin…

" _ B-but I wasn't strong… _ "

She adjusts herself and for a moment I'm afraid that she's going to leave again, but she simply holds up her left arm and pulls the sleeve back.

I can no longer breathe.

Tears trickle down my cheeks as I shakily trace the little nick on her skin. It's small, hardly even a centimeter, but with the way Jin was acting… I knew what it could've very well have been. What it was supposed to have been.

" _ Oh… Jin, why… why didn't you talk to me before now? Why did you stop… oh, Jin, I'm so sorry. I should've tried harder… _ "

"No… oh, no, Kyoya it wasn't your fault, I was just being stupid. I… I just tried it… I was so hurt and I wanted it to go away, but it just hurt more. And I felt so guilty… no, no, don't cry, please!" She's trying to wipe my tears away with her ever gentle hands, but she's shaking. Or I am. Perhaps we both are.

I gather her close, practically cradling her in my arms. Her fingers are clenched in the fabric of my shirt. She's crying. So am I.

There's no telling how long we sat there in each other's arms, but it's still not enough to replace a month apart. Still, despite everything, I feel like I'm whole again when Jin nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck, taking deep breaths in and out. Not wanting to risk having her fall asleep before I get some answers, I tenderly pull away. Jin's hands scrabble at my back for a split second, afraid I was going to leave until I look her in the eyes.

" _ Jin… why did you cut me out? _ "

" _ I…" _ her eyes darted down, her fingers playing with my jacket's zipper, " _ I'm sorry. I figured you'd be too busy with your new girlfriend for me… like Beni and Gorou… _ "

"I-" The words won't come out at first. What was she talking about? "Girlfriend? What girlfriend?"

"That girl I saw in your room..." It's phrased almost like a question, Jin's brown eyes regarding me hesitantly. I suddenly remember who she was referring to. The first week back to school. When Jin ran off...

I almost laugh at the absurdity of it, "Jin… that was my partner for the project I was telling you about. We were paired up in class because our parents work together, so I had to be polite, even though I found her rather boring and useless for the actual work. The only thing she did all week was make weak passes at me."

"But… you wanted to introduce us?"

"I wanted to bring my new friend, Tamaki Suoh. He's an exchange student from France and is… an acquired taste. That's why I was a little hesitant to call him my friend back then." Kyoya paused, thinking his actions over from that evening, but this time in a new light, "I… suddenly understand how you might've assumed I was in a relationship-"

And Jin is laughing. She looks up at me with a bright smile before letting her head fall to my shoulder, "Oh, my gosh… I'm so sorry! Gosh, I'm an idiot!" Tears are running down her cheeks for a new, better reason.

I can't help but smile myself, pressing my face into her hair, " _ I will _ never  _ be too busy with anyone or anything to help you, Jin-chan. This past month has been torture for me to not see you, and I'm a little upset that it was due to a simple misunderstanding… but I am far more curious as to why you stopped speaking to me because you thought I had a girlfriend. _ "

Jin stiffened in his lap and attempts to wiggle herself out of my arms, stuttering nonsense words while her face flushes a pretty red color. I let her move out of my lap, but before she can get too far I take her hand. She immediately stills, looking anywhere but me.

I can't help a smile when Jin finally meets my eyes. I can see the hope and nervousness I'm feeling mirrored back.

A second later and Jin's lips are on my own, the two of us meeting halfway. There are no words in any language that could've given the kiss justice. All I knew was that I was deeply regretting not kissing Jin sooner as she somehow was replaced in my lap, through her means or my own, we still can't agree.

All we are sure of is that by the time we fell asleep side by side on that roof, our legs tangled together and a final 'sweet dreams' kiss was exchanged, the sun was starting to rise.

 


	63. Whose Date is it Anyways?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jin and Kyoya's date at Harry Potter World

 

Kyoya watched in amusement as Jin bounced excitedly in place. Her hair was up in a ponytail, which was swaying like crazy across her shoulders. She drifted a little to the left, only to be tugged gently back into line. Jin turned towards her boyfriend and grinned widely, squeezing their entwined hands before looking forward again, still bouncing.

Internally, Kyoya patted himself on the back for the so-far successful date idea as he looked around, using his other hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight. The back of the Universal Studios logo was just as overwhelmingly large as the front, which was facing out of the park. Kyoya had never been here before, and was honestly surprised by the size of everything. It honestly felt like another world.

Jin tugged at his hand, pulling him forward as the line moved again. Their tickets were clutched in the brunette's free hand, too anxious about losing them somewhere to let them out of her sight. Kyoya caught another glance of the picture of Daniel Radcliffe on the front of the tickets and smiled. While he might not be as obvious as his girlfriend, he too was excited for the day. Ever since Jin had introduced him to the series, he had become quite the Harry Potter fan…

Perhaps it was because of that excitement that it seemed to take hours for them to actually  _ enter _ the park? Kyoya couldn't recall a time he'd waited so long in line before.

Even so, they eventually handed over their tickets and walked through the gateway, a sudden explosion of color and memorable characters popping out at them. The two quickly made their way over to a stand filled with maps of the park. As Kyoya pulled one out, Jin gave his hand another squeeze.

"Kyoya? How much did those tickets exactly-"

"Don't, Darling. Don't even think about it." He released her hand only to wrap his arm around her waist, a move he made so often it was almost second nature, "It wasn't terribly expensive."

"I doubt that."

Kyoya's lips curled into a small smile before he pressed them against her temple, "I know, but there's no need, I promise. Let's just enjoy the day." Holding out the map in front of them, he watched in amusement as Jin's breath caught in her throat, eyes glued to the illustration of the Hogwarts Castle.

Grin renewed, Jin took the map and followed along as they walked. Kyoya, on the other hand, found himself looking around the park and the other guests. Families and groups of friends of all ages rushed past, all with their own destinations in mind and excitement clear in their expressions. Little children were attempting to drag their parents past the couple, practically glowing as they neared 'Wonderland'. Kyoya eyed the parents oddly. If  _ he _ had done something similar in his youth, he would've received a stern talking to and hours of disapproving looks  _ at best. _ What could be going through the heads of the parents he was walking past?

"I see it! Kyo, I see the entrance!"

Kyoya blinked and suddenly he was being pulled forward, hand in hand with his girlfriend as she made a break for it. The two ducked and weaved through the crowd, a few other occupants eyeing them with small smiles or questioning looks. But Kyoya found it hard to care what they thought of it. In fact, it was hard to do anything but smile at Jin's obvious enthusiasm. His girlfriend truly was adorable.

Of course, as they neared the entrance, a seed of worry took root in the back of Kyoya's mind. 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' had been built right next to the amusement park dedicated to 'Jaws'... if they made the shark figure visible from the Harry Potter entrance…

But he needn't have worried. There was no shark to be seen, even before they entered the pathway between the forest.

"Jin! Slow down! You might miss something!"

She did, giving her boyfriend a quick 'sorry' smile, but quickly returning her attention to the woods around them. It was a small recreation of 'The Forbidden Forest' from the series, and Jin was practically squealing in excitement after noticing the Weasley's Ford Anglia off to the side. Kyoya smiled along as she 'geeked out', enjoying the scenes as well, but preferring to watch Jin take it all in.

And when they finally reached Hogsmeade?

Jin's eyes grew wide, mouth falling open in obvious awe. She appeared to be vibrating ever so slightly as she attempted to take it all in. The buildings looked like they had been pulled straight from the movie screen, down to the window decals. Hogwarts castle loomed above it all in the distance, the high towers clearly visible from where they stood. Kyoya watched in silence as Jin's eyes sparkled at the splendor. He wouldn't have been all that surprised if she suddenly broke down crying right there and then.

Eventually she broke out of her trance.

"Where should we go first? I really want to see the castle, but it's also a ride of some sort and I think a separate walk-through so we might be there a while. There's a rollercoaster but we should probably hold off on that too because I really want to check out the shops. Should we go into them in a row or select one we're most interested in to go to first? I don't really want to buy anything out of Zonko's and should probably wait until later to buy stuff from Honeydukes because I want to keep them as brief souvenirs and not eat them while I'm in the park so we probably shouldn't carry them around all day and then there's all the souvenir shops and-"

"Jin?" She stopped, cheeks flushing either out of embarrassment or enthusiasm. Possibly both. Kyoya thought it was adorable as always. He squeezed her hand in a grounding sort of way, "Let's browse the shops for a while and see if we can find something that you want more than anything else. Don't forget, I still have the opportunity to buy you a gift today."

Jin pouted, "I still don't think you need to be throwing around all this money for me. People are going to start thinking I'm only dating you because you're rich."

"Is… is that what you're so concerned about?"

"...A little."

Kyoya shook his head, using his free hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "Darling, we both know that people are going to believe what they want to believe, regardless of the truth. But if it truly bothers you, please consider this: are you with me for my company or for the gifts?"

"You, of course!"

"And you've made that clear enough to me that I'd be a fool to doubt it. The same logic applies to all of your friends and close family members. Jin, the only people whose opinions matter would never think so low of you. I would shower you in gifts if I could, regardless of what others might think…" he paused and waited for her to meet his eyes again, "But I know you wouldn't appreciate that sort of gesture. However, knowing you, there will be at least one item you truly desire, and it would be my pleasure to gift it to you." He laced their fingers together, "Alright?"

Jin's face was a soft pink color, a smile teasing at the corners of her lips, "You're such a sap..."

"I know. You've ruined me."

Finally she laughed, stretching to plant a quick kiss to Kyoya's cheek, "Noted."

Any negative emotion Jin might've been feeling quickly evaporated as they began browsing the stores. Even though they didn't buy anything from the first couple shops, the aesthetics were incredible and took Jin's breath away. Decorations that moved and pictures that waved at the shoppers and all the little things she recognized from the movies and books… Her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the smiling.

Then they wandered into Gladrags Wizardwear.

Instantly Jin made a beeline for the Hogwarts robes and other apparel, stopping dead in front of the Hufflepuff section. One of her hands was outstretched, but not touching. Kyoya exchanged an amused glance with one of the store's nearby employees before leaning in, " _ Has something in particular caught your eye, Darling? _ "

"The shirt."

He glanced at the shirt just in front of her, pretending like he hadn't already seen it. It was designed to look like a set of Hufflepuff robes, tie included. No doubt for the fans who enjoyed dressing up in Harry Potter memorabilia but wouldn't wear the robes in public.

Kyoya chuckled at the thought. The shirt was practically made for Jin.

Less than fifteen minutes later and the two were strolling back out into the courtyard. Jin's new t-shirt peeked out from underneath her sweatshirt, which she had unzipped for that purpose only, and Kyoya was tugging at the hem of his own new green sweatshirt. The Slytherin crest design on the front was remarkably intricate in a way he certainly could appreciate… but Kyoya couldn't help but be curious as to why Jin had practically pushed the clothing into Kyoya's arms and why she seemed so taken with the soft interior...

"So, where to nex-" Kyoya was cut off when Jin abruptly stopped, their linked arms keeping him in place as well. "Jin?" She was staring off to the right, her face a combination of shock and horror. Stomach clenching, knowing what he was about to see, Kyoya turned his head in the same direction.

His mouth promptly fell open.

It was the rest of the host club, and honestly, who else could it have been? They were standing at the mouth of the park entrance, gawking at the aesthetics. Hikaru and Kaoru's faces were practically glued to the window of Zonko's while Honey was drooling over Honeydukes. Haruhi was leaning away from Tamaki, who had her wrist in his right hand, and appeared to have been digging her heels into the ground in an attempt to escape, now simply staring around the park with wide eyes. It was almost sweet how amazed their friends looked…

Almost.

Tamaki spotted them first. Their expressions must've been pretty good, because his face paled at record speeds. Tugging Haruhi along behind him, the blond launched himself into the twins and shoved them into Zonko's Joke Shop, grabbing Honey by the back of his shirt to drag him in as well, Mori following close behind.

It took exactly one second after the group disappeared from sight for the couple to remember how to move. They marched in sync towards the joke shop, arms still linked together, and the crowds around them parted like the red sea.

Throwing the door open, their friends simultaneously flinched and withdrew further into the store. The purple and green auras they had come to fear were lashing out, the couple's eyes flashing murderously. Wisely, they didn't attempt to run away a second time, merely looking down at their toes as the girl beared down on them first.

" _ Explain yourselves. _ " A number of them flinched at the icy tone, hands clasped behind their backs. After a moment of silence, Jin prompted again, " _ Well? _ "

"U-um…" Tamaki swallowed harshly, still not daring to meet her eyes, "W-we all went to your apartment… because we figured Haruhi would be lonely… andthenshesaidshewantedtocomeandseeHarryPotterWorldsowe _ - _ "

"That's a lie! Nēchan, I wouldn't!"

"You did want to come!"

"Tama-chan said-"

"And so when I-"

"-you said it yourself-"

"-I did  _ not _ -"

"-how else could we-"

"-I didn't mean  _ today- _ "

Haruhi, Tamaki, Honey, and the twins continued to shout at each other until Jin clapped her hands together loudly, "Okay! Enough!" The following silence was practically tangible.

Kyoya finally stepped up to stand beside his girlfriend, looking no less furious, "We don't care whose fault it is. The point is that we almost never get time to ourselves, and yet at least  _ one _ of you still decided that is was a good idea to latch onto our date and the rest of you tagged along for the ride, not caring about our opinion about it."

"I didn't want to come…"

Jin glanced at her little sister, "I figured, but don't be a kiss-ass." The brunette let out a big sigh, focusing on calming down at least a little. They were starting to draw some unwanted attention from the other shoppers and employees. The last thing they needed was to be kicked out of the park or given a lifetime ban.

She reached out a hand to Kyoya's arm, tugging him a little closer, "Let's go outside and finish talking."

Thankfully he seemed to understand, and by the time the eight of them reached an empty bench along the side of the park, everyone had calmed down a decent amount. After ordering the hosts to stay put, the couple walked away a few paces.

Kyoya was the first to break the silence, turning to his girlfriend with a serious look in his eyes, " _ What do we do now? _ "

" _ I don't know, _ " she whispered back, " _ You know as well I as do how Tamaki would react to us telling him to go home. Same as the others. _ "

" _ Perhaps if Haruhi left they'd follow her? _ "

" _ No doubt, but… _ " Jin watches the others a bit. They're gazing around the little park with stars in their eyes, and Haruhi was no exception. Everyone was clearly enamored with the magic in front of them. Jin hated it, but her heart was starting to soften at the sight. " _ It would break Haru's heart to leave now without exploring. _ "

" _ Jin- _ "

She grabbed at his hands, " _ I don't like it either, Glasses, but maybe this way we can give the others the slip? We don't have to go on everything as a group. There's something here for everyone after all… maybe there'll be something here for us, too. _ "

It took another minute of quiet discussion and a forehead kiss before they walked back to their friends, most of whom had the decency to look sheepish.

"Can we check out the joke shop, first?"

"Yeah, we didn't get a good look at it the first time."

"Since you were chasing after us with the intent to kill."

"Actually…" Kyoya tightened his grip around Jin's waist, "Feel free. We can't stop you from being here, after all, and you've already paid for your tickets. We simply ask that you keep in mind this is supposed to be a date between Jin and myself. So, please," he smiled brightly, which made all six of them take a collective step backwards, "Keep your distance."

They quickly nodded before taking off in different directions. Jin laughed, despite the past fifteen minutes, "That never gets old, does it?"

"No. I only wish I didn't have to do it so often."

She let out a hum, resting her head against his shoulder, "Want some butterbeer?"

"Of course."

* * *

It only took less than half an hour for things to start to go downhill yet again.

Finding a vendor selling butterbeer was easy. The huge wait for it was less so. By the time they were halfway to the window Mori had already resorted to carrying his cousin out of Honeydukes before the blond could by out the whole store, and Hikaru and Kaoru had two bags of Zonko products each. The four of them were sitting at a picnic bench with Kyoya, rambling on about the rollercoaster ride at the other end of the park.

Kyoya supposed the change in plan could've gone worse. If the others hadn't snuck into the park behind him and Jin, he wouldn't have anything to talk with while he waited for Jin to come back with their drinks. He smirked. Of course Jin would kick him out of line to make sure he didn't pay for it...

He'd have to pay her back by buying dinner, naturally, but that was a few hours away still.

"Excuse me, but can we take a photo with you?"

The five boys looked over, not surprised at first to see a couple girls staring at them with phones in hand. It was normal for their guests to ask for pictures… but these weren't guests, and they weren't at Ouran. These were complete strangers asking for photographs with them.

One of the girls seemed to realize their confusion and giggled, "Well… you look like Harry Potter… and you two look like the Weasley twins!" More giggling from the other girls.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. Normally this would be around the time he'd brush the girls off and tell them to bother someone else. After all, they were of no consequence to him or his image…

"That's very flattering. Thank you. Of course we can take a few pictures with you."

...Jin must be rubbing off on him.

The girls twittered and giggled, quickly passing off their phones to Mori and Honey or just switching to selfie mode as they crowded by the three boys at the table. The twins really got into it, sticking their tongues out and winking at the camera, giving impish grins when asked. Kyoya, however, more or less let the girls make the silly faces while he gave out a few smirks or side eyes.

"Oh! That's exactly how 'Dark' Harry would act like!"

"Slytherin Harry!"

"So cute!"

"Your sweater is reflecting in your eyes to make them look green! Amazing!"

"Are you a professional cosplayer?"

" _ Slytherin Harry Potter! _ "

Kyoya doesn't really respond, just raising an eyebrow, which makes the girls go crazy. It doesn't escape his notice that Jin is watching from the line. He catches her eye and she smiles, shaking her head. Apparently she found it amusing how the hosts somehow managed to cosplay even when they weren't cosplaying.

But while Kyoya was preoccupied with watching his girlfriend, he had failed to notice another girl joining their little photo-op. She quickly sat next to him, much closer than the other girls did, and wrapped an arm around his middle. This gets Kyoya's attention.

"Miss? Could I ask you to-"

Before he can make a request, she's kissing his cheek and taking a picture. Kyoya extracts himself from her grip immediately, standing up and wiping off his cheek.

"Excuse me? You had no right to do that!"

The girl pouts, "Why not? It's a cute picture! Besides, aren't you supposed to… you know… "the customer is always right"?"

"I'm not an employee here!"

She laughs, "What are you so hot and bothered about? There was no harm in it! It was just a kiss on the cheek! You're really handsome, so I couldn't help myself!"

Kyoya goes to make another retort when someone steps up to his side, winding her arms around his waist. It's Jin, and she's glaring daggers at the other girl, who has abruptly stopped laughing.

"Get your own nerd."

The girl stares for a few moments before letting out a huff and stalking away, the rest of them following after.

Kyoya raises an eyebrow at his girlfriend, "'Nerd'?"

"It's a compliment, Dear." Jin gestured to the table, where she had set the butterbeers down, "Shall we?"

* * *

"Nēchan, come on! The line's moving!"

Kyoya and a handful of the other hosts watched in surprise as Haruhi dragged Jin further along by her hand. They couldn't remember another time the two sisters looked so enthusiastic about something. They were both gasping and pointing at the moving pictures, spinning around with wide eyes in an attempt to take everything in at once.

The others couldn't really fault them for that, of course, for they were in the same predicament. Even Kyoya couldn't find a fault in the designs, but then again he wasn't really looking for them either. For once he simply allowed himself to enjoy the aesthetics of the castle they were walking through, occasionally squeezing Jin's waist to draw her attention towards another display of 'magic' before Haruhi tugged her along again.

" _ She's so adorable! She's acting like a little kid! _ "

Kyoya frowned at Tamaki's assessment. True, Haruhi rarely showed such displays of entertainment, but she also happened to be mirroring her sister's actions. Kyoya didn't like comparing his girlfriend to a child. He shuddered involuntarily before elbowing his friend in the side.

" _ Ow! What was that for? _ "

" _ Shut up, Tamaki. _ "

The group continued on through the castle, marveling at all the minor details that had gone into its creation, and before long found themselves at the ride.

"I wanna sit next to Haru-chan!"

"Jin-senpai!"

"Kyoya, sit next to me!"

Kyoya made a attempt to grab his girlfriend's hand, but was jostled to the side. By the time all was said and done, he was seated between Tamaki and Mori, Jin four seats over between Honey and Kaoru. He seethed as the ride started up. Every single time they got on a ride he  _ never _ ended up sitting by Jin. No matter what he did!

Some date this was…

To his right, Mori offered him a consoling pat on the back, and on Tamaki's other side Haruhi gave him "apologetic eyes", but they didn't do much to sooth the irritation. At least the ride was fun.

Kyoya just wished he could've enjoyed it with Jin's hand in his.

* * *

The rain was the final insult.

What was supposed to have been a day without a cloud in the sky had become a cloudy afternoon a few days ago, which later changed to light showers in the evening. And now a torrent of water was falling from the sky, quickly drenching everything in sight.

Kyoya eyed the ceiling. Partially out of boredom, but also out of concern that wooden roof might just cave in and let everyone drown in the heavy downpour. Thankfully the universe had granted one small favor and kept the thunder and lightning at bay for Haruhi's sake.

The ravenet glanced around the table, head in hand. It looked like the twins were still picking at their dinner while everyone else talked around them. At the other end of the table Haruhi and Jin were comparing the few small nick nacks they had purchased earlier on that day. Of course, each of them had bought an early birthday present for the other which were hidden in separate bags, but other than that seemed to really enjoy looking at their little pins and lanyards.

Kyoya's only retribution was that once everyone finished their meals and walked out the door, their moods fell to match his own. The rain had practically flooded the area, leaving no place to step without soaking one's shoe. Umbrellas were useless with the high winds and ponchos were as helpful as one might expect. Every person that passed in front of The Three Broomsticks looked drenched and miserable.

A sudden burst of wind threw a quick spray of water under the awning and into the host club's faces, shocking them out of their unwillingness to move. Quickly stuffing her purchases under her jacket, Jin grabbed Kyoya's hand, "Come on! We have to run for it! We're gonna get wet anyways!"

Easier said than done.

As soon as they stepped out into the storm they were drenched. Their clothes tightened around their bodies, making it both uncomfortable and difficult to move. Kyoya almost immediately took off his glasses with his free hand and tucking them into the shirt pocket beneath his sweater, finding it easier to see without them than with. Around them other guests were running from shelter to shelter, some screeching with displeasure whenever they sank ankle deep into a puddle. Jin shook her head slightly, trying to shake the hair out of her eyes without the use of her hands.

Realizing she needed some help, Kyoya tugged her under the next awning they came across. Jin gasped as they came out of the rain, releasing Kyoya's hand and quickly pulling her wet hair to the side.

It was a tiny little cove they had found, set a little further back into the buildings for a better protection from the wind and rain. Kyoya wasn't surprised that they were the only ones who took shelter beneath it, though he wasn't entirely sure how  _ he _ had found it with his terrible vision. The streetlamp that was supposed to illuminate their corner of the park had gone out, leaving it almost impossible to spot through the rain and the dark. Besides, it was a little small.

"Some luck, huh, Glasses?" Kyoya turned back around and squinted, trying to minimize the blurry shape that was his girlfriend. From the looks of it, Jin had set her, miraculously dry, bag of goodies on the ground and was tying her hair back with her hair tie again. She was clearly regretting her desire to take her hair down earlier in the day. Kyoya stepped a little closer and noticed there was a piece of hair still stuck to her face, going diagonally across her cheek.

Casually placing the hair back behind her ear, Kyoya offered a shrug, "Actually, this is a pretty good representation of how I've felt all afternoon."

Jin stilled, staring up at her boyfriend. With a sigh, she finished with her hair and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him flush against her body. Kyoya rested his arms over her shoulder, letting his forehead rest against hers. A decent amount of stress immediately drained from his body, leaving only his exhaustion.

" _ Hey… I know this wasn't the date you had in mind for today. I'm upset I didn't get to be completely alone with you, too. But, if it makes you feel any better, I still had a  _ wonderful  _ time. Thank you for bringing me here. _ "

Kyoya smiles against the following kiss, reaching up to trace the curve of her face, " _ You always just what to say. How do you do it? _ "

" _ I'm magic. _ "

" _ I don't doubt it, "Miss Harry Potter". _ "

Jin's eyes twinkled in the low light, " _ Y'know… someone other than me might've taken that as a reference to your accidental cosplay this morning. _ "

" _ But not you? _ "

She hummed, but otherwise didn't reply. Kyoya scoffed before pulling her back in for another gentle kiss. This…  _ this _ is what he had wanted to do all day. Just him and Jin, all alone and enjoying each other's company-

"Excuse us!"

Honey and Mori burst out of the rain, the couple quickly parting and moving further underneath the awning to make room, Jin grabbing her bag before it could be kicked over. Kyoya would've glared at the cousins for interrupting the moment (which the club seemed to be experts at) were it not for how they looked like they had just gone swimming in their clothes and their heavy blushes. Clearly, they would've have come over were they not desperate to get out of the rain.

Deciding to give them a pass on this one, Kyoya pulled out his phone. Somehow it wasn't wet, protected by the sweater and t-shirt covering the jean pocket it had been inside, which Kyoya was thankful for. Dialing up his limo driver, he alerted the man that they were on their way to the entrance, and a front-door service pick-up would be much appreciated.

Tucking the device away again, he grabbed Jin's hand in his, leading her back out into the storm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another reminder that I am not accepting new requests at the moment. Please don't. I have too many ideas right now… I'm sorry.


	64. Hogwarts AU: Year One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hogwarts AU, basically. Jin, Kyoya, and Tamaki meeting and going through their first year at Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please take a look at the end chapter notes, because I'm totally down for it but I need your opinions and support

 

Jin thought she'd be ready for this. Twisting her hands around the hem of her black sweater, she tried to look through the crowds for a familiar face. It didn't help that she was eye level with most people's torsos.

"I've heard stories about Platform 9 & 3/4… maybe we should've gotten here earlier?"

Jin didn't bother answering her father. The train wasn't supposed to leave for another half hour, so it wasn't like they didn't have any time at all to get Jin's trunk and Sora on the train… she just wished Honey and Mori would find her before then. She didn't want to find a compartment all by herself. Especially since she'd only been in England for a few weeks now.

It had been a bit of a surprise when an owl deposited a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry acceptance letter in Jin's lap that summer. The whole family had been nearly besides themselves. The Ilvermorny, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and Mahoutokoro School of Magic acceptance letters had also been greatly celebrated, but to be accepted by  _ Hogwarts… _ Jin hadn't been completely confident when she first submitted her name to the famous school, so to learn that she'd been accepted had driven the girl to tears of joy! And her childhood friends Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka were already students there, so she'd get to see them all the time, like when they were kids!

If only she could find them now...

Jin squeezed her father's hand in an attempt to ward off the mounting anxiety. She half-wished that Haruhi had come along and wasn't currently helping Misuzu-chi around the Leaky Cauldron, but knew that if Haruhi  _ had _ come Jin might not have boarded the train at all.

"Jin?"

She gasped, looking around at the sound of her name. A head of blonde hair could be seen weaving through the throng of people. They called out again, "Jin! Over here!"

"Jin? Who's that?"

"It's Tamaki! Tamaki!" Waving rapidly, Jin watched as the blond boy fought his way through the crowds. His hair was a mess. Clearly he'd had a hard time making his way through the crowds on the platform. "Dad, this is Tamaki Suoh, the boy I met in Flourish and Blotts!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Tamaki beamed up at Jin's father. "Are you Jin's dad? It's nice to meet you!"

"You too, Tamaki."

Giving the older man another quick smile, Tamaki turned back to Jin. "Do you want to board together? We can find a compartment and talk all the way there!"

"Yeah!" Jin smiled up at her father. "Can I, Dad? Please?"

"I thought you were waiting for Honey and Mori?"

"Maybe I'll see them on the train? Or they'll sit with some of their friends from last year?"  _ Or maybe they forgot all about me and decided not to wait up? _ Jin didn't say that last bit out loud, but she really hoped her father would let her go. At least this way she had  _ someone _ she knew to sit with on the train. And even if Tamaki could be a little… extra, now and again, he was funny and nice and clearly excited to be around her. Not the worst choice in a friend.

To Jin's relief, Ranka was quick to agree and as soon as Jin was released from a tight hug, she and Tamaki were making their way down the hall. Sora's cage was in Jin's arms, the pretty snowy owl affectionately nibbling at Jin's fingers through the wires, patiently waiting but continuously reminding his owner that he'd like to be let out again. And soon.

They peeked into every cabin they passed, hoping for a glance of Honey and Mori or at the very least a place to sit, but everything looked to be filled to the brim. A majority of the students seemed friendly enough, at least, but there was no room for two 1st years and an owl to join. Returning the wave of a few girls wearing pretty esarp's that had moving patterns dancing across the fabrics, Jin let her chin rest atop of Sora's cage and sighed.

She should've arranged a meeting time and place with her friends on the platform. Pouting, Jin wondered if Sora would be able to find Honey or Mori on the train. Maybe she could let him out in the hallway, or through the window? Was that allowed?

Jin was so lost in her thoughts she nearly walked directly into Tamaki, who had stopped short in front of another cabin door. Sora, thankfully, let out a warning screech before she did. Jin thanked her owl before asking Tamaki why they'd stopped.

"Let's sit here."

Jin leaned forward a little, trying to catch a glimpse through the window. It was the first empty-ish cabin they'd come across. Only one other student was in there. It was a boy with black hair, but his face was practically buried in a textbook, so she couldn't see any other features.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've got a good feeling about this one."

Not sure what her new friend meant by that, but not willing to argue either, Jin shrugged her consent and followed behind as he opened the door.

Immediately, the stranger lowered his book, just enough to look at them over the top edge. He was wearing silver-rimmed glasses and, now that she was a little closer, Jin noticed that the book he was reading was actually  _ A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _ . He was a first year, too?

"Hi! Can we sit here? The other cabins are filling up already."

The boy hesitated before responding in Japanese, "Sure."

"Thanks!" Tamaki looked back at Jin, a cheerful gleam in his eye. So he found another Japanese student? And a first year, at that. Was that what he meant by a "good feeling"?

Even so, Jin couldn't help but feel a little nervous as they slipped inside. The stranger didn't send them away, yes, but neither did he look all that happy to have been intruded on. Carefully, Jin opened Sora's cage. Once her pet had fluttered out and settled himself on one of the seats, she put the cage into the overhead racks and sat down next to Tamaki. The stranger sat across from them, back to burying his nose in his book.

But if he was intending on ignoring them for the rest of the journey, he was sorely mistaken. As soon as he and Jin were settled, Tamaki leaned forward and chirped out, "My name's Tamaki Suoh! And this is Jin Fujioka! We're gonna be first years at Hogwarts. What's your name?"

The boy lowered his book again, and Jin was surprised to see a bright smile now adorning his face. "Kyoya Ootori. It's nice to meet you both."

"It's nice to meet you, too!"

Jin nodded along and was about to ask Kyoya if he was a first year like they were when Sora suddenly hopped onto her leg. Smiling, she cooed and stroked a finger down her pet's back. "Aww… do you want attention, young sir? Is that it?"

Sora made a soft noise in his throat, eyes closing as he turned his face into the palm of her hand.

"I take it you're a fan."

"Hm?"  _ A fan? Of what? Owls? _

Kyoya was eyeing Sora with a small frown and a raised eyebrow, which immediately set Jin on edge. "It's nothing personal… just that snowy owls were never popular pets in our world until Harry Potter owned one and she was plastered all over his biographies. I assume that you or one of your parents jumped on the bandwagon when you purchased yours?"

Jin stiffened. "Actually, Sora was the last birthday present I received from my mother. I didn't get the opportunity to ask why she chose to buy me a snowy owl, considering she was dying at the time, but I suppose I can if I meet her in the afterlife."

"Oh. I see."

At the bland tone Jin was ready to jump up and storm out of the cabin were it not for two things. One, Tamaki's right hand had wrapped itself around her wrist, keeping her still. And two, at that exact moment, the doors to the cabin opened to reveal a smiling Honey and Mori who were thrilled to have found their friend.

The five had another quick round of introductions right before the train began its departure from the station. Jin attempted to spot her father through the window, but couldn't see him due to the crowds. Her chest felt a little tight as the station fell away, but she had already decided that she wasn't about to cry in front of Kyoya.

No way.

* * *

The train ride itself wasn't all that interesting, but by the time the five of them were disembarking they had gotten to know each other a little better. And it was pretty clear that Kyoya and Jin were  _ not _ going to get along while they were students at the famous school.

Which was a shame, because Kyoya and Tamaki happened to hit it off, so now she and Kyoya would be forced to spend time together whether they liked it or not. As Jin and Tamaki had guessed, Kyoya was also a first year like them. It hadn't be explicitly stated when the topic of Hogwarts Houses came up, but both Kyoya and Jin were wondering which of them would get more Tamaki time for the following seven years.

Kyoya had a pretty good idea about where he was going to end up, which gave Jin a relaxed feeling. His two older brothers had both been in Slytherin and he felt he matched the "requirements" as well. Especially now that the pure-blood mania was over and done with. Even so, from the few hours she'd known him, Jin had to agree. And she was pretty sure Tamaki was as far from Slytherin as a person could be.

She purposefully ignored the question on where  _ she _ might end up.

Climbing off the train and waving goodbye to Honey and Mori, the three first years followed the booming voice calling loudly out through the night for all the first years. Jin's heart leaped at the familiar gruff accent and she began running down the platform, causing Tamaki and by extension Kyoya to chase after her.

Hagrid spotted Jin moving through the crowd three seconds before she threw herself at him for a hug, which he gladly returned. Behind her, Tamaki and Kyoya were staring open mouthed at the gigantic man. Jin didn't care about her lack of an explanation. She hadn't seen Hagrid for three weeks, ever since his last visit to the Leaky Cauldron, and she'd missed his smile and his stories. They had bonded instantly upon meeting, both being animal and creature lovers to the core. Jin was happy to have found someone treated misunderstood beings with kindness rather than fear, and according to Misuzu-chi, Hagrid thought Jin was the sweetest girl he'd ever met.

"Alrigh', young miss. Time ta lead e'reyone to the boats. Ye'd best come ta visit me after yer classes." Jin agreed without question and released Hagrid coat before following him in what she assumed was the direction of the lake. Tamaki and Kyoya were quick to press up close, whispering questions about the huge man.

She managed to answer about half of them by the time they reached the edge of the lake. To Jin's dismay, Kyoya climbed in behind her and Tamaki. The questions continued until Hagrid's voice finally sounded out from the boat in front of them. "Watch yer head here, you'll get yer first glimpse of the castle just 'round this here bend."

And so they did. Jin nearly dropped the lantern she was holding. Both Tamaki and Kyoya let out gasps of awe behind her.

It was… magnificent. The dark silhouette of the towers, the glowing yellow windows that looked like stars, the way it was perfectly reflected on the lake's surface… for the first time Jin understood why some people might cry over a piece of beautiful artwork. She smiled up at the castle and fought the urge to wave. It was like she wanted to let the castle itself know she was happy to see it.

She was home.

Jin was almost disappointed when they got too close to see the castle as a whole, but that was quickly replaced by her excitement at finally setting foot inside! The halls were gigantic. Stone archways and decorative floors made the castle officially the most beautiful building she'd ever seen. Tamaki was now at Jin's side, squeezing himself between her and Kyoya as he went on and on about what he knew of the castle. Jin didn't know why, since both she and Kyoya had admitted on the train that they'd read  _ Hogwarts: A History _ cover to cover during the summer. Maybe it was just nerves?

Hagrid bid his goodbyes, patting Jin on the shoulder and almost making her knees buckle, before walking through the double doors before them. Almost immediately afterwards, a more human-sized man walked in. He smiled at the large group and, ignoring how almost everyone gasped and pointed him out to their friends, spread his arms wide.

"Welcome, first years, to Hogwarts. I am Deputy Headmaster Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House. We're still getting ready for you all in the Great Hall, but before then I have a few things to share with you. Before you take your seats, we will have a sorting ceremony that will place you into one of our four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you're a student here, your house will be used to separate everyone into classes, and you'll have the opportunity to meet and work with everyone standing around you now. Triumphs will earn you House Points, and any rule breaking will lose points, and the house with the most points at the end of the year will be awarded the House Cup. Outside of that, your house is merely a part of your school uniform. You are free to spend time in other dorms, sit at the other house tables save for certain feasts, and make friends with whomever you well please. These houses are not meant to divide you into four separate categories… but I suppose I'll let an old friend explain that more once we get inside. Are there any questions?"

A few hands slowly rose into the air. Professor Longbottom smiled kindly and gestured at a small girl standing near the back.

"Are you the famous Neville Longbottom? The war hero?"

The smile never faltered as he nodded. "I am. But that's a long story that will have to wait for a few years. Once you cover the Second Wizarding War in History of Magic, I will gladly tell it and answer any questions."

When no one else raised their hand, the professor nodded his head. "Follow me."

Jin was jostled more towards the middle of the group this time, everyone rushing to be the closer to Professor Longbottom. Jin didn't completely understand it. Yes, he was a war hero, but he spoke so kindly and was so understanding that you might not be able to tell… were it not for the faint scars across his face and the way his eyes carried a deep sadness. As calm as he was in agreeing to talk about the war later on, Jin had a feeling he said that only so he'd minimize the amount of times he had to share it every year.

A sudden harsh grip on her wrist brought Jin out of her thoughts. Tamaki was keeping hold of both her and Kyoya, and his face was alarmingly pale.

"What is it?" Jin whispered.

"The sorting ceremony… I forgot about it. Father mentioned it before. Said something about fighting a massive-"

"We're just putting a hat on." Kyoya shook his arm out of Tamaki's grip. "My sister Fuyumi told me. The Sorting Hat is put on your head and it announces your house."

Jin hummed, absentmindedly rubbing at Tamaki's arm to help him calm down. A hat? How could a hat decide what house they belonged in? Jin had read about the four houses and she couldn't decide which one she'd be sorted into, much less what one she wanted, so how could a hat do it? Maybe it changed colors depending on who was wearing it? Blue for Ravenclaw, Green for Slytherin, so on and so forth?

Jin's theorizing was cut short upon entering the Great Hall. She gasped again, tilting her head back. Then and there she decided that pictures, moving or otherwise, didn't do justice. It looked like the room simply opened up to the heavens, the milky way sparkling through the sky more clearly than she'd ever seen before. Streaks of purple and blues and inky black artfully swirled overhead, dotted with countless pinpoints of white. The longer Jin stared, the more she felt like she was being sucked in, her body to drift about the cosmos for all eternity.

Thankfully, before that could happen, Jin was able to tear her eyes away and take in the rest of the hall, which was just as magnificent. Columns along the sides, four grand tables that stretched the length of the hall, all the teachers seated at the very end, and hundreds of candles drifting over their heads. Jin felt both very small and very warm at the same time.

All eyes were on them, from the teachers to the students to the...  _ were those ghosts? _ Jin found herself pressing a little closer to Tamaki, taking his hand for comfort. Spotting Hagrid at the teacher's table helped a bit, as did the smiles from Honey and Mori, but otherwise Jin felt rather exposed and scrutinized.

Reaching the other end of the hall, Professor Longbottom had them wait just a little beyond the ends of the tables, right below the steps that lead up to what looked like a podium and the professor's table. Then, from the right side of the hall, two students carefully carried a little three-legged stool towards the podium, setting it down in front. The metal owl resting on the front of the podium watched them calmly, as did everyone else in the room.

The students set the stool down and went back to the wall. The room fell silent as they stared at the rather old and patched up hat resting on the stool. Was that it? What were they supposed to do now?

Jin heard Tamaki swallow at her side.

Then one of the folds just above the hat's brim opened, and the hat began to sing.

_ In these fine halls with arching doors _

_ And roaring fires abound _

_ Stands a school of craft and learning _

_ On this now hallowed ground _

_ Within this school four wizards stood _

_ Their talents beyond the rest _

_ And wished to teach only a certain few _

_ So they made me as a test _

_ Good Gryffindor wished to keep the brave _

_ Wise Ravenclaw, those with good mind _

_ Clever Slytherin prized those with ambition _

_ And Sweet Hufflepuff, the kind _

_ So now I sit with this purpose clear _

_ To judge what's in your head _

_ But before I do, please keep in mind _

_ Of these words that must be said _

_ I make my choice with much more thought _

_ Than the founders first designed _

_ And with that knowledge please take note _

_ You'll find they're all entwined _

_ There will be Ravenclaws with courage to spare _

_ And Gryffindors with soft hearts _

_ A Hufflepuff who you should never cross _

_ Or a Slytherin with a passion for arts _

_ These traits that you see upon first glance _

_ Might not always seem to match _

_ But don't you fret and don't you fear _

_ For my choices are up to scratch _

_ So take a seat, and listen well _

_ As I read what's behind your eyes _

_ And remember this, the name you'll wear _

_ Isn't always what it implies _

As the brim fell closed, the hall burst into applause, the first years adding in as well. Jin found that she couldn't stop smiling. That was amazing! She loved it! A singing hat! So cool!

"My sister said the hat sings a different song every year, too. Mostly about the houses standing together and not pinning stereotypes on people, especially after the second war," Kyoya whispered from Tamaki's other side. Jin could believe it, and she liked the message he gave this year. To create songs like that had to take some time, didn't it? Impressive!

Professor Longbottom pulled a scroll from the pockets of his dark blue robes, giving the first years and some of the other students another warm smile before announcing, "When I call your name, please come forward so I may place the hat on your head. Aaboe, Lahahana."

A boy with pale skin walked up to the stool. Jin could see his hands were shaking. When Professor Longbottom placed the hat on Lahahana's head, half his face disappeared into it. Jin would've laughed if she hadn't been suddenly struck with a terrifying thought.  _ What if I'm a hatstall? What if the hat says there's been a mistake and I should've have been accepted? What then? What if the hat is wrong? _

"RAVENCLAW!"

The room applauded again, knocking Jin out of her anxious thoughts. With a little direction, Lahahana was directed to the table underneath the blue banner, where he stumbled into one of the empty seats.

This went on for a while, the hat taking between a few seconds to a few minutes to decide on each new student. Jin's heart was racing when Professor Longbottom called out for Fone, Holly.

And before she was fully ready…

"Fujioka, Jin."

Giving Tamaki's hand another squeeze, she slowly made her way through the crowd until she found herself standing before the stool. Her mouth was dry. Slowly spinning around, she sat and found herself at the center of attention. All the blood rushed to her feet… and the hall went dark.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the hat spoke, but it wasn't in that loud, booming voice he used to address the whole hall. No, this time he was speaking softly, a murmur floating around her head.

"My, my, my... what a broad selection. Difficult, yes... but not impossible. Never impossible, my dear. There's no need to worry. Such a kind heart, but remarkable intelligence and bravery as well… hmm, but what is best?"

_ Not ambitious? Why not Slytherin as well? _

The hat gave an amused hum. "Interesting… I've been asked that question so many times, my dear, but they've never be phrased like that. If you're so curious, you do happen to hold some Slytherin-like traits. A desire to stay at the top of your class, to perform to perfection in everything you do… but that ambition is easily combined with your desire for knowledge. You could be placed in Ravenclaw. Their common room would delight you, I'm sure… and yet… your intelligence is not what you value. Neither, really, is your bravery."

Jin's thoughts weren't exactly words any longer, but the hat seemed to read her emotions just fine.

"It's true you are glad to possess it when you protect those you care for, but it's the drive behind that need for bravery that makes you who you are. Above all of your traits, you are kind. The world you know hasn't always been that way to you, and yet you care so much for those around you. Best be… HUFFLEPUFF!"

The last word had been shouted out to the rest of the hall rather than in Jin's ear, which she was grateful for. As Professor Longbottom removed the hat from her head, she blinked a few times to readjust to the light. It was over. She'd be sorted. She stood, even though her body felt like it would soon disintegrate into a puddle, and hastily made her way to the table second from the right. Honey and Mori were applauding loudly from the Gryffindor table, almost standing up in their seats as she went. Ximena Cabrera gave her a big smile from the seat directly across from Jin, which was returned, before the two girls turned to watch Alice Gagnier have the hat sat upon her head.

Jin began joining in on the applause, giving the new Hufflepuffs smiles as they began taking various seats around the table. The seat next to Jin remained open, and she tried not to feel offended by it. She knew how nerve wracking it was to sit next to someone you didn't know. Most of the first years were scattered in alternating patterns at the ends of the tables, not many willing to sit next to each other just yet.

Jin sat up a little straighter as Conor O'Mooney joined the Gryffindor table, her eyes following Kyoya as he approached the sorting hat. She couldn't see Tamaki's face, but was worried about him being one of the last few to be sorted.

As most of Kyoya's face disappeared inside the hat, Jin realized that the hall was oddly abuzz with whispers. She couldn't pick up on most of it, other than a few snippets of 'black hair… glasses…' and other things Jin couldn't care less about. Instead, she stared directly at the hat, wondering what was being discussed in Kyoya's mind. If he ended up in Hufflepuff, she most definitely was  _ not _ letting him sit by her.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Good.

The whispering grew a little louder as he made his way to the table right behind Jin, and she refused to acknowledge him as he did. She didn't care if it was rude, or if he was famous for something she didn't know about. No one dissed her feathery baby.  _ No one. _

The sorting carried on, and by that point Jin's stomach was rumbling unhappily, like the sweets that had been shared on the train had never even happened. The golden plates set in front of her looked tempting in the most torturous of ways, but she did her best to remain focused. Only a handful of students remained unsorted. Tamaki was among them.

Simoniet, Ben was sent off to join the Slytherin table when Professor Longbottom called out, "Suoh, Tamaki."

Jin leaned closer, positive that Kyoya was doing the same at the table behind her. Jin could live if Tamaki was placed in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, sure… but she wasn't sure how she'd take it if he wound up in Slytherin with  _ Kyoya _ of all people.

Tamaki almost slipped off the stool as he sat down, a little too close to the edge, but before Jin could mouth the words ' _ It's okay _ ' to him, the Sorting Hat was engulfing his head. Jin tapped at the table anxiously with her fingertips. How long was Tamaki's sorting going to take? From the few hours Jin had known Tamaki and the sorting conversation they'd had on the train, he was a wild card. She hoped he'd be in Hufflepuff with her, and his friendliness sure seemed to encourage the thought, but the Sorting Hat  _ had _ said that there were many factors that went into it. Even she had traits and ideas that could have placed her in any of the four houses. So with Tamaki it could be any-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Oh.

Jin laughed and cheered as the hat was removed from Tamaki's head. To her delight, he looked thrilled as he ran to the empty seat beside Jin.

He gave her a quick hug. "We're in the same house!"

"Uh huh!"

"And Kyoya's right behind us!"

Jin's smile dimmed as she followed Tamaki's line of sight. He had turned around almost completely in his seat, beaming in Kyoya's direction. To Jin's surprise the other boy was directly behind her, merely an arms distance away, and smiling back at Tamaki.

_ Oh, right. Professor Longbottom said we could eat at the other tables. Which means Kyoya will probably sit with us at meals. And follow Tamaki into the Hufflepuff dormitory. And everywhere else when we have free time. _

Jin turned forward again and rested her head on her hand.  _ Oh, joy. _

* * *

" _ Please, _ Kyoya?"

"No."

" _ C'mon… _ "

"I said no. You're smart enough to do it on your own."

"But I don't have enough time!" Tamaki fell forward, narrowly avoiding falling into his plate of rice due to Jin's intervention. After setting his food off to the side, she returned to her own roll of parchment. While Kyoya was busy working on their homework for Charms, she was re-reading her History of Magic assignment that she was turning in within the hour. She'd finished it two days ago, but she was still nervous.

Jin had heard on her first day of classes that Professor Gagliardi, the History of Magic professor, was the harshest grader at Hogwarts, and after a few classes with him, the rumor proved true. According to Kyoya, he showed clear favoritism to the Ravenclaws in class, apparently running with the outdated idea that Ravenclaws were the smart ones. Or perhaps it was just the fact he used to be a Ravenclaw himself, and he was ridiculously full of himself.

Jin had read about the man's predecessor, Binns, who apparently could make a room full of students pass out from exhaustion in a matter of minutes. It was like he, as a ghost, was trying to bore his students to death themselves.

To be honest, Jin wasn't sure which of them sounded worse. She found history fascinating, but when every attempt at speaking in class was met with a condescending correction that wasn't even always correct, she was starting to grow irritated with even the thought of history class.

"But I already know the spell, Kyoya! You  _ know _ I know the spell! So why should I have to write a paper about its uses?"

"Because we'll have both a written and practical exam for charms at the end of the year, and if you write it out now, you'll have a better memory of it when you can't cheat off of me."

"It's not cheating! And we've got  _ months _ before exams!"

"Tama-chan, listen to Kyo-chan. You'll need all the practice you can get!" Honey spread a thick layer of jam over his toast before taking a bite. "Do it in the library after class."

Tamaki made a loud groaning noise before slouching further over the table. Mori reached forward and pulled Tamaki's goblet out of harm's way before turning to Jin. "How was flying practice?"

Instantly Jin's mood took an upswing. "It was fantastic! I've never ridden on a Nimbus before!"

Mori hummed again. "Quidditch?"

"Maybe! I definitely want to try out, at least. What about you two? Think you'll get on your team?"

"I hope so! We can't next year, what with the tournament and everything, but for our fourth year Takashi and I are hoping to try out! By then some of the chasers from our team will have graduated, so who knows?"

"Jin…" A solid weight was suddenly leaning against Jin's left side, nearly topping her over. "Will you help me with Charms? Pretty please?"

"I'm going to visit Hagrid after class, Tamaki. And no, you can't tag along this time! You  _ really _ need to get started on the homework. I'm not letting you copy off of me, either." Jin stood up, letting Tamaki fall against the bench seat in a mess of flailing limbs.

" _ What?  _ You too? When did you start it?"

"Last night, when you were playing that Exploding Snap marathon thing in the Gryffindor common room. C'mon. We gotta get to class. Bye Honey-senpai. Mori-senpai."

Tamaki groaned, sluggishly following her up. He didn't want to go to class either. Jin frowned as Kyoya followed the two out of the hall, a rather pleased expression on his own face. Smug bastard… he was going to potions. What Jin wouldn't give to be in his position. Professor Ramsey was her absolute favorite teacher. He was just so nice, and clearly had a passion for potion making. Plus, the way he trash-talked Professor Gagliardi was highly enjoyable for everyone to witness it. He said all the things they couldn't.

"See you in Transfiguration, Kyoya!"

"Yes, and good luck with Professor Gagliardi."

"Thank you! We'll need it!"

Tamaki laughed, linking his elbow with Jin's and hurrying her forward. She went along, trying not to pout. She disliked her Tuesday and Thursday schedules with a burning passion, and she was only a few weeks into the school year. History of Magic in the morning, and Transfiguration in the afternoon. She enjoyed the work, yes, but in one she had a terrible professor who didn't like her, and in the other she lost her usual partner to a certain Slytherin jerk. Ugh… how was she supposed to survive the whole year like this?

In Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense against the Dark Arts, Jin always found herself being placed next to Amaye Jounouchi, another Slytherin, while Tamaki plastered himself to Kyoya's side. When asked why he did it, Tamaki insisted that since Jin got to pair up with him for every other class, it was only fair that Kyoya got to work with Tamaki in the only three classes they shared. Jin didn't argue. She merely glared at Kyoya's smug expression whenever Tamaki took the empty seat beside him instead of Jin.

* * *

The one thing Tamaki didn't like about Hogwarts was their lack of technology. Too much magic made electronic things go nuts, he knew that, but he missed the convenience of having a mobile phone on his person at all times. Owls were too slow, the memos that the ministry had finally approved for worldwide use were helpful, but texting was were it was at. To send a message to your friend and have a reply less than a minute later was not something you grew out of needing or wanting.

Especially in moments like this one, when Tamaki was waiting for his two friends outside the Great Hall. Kyoya was talking to Professor Zwick about a question he had on a homework assignment and Jin was at the library, but he'd asked both of them to join him for lunch. His Wizard Chess set had finally arrived from home and he wanted to celebrate with a few games, but now he wasn't sure if his friends were going to show up at all.

Ergo, why he was currently lamenting the loss of his ability to blow up their notifications.

"Hold up, I wanna talk to Suoh."

At the voice, Tamaki blinked out of his mental theater and suddenly found himself surrounded. Four boys wearing red and gold ties were standing in a semi-circle in front of him, trapping Tamaki against the wall. They looked much older than he was, and the unfriendly smiles set Tamaki on edge. Even still, he managed a smile and a polite 'hello'. Looks could be deceiving… right?

"Oh, so you can speak English. That'll make this go so much smoother." The tallest one laughed like he'd just made a joke, and the others joined in. Tamaki's smile dimmed. This Gryffindor was acting oddly rude.

Spotting the look on Tamaki's face, the tallest stopped laughing abruptly. "Sorry, Suoh, sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. Name's Spencer Cortez. I'm a fourth year student, which would make me your… what is it again? Hentai? Sentai? I don't know the word, but you have to respect me, right?"

Tamaki didn't know whether to laugh or run. He remembered Honey and Mori saying something about a Cortez guy in their house, but he couldn't remember what. Maybe he was interested in Japanese culture, but didn't understand it? Could that be it?

"Hey, did you hear me? I asked a question!"

"Uh…" Tamaki adjusted his grip on the wrapped box in hand. "It's an honorific, yeah. I'd call you Cortez-senpai... or Cortez-san." He didn't mention how the second one was less respectful, but from the look in the older boy's eye, that wasn't going to matter. He started to remember why Honey and Mori might have mentioned him before.

Cortez sauntered over and threw an arm over Tamaki's shoulder. "Listen, blondy, I've got a proposition for you. Your father's the top chairman of this school, yeah? So if you wouldn't mind calling in a few favors on my part…" his voice dropped to a whisper, "I won't tell everyone at school that you were born out of wedlock and raised by your muggle mother."

Tamaki felt all the blood in his body rush to his toes.

"See, my mother works for the ministry, and all the files of magical children about to enter school age end up on her desk at least once. So when she saw your last name… she was intrigued by who had landed your dear old dad. Imagine her surprise when she learned that he still wasn't married. It took some digging, but she eventually found your address. Your mother, a pure-bred muggle, housing you and a magical caretaker? Did your father really not love you enough to live with you? Was he worried you'd end up a Squib? Did he not trust your mother to raise you properly, or did she ever know? Was her memory obliviated whenever you accidentally let loose with magic? If that's the case she's probably dopey by now… oh, well. Anyways, do we have a deal?"

Tamaki was frozen. He didn't know what to do. It was true that he'd been raised by his mother, who was a muggle, but he also knew that his father loved them. Had sent the caretaker against his own mother's wishes so that Tamaki wouldn't be completely clueless about the wizarding world when he went to school.

But the truth hardly mattered. If Cortez's rumor got to the school, it would bring shame upon Tamaki and his family. And it would be all Tamaki's fault. But what favors could Cortez actually ask for? Would Tamaki have the power to do so? He hardly spoke to his father, how could he suddenly start making demands for other students? What would his father say if he knew of the situation? Would he do anything? Would he play along? Oh, why did Tamaki have to do this alone?

"Look! He's gonna cry!"

Cortez pulled away quickly, a look of disgust now on his face. "Really, Suoh? You're that worked up about it? Why? You gonna say no to my offer? That's the only reason you'd cry. But you wouldn't do that, would you? Ugh, he  _ does _ look like he's gonna cry. Man, and I thought you were cool. No wonder you didn't end up in Gryffindor. Would you quit it? If you get a teacher involved I'll tell the whole school regardless of you taking up my offer. You hear me, Suoh? Oh-hey-yo, or whatev-  _ AUGH! _ "

Tamaki jumped back as Cortez suddenly dropped to the ground. But… something was off about it. His shoes appeared to be stuck to the ground… but he'd fallen forward onto his face. Tamaki nearly threw up when he realized that Cortez's knees were bent in the opposite direction they were supposed to.

In an effort to not get sick, Tamaki looked up. The entrance hall had gone quiet at the sudden shout and most of the students were staring around, trying to figure out what happened. All except for two of them. Jin and Kyoya, both at opposite doorways, had their wands out and pointed towards the place Cortez was once standing.

By the time Cortez's lackeys had pulled out their own wands, ready to get revenge for their ringleader, a professor walked out of the Great Hall. Professor Longbottom rapidly cast five disarming charms, taking Jin's and Kyoya's into hand as well.

He took one look at Cortez, who seemed unable to regain control of his backward knees, and made a simple motion with his wand. At once the boy's legs slid completely out from under him, his shoes no longer stuck to the floor.

"Mr. Pagliaro, Mr. Backus, and Mr. Cloes, take Mr. Cortez to Madam Abbott. I'm sure he'd like his knees returned to their proper place sooner rather than later. Once he's well, all four of you are serve detention with me tomorrow at five p.m. And you each lose ten points from Gryffindor - _ yes, _ from my own house, Mr. Backus- for bullying a fellow student. Now go."

They did without a fuss, not even bothering to look at the three Japanese students grouping up behind them. Tamaki whimpered and pulled both Kyoya and Jin into a hug, which he was pleased to have returned.

" _ Thank you… _ "

"Mr. Ootori? Ms. Fujioka?"

The three tensed up before falling out of the hug. Jin scuffed her shoe against the floor while Kyoya fiddled with a pinch of his robes. Tamaki was the only one looking directly at Professor Longbottom, his eyes imploring him to go easy, but not daring to speak. His voice might crack if he did.

Professor Longbottom remained quiet for a few moments before announcing, "You both will be serving detention with me tonight, after supper. Ten points are also to be taken from both of your houses for hexing a fellow student… however…"

Jin and Kyoya slowly peeked up, surprised to see a small, almost mischievous smile on their professor's face. "I suppose you've both earned five points each for being able to master two rather complicated spells as first years. And perhaps another five is due to your loyalty and fierce protective instincts towards your friend. Not many first years would stand up to a group of fourth years who outnumbered them two to one."

He gave the group of three another sweeping look, something shifting in his eyes as they smiled at each other. There was something… oddly familiar about them. Shaking it off, he returned Jin and Kyoya's wands before leading them back into the Great Hall, Tamaki already excitedly showing off his chess set. It was like the past ten minutes hadn't even happened.

Except, of course, for the fact that Kyoya and Jin happily sat a little closer together at the Hufflepuff table, taking turns playing against Tamaki. Not to mention the smiles and laughter they both shared that evening as they cataloged the plants in Greenhouse One.

* * *

"Wake up, Jin! It's Christmas!"

That was the only warning Jin had before a body was dropped on top of her. Letting out a pained grunt, she wiggled around, trying to free her arms from the blankets now surrounding her. Eventually she gave up, accepting the fact that she was slowly being crushed between her friend and the mattress.

"I regret telling the doors you were allowed into my room…"

"No you don't! Because you've got presents to open up!"

"What?"

"Open up mine first! I have to go wake up Kyoya, but I wanna see your reaction!"

"Then get off, you lump."

As gracefully as he could, Tamaki rolled off of Jin's bunk and fell to his knees, watching from the floor as she sat up. True to Tamaki's word, there was a small pile of presents at the end of her bed, a few knocked over from the scuffle. For the first time, Jin finally understood why the other students got so excited when they left for the winter holiday. Her family didn't really celebrate Christmas, but there was something very thrilling about finding a pile of gifts from people who cared about you in the morning.

Tamaki quickly pressed one of the larger boxes into her hands. Without hesitation, she ripped the gold wrapping off and gasped. It was a calligraphy set! Two new fancy quills with multicolored ink were inside, along with what looked like a fountain pen!

"Oh, wow…"

"I see you trying to copy Professor Zwick's handwriting in Transfiguration class and how you put loops and such into your writing. Kyoya got mad because he wanted to get you something similar but-  _ oof! _ "

"I love it! Thank you, Tamaki!"

Jin's back began to hurt a little in the odd bent position it was, but continued to hug Tamaki all the same. The hug went on for a few seconds before Tamaki released her and jumped to his feet. "Finish opening those and I'll go get Kyoya!"

"He's gonna kill you… and he's gone."

Jin rolled her eyes as the door gave Tamaki a rather unnecessary tap on his backside as he left the room. It probably didn't appreciate the wake-up-call Jin was given by the extravagant boy.

Doing as Tamaki requested, Jin quickly opened the rest of her presents. A batch of brownies from Hagrid that she'd have to soften in the fireplace later on, a pair of decorative hair pins with flapping butterflies on each end from Misuzu-chi, a brand new sketchpad and shading tools from her father and Haruhi along with some candy, and… the new Rick Riordan book she wanted from Kyoya.

Jin smiled at the cover, tracing her fingers along the raised title. She had no idea how Kyoya had managed to purchase the muggle book, but was very touched that he remembered she liked it at all. She had only brought them up once, before the two were even friends.

Suddenly excited to see the boy's faces when they opened her gifts, Jin slipped out of bed and threw on a sweater and sweatpants before grabbing the gifts she'd hidden under her bed. She'd even left notes on top of them for the house elves, letting them know they didn't need to be delivered to Tamaki and Kyoya. She wanted to do it herself. Tucking the boxes under her arm, Jin ran out into the common room.

Out of the three common rooms Jin had been in, the Hufflepuff one was her favorite. It was the longest common room in the whole castle and always comfortably warm with the two fireplaces that burned at each end. Above one of the fireplaces was a talking mirror, the other a bookshelf that always seemed to have the book you needed. Along the right wall were various cubbies that always held some food from the latest run to the kitchens, perfect for studying or late night snacks.

Jin snagged an apple before flopping down on one of the many comfy chaises that were scattered throughout the room, carefully placing her friend's gifts on the table now in front of her. There was no overhead lights or torches to light up the room, or windows. Instead, glowing orbs floated around the room, dimming or brightening in relation to the student's needs. For example, when Jin had first entered the room, three of the orbs brightened enough to provide a soft, yellowy light and followed Jin around the room. When she sat down, another two orbs joined in, and they spread out so the little circle of chairs, couches, and Jin's chaise was bathed in a golden light.

A few minutes later and the door that lead into the hallway opened, revealing a pale Tamaki and a rather sleepy-looking Kyoya. Jin fought off her giggles as they both stumbled into the room. There was a temptation to say 'I told you so' to Tamaki, but Jin decided that might not be very nice to do on Christmas.

Tamaki collapsed into one of the chair, curling up into a ball and began to rock himself back and forth, likely traumatized by whatever Kyoya had said to him while he was being woken up. Kyoya ignored his friend's mental trauma, sitting down by Jin's feet and yawning.

"Is that a new sweater?" The only reason Jin asked was because the sweater Kyoya was wearing looked… poorly made. It was dark green with silver Katakana on it that spelled "Merry Christmas", but the stitches were shaky, there were a few small holes in the fabric, and if Jin wasn't mistaken, one arm was longer than the other. It didn't seem like something Kyoya would be caught dead wearing, given his taste in muggle clothing, but he had it on all the same.

"Mhm. My sister made it… she hasn't quite gotten the hang of knitting, yet. But… it's…  _ mmm, warm… _ "

Jin smiled, poking at Kyoya's side with his foot so he wouldn't fall asleep. "That's so sweet of you. What other gifts did you get?" She immediately regretted her question. Kyoya's eyes opened again, but without the soft, sleepy glaze from before. His shoulders tensed, and he wasn't looking at Tamaki or Jin.

He mumbled, "Some of Hagrid's favorite tea blends and a new chess set from Tamaki."

Jin had to bite her tongue to not ask why the rest of his family hadn't sent him something.

"I didn't get much either, Kyoya, other than from you, Hagrid, and my mother." Tamaki gave his friend an understanding smile, but rather than cheer Kyoya up, it seemed to weight him down further. Jin didn't know what to say. She knew their home lives were…  _ difficult _ , especially when growing up, but they were ignored even on Christmas? Hogwarts sent out specific letters to the families of the students staying behind for the holidays to encourage sending gifts, either for the holidays they personally celebrated or just to get in on the fun and be semi-connected with their children despite the distance.

Pouting, Jin sat up properly and grabbed the two gifts on the table. One was yellow with a black ribbon around it, and the other was green with a silver ribbon. She was glad that Misuzu-chi had been willing to send them to her already wrapped.

"I'm sorry I didn't have them delivered with the others, but I wanted to give them to you in person."

Both Tamaki and Kyoya looked over, surprised to spot the gifts now in Jin's hands. They had both been so mentally preoccupied they hadn't even noticed them.

Tamaki was the first to snatch his gift, hastily pulling aside the black ribbon before ripping the paper to shreds. At once he let out a shout of delight, staring down at the scrapbook. It had a nice black cover with the four different Hogwarts house crests in each corner. In the middle of the front cover was a picture Honey had taken during their first day of classes. Honey and Mori were in the back of the group of five, Honey on Mori's shoulders, smiling at the camera in their own ways and occasionally waving. In front of them were Jin, Tamaki, and Kyoya from left to right. Jin was happily waving, not bothered by how Tamaki's arm was wrapped around her shoulders, while Kyoya looked like he was attempting to leave the frame only to be held in place by Tamaki's other arm.

The Tamaki in the real world smiled as the little Kyoya finally gave up in his escape, giving the camera a small smile and tucking his arm behind Tamaki's back as well.

"Well?"

" _ I love it. _ "

Tamaki began flipping through the empty pages in the scrapbook, already making plans for what he'd focus the pages on, while Jin looked over to Kyoya's side of the chaise. He'd been silent ever since Jin offered him the present, slowly taking it and unwrapping the box while Tamaki admired his own gift.

Kyoya was staring at the opened box in awe, all traces of sleepiness gone. Carefully, as if handling something breakable, he reached in and pulled out the black journal and elegant crow feather quill from inside.

Letting the empty box slide off his lap, Kyoya set the quill at his side and began to flip through the journal. Like Tamaki's scrapbook, it was completely empty, save for two written inscriptions on the inside of the front and back covers.

In Jin's conjoined hiragana, the first message read, " _ This journal is the property of Kyoya Ootori. If found, please return to the Slytherin or Hufflepuff common room. _ "

On the back was a direct message from Jin to Kyoya. " _ I know you like to document things that you find important. I figured this would be a better alternative to your extra rolls of parchment. Merry Christmas, Kyoya! ~Jin _ "

Jin swallowed, trying to gauge Kyoya's reaction. He didn't appear to be moving at all. Not even a blink. Tucking her feet a little closer to her body, she inquired, "Kyoya? Do you like it?"

Kyoya abruptly looked up from the gift in his lap, taking in a deep breath. Once he felt composed enough, he stood up, set the journal on the table in between the circle of chairs, and practically fell on top of Jin, giving her a tight hug.

Tamaki, not one to be left out of a cuddle pile, jumped up as well and joined in. Both boys whispered their thanks. Jin merely giggled, doing her best to hug them back.

* * *

Jin hadn't meant to forget that Hagrid wanted them to visit. She really hadn't. She had his letter on the desk in front of her, using it as a temporary bookmark specifically so she wouldn't forget about it. She'd written the meeting into her planner as well, underlining the time more than once, and even made sure to check what the weather would be like for their walk down to his hut. It just so happened that the book on the Spanish language Mister Kouri had suggested for her was really interested, and she was so invested in learning the basics as fast as possible that… everything else… slipped her mind.

Thank god for Kyoya.

He tapped Jin's shoulder rought twenty minutes before they were supposed to go, effectively drawing her out of her spanish mindset, and waited patiently for both her and Tamaki to pack up. The trio happily discussed the rapidly warming weather on their way through the grounds.

As they went, they passed by a large group of fifth years, all of whom were comparing the notes they'd taken during their Care of Magical Creatures class. Jin tried to pick up on what creature had been today's lesson, in an effort to prepare herself for her future classes. Because once Hagrid learned that she, Kyoya, and Tamaki all intended on taking Care of Magical Creatures, he'd been remarkably tight-lipped on how the classes were organized. Something about not spoiling the surprise.

As per usual, by the time they reached Hagrid's hut, all evidence of the class that had just taken place was gone. It was almost like a game, now. Hagrid putting away his future lesson plans before the three arrived, while they tried to get there earlier enough to sneak a peek.

Mood not deterred, Tamaki was the one who bounded forward and knocked on the door. A familiar bark greeted them, followed by a gruff voice.

"Back, Bruiser.  _ Back. _ "

Hagrid opened the door and immediately his bullmastiff dove between his legs, anxious to greet some of his favorite humans. Tamaki, being in the front, was the first to be bowled over by the dog. Jin and Kyoya managed to catch him as he fell backwards, all three of them laughing as they were covered in a tidal wave of dog kisses.

Still in the doorway, Hagrid shook his head fondly before stepping back, inviting them all inside. Once they were sufficiently loved on, Bruiser backed off enough for them to go inside and sit at the table. Jin scratched at his head while Hagrid poured the tea.

"Alrigh'... now tell me how'r yer classes are goin'."

Tamaki went first, talking about how he'd finally managed to cook a perfect potion without Professor Ramsey's help this past week. Kyoya followed with the points he'd earned in Transfiguration the day before. Jin went last, a little preoccupied with the pupper in front of her, and talked about how the language club with Mister Kouri was going and her progression with Spanish.

Kyoya scoffed, "I don't understand why you didn't choose German, then we could've studied together."

"Because this way when I start to learn German and you start with Spanish-"

" _ When? _ "

"-then we can help each other!"

"You're very optimistic that I'm going to learn more than three languages."

"Aren't you?"

"No, I am not."

"What? Come on, it's so much fun!"

"For you, perhaps. You're the smartest in our class, of course language comes easily to you!"

"Kyoya, you're smart, too!"

" _ Heh, Gold'n Trio… _ "

Hagrid looked up from his tea, surprised by the sudden silence that followed his words. The first years before him stared back, confused and curious.

"Hagrid," Jin hesitated before finishing her question, "why do so many professors call us that?"

"Oh, dear…" Hagrid rubbed one of his huge hands down the back of his head. His wild mane of hair was squashed down for a second before it puffed out again. He sighed, trying to think of the best way to answer. "Well… 'm not the best storyteller, truth be told... but if you wan' ta know, I'll try me best."

And with that, Hagrid's beady eyes grew soft, memories flooding through him even as he regarded the children in front of him. "I's a story ya already know, bu' jus a little differen'. More… close ta home, I reckon. After all, I knew 'em long before all three of 'em were famous. The Boy who Lived, the Brightest Witch of the Age, and The Boy who Cared."

All the air had left the room, the first year's eyes going wide when they suddenly realized what story was about to be told. Jin shakily raised her hand, not feeling right about interrupting the impending tale without some permission. "I… isn't it… 'The King'?"

"Not my story."

They sat in rapt silence as Hagrid began.

He told them the story of a scrawny green-eyed boy with messy black hair and glasses. The story of a boy who was nervous about the Slytherin traits within him and the family he didn't know. The story of a boy who cared deeply for his friends, even if they clashed, and never backed down from an opportunity to protect the ones he loved.

He told the story of a remarkably intelligent young girl from a background seen as lesser by some. A girl who proved over and over that she was ready to fight for what she believed in and the people she cared about. A girl who was smart, yes, but also kind and more than willing to step up to the plate should someone pick a fight.

He also told the story of a boy who found the first boy alone in a train carriage and his immediate thought was 'I must protect this boy'. He told the story of the best friend who would give away everything he had to someone in need even if he had nothing much to give in the first place. A boy who would be willing to stand on broken bones to defend his friends, even to the death.

And he told the story of the three together, how they beat the odds that no one had ever considered beatable. He told the story of friendship, hard times, and funny lines. Of anger, misunderstandings, and love. Of enemies, desperation, and lending a shoulder to those in need.

The story of the little baby Hagrid had flown through the sky on a motorcycle and his closest friends. The story of the girl who helped prepare Hagrid for his first ever Ministry hearing, even when her heart was suffering at the same time. The story of the boy who faced his greatest fear to follow Hagrid's advice and save both him and his friends. The story of the boy who understood what it was like to want to protect the last family member you had left.

It was the story of the 'biggest bunch of misfits' Hagrid had ever laid his eyes upon.

The same bunch he could see right now, sitting around his table as though the past twenty years had never happened… and all the bad things that tried to rip those three apart never even tried.

By the time his last choked word left his lips, all four of them were in tears.

All because Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

* * *

Jin sighed, her eyes shut as she leaned back onto the grass. A warm breeze wafted above her head, making her flyaways shiver against her forehead. As much as she wanted to keep studying for final exams, she had to admit that Tamaki had a point in dragging them all outside.

Cracking open her eyelids again, she spotted Honey and Mori studying in the lower branches of the tree she was resting under. Kyoya was sitting beside her head, his Herbology textbook in his lap and the black notebook by his other side. Jin always became real giggly whenever she thought about how her gift had become somewhat of a character statement for her friend. Kyoya never went anywhere without it any more.

Two splashes in rapid succession could be heard from the nearby water edge and Jin turned her head towards the sound. Tamaki was still standing ankle deep in the lake, where he'd been for the past twenty minutes. It looked like he was practicing how to skip rocks, something Hagrid had shown him how to do in the early fall. He was getting better at it… the rocks were actually skipping now.

Shaking her head at her internal joke, Jin pushed herself back onto her elbows and reached for the small pile of sweets by her legs. The five of them had pooled together all the candy they'd been given for Easter into one pile to share. But with the semester about to end in a few weeks, only a handful of the stuff remained.

Snatching up the last chocolate frog container, Jin popped it open. The frog was rather melted looking, its back legs too deformed to actually jump away. Deciding to take pity on the thing, Jin quickly bit it in half. With the other half slowly melting between her fingers, Jin flipped over the card.

She smiled at the ginger, freckly man staring back at her. She'd never really been interested in collecting chocolate frog cards before meeting Tamaki. He'd told her about his rather extensive collection while on the Hogwarts Express and helped her start up by buying at least ten of them from the trolley. Now, after the sweets from Christmas and Easter, Jin was finally in the stage where she was starting to collect doubles. Or was it… no, this was definitely a duplicate. But she had a feeling she wouldn't trade them off like Tamaki did. She liked watching the wizards and witches move and interact with each other. This guy in particular was really funny.

"He's quite the idiot, isn't he?"

Turning away from where Fred Weasley was making faces at her, Jin tipped her head back and stared at Kyoya upside down. He had a soft, almost amused expression on his face as he stared towards the water. Jin followed his line of sight. To her great surprise, while she'd been distracted, Tamaki had been joined by the giant squid.

Tamaki, being as quiet as possible, was inching his way towards one of the tentacles. Just before he was able to touch… it jerked. Tamaki let out a yelp and jumped back, falling into the water. The squid shuddered throughout its body. If Jin had to guess, it was laughing at its little prank.

She gave her chocolate card a glance, as if asking the picture ' _ Did you teach it that? _ ' She was only given a wink in return.

"Sorry, you asked me something?"

"Hmm… it wasn't much of a question. I simply stated that Tamaki's a bit of an idiot."

Jin hummed back, "I suppose so."

In the lake, Tamaki had stood up once more, completely drenched, and was now making his way towards the tentacle again. Clearly he was determined to touch it this time. The giant squid slowly raised the tentacle out of the water, like it was going to meet him in the middle. Maybe it felt bad for frightening him?

Oh. No. It just wanted to splash Tamaki. Who fell down into the water again. All four of his friends back on shore began laughing.

"We really allow ourselves to be  _ seen _ in his company?"

Jin snorted at the exasperated tone in Kyoya's voice. "Yeah, suppose that makes us idiots, too!"

More laughter followed, the four of them watching as Tamaki attempted to lunge onto the tentacle only for the squid to move out of the way. His face was priceless right before it disappeared under the surface for a third time.

Shaking his head, Kyoya leaned back onto his hands, his textbook falling shut. He took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before slowly letting it back out. "It is… really pretty out here, today."

"Yeah." Jin licked the chocolate mess off of her fingers before settling onto her back. Above her, the green leaves shook in the wind, casting dappled green light across her face. Even with finals beginning to loom over them… it felt peaceful.

Even with Tamaki's occasional screams skipping across the water's surface. He seemed to be having more luck with that than with his rocks.

* * *

Before they were ready for it, everyone was packed up and leaving the castle. The portraits and ghosts all waved as the students filed their way through the hallways, luggage trailing behind them. Pets squeaked and chattered from inside their carriers, anxious to be let out again. Just like when they'd arrived, all the first year students were placed inside the boats and lead away from Hogwarts across the lake.

Jin knew she wasn't the only first year who looked back.

Boarding the train at Hogsmeade was no less hectic and emotional than it was in London. Friends who would be separated in the many train cabins hugged one another, addresses were scribbled on scraps of spare parchment for owl deliveries later in the summer, and the graduating class was in tears as they begged one another to stay in touch.

Jin carefully handed Sora's cage, in which the owl was chirping like mad, up to Mori so she could get on the train. Just before she disappeared inside, she turned and gave Hagrid one last wave. She, Tamaki, Kyoya, Mori, and Honey had already given the man farewell hugs, a few of them getting their joints popped in return, but Jin didn't feel right about leaving without seeing him one last time. At least it was easy to spot him in the crowd.

Once Hagrid waved back, Jin gave him another smile and climbed further onto the train. Sora was handed back to her before the five made their way to the first empty cabin they could find. It was much easier to do so than when they were first arriving. All of the first years had since been absorbed into larger groups of friends. No one was sitting alone.

"You'll all write this summer, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Oh! Let's all meet in Diagon Alley! Before school starts!"

Jin beamed as she shut the cabin doors. "That sounds like fun! And you call all meet my little sister, Haru! I mean, she sent in an application to Hogwarts too, and she's super smart… I hope she gets in."

"Me, too!" Tamaki practically collapsed onto the cushion by the window. "You talked about her so much, I feel like I know her already! Oh, next year's gonna be so exciting!"

Sora burst from his cage the moment the latch was undone, quickly perching himself on Mori's head to preen. Everyone but Mori laughed at the sight, Jin putting the cage away before settling down next to Kyoya. The train whistle sounded before they began moving, the scenery slowly traveling sideways outside the window. Hogsmeade's train station falling away as they began their journey back to London.

Jin sighed, leaning her head against the cushions, watching silently as Tamaki and Kyoya began grilling Honey and Mori about what to expect from their classes next year, especially if Professor Gagliardi was going to be worse considering Ravenclaw had won both the Quidditch and House cups this year.

_ Yeah, _ she thought to herself,  _ next year's gonna be amazing. _

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, given the number of character questions and my struggling with some of your requests, I've had a thought. Would any of you be interested in the opportunity to ask Jin and the other characters direct questions? Either as an extra chapter on this site or an actual 'Ask Blog' on Tumblr? A number of questions I get in my reviews can't always be answered in chapters of their own and I'm sure at least some of you would like to speak to Jin directly. This would also be a way for me to share head-canons about certain characters or AUs if I am unable to come up with proper chapters. Plus, if we do the Tumblr thing, then I could do more character development? I dunno, I've never had an ask blog before.
> 
> Either way, I'd be down for both of those things, but it's up to you guys which one we do. I'd really like to interact with y'all more and give you to opportunity to ask direct questions!
> 
> Welp, let me know what you think! See you next chapter!


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